These banks don't ask for minimum balance requirement in savings accounts; check full list here

Everyone who has their money in a bank is familiar with the minimum balance required for a savings account. This criterion is mandatory to maintain your account in a bank, failing which the bank can charge the customer a heavy penalty which is the charge for recovering the maintenance and managing cost of the said account. However, how much should be kept as a minimum balance depends on the type of account and other aspects. However, the RBI has now announced that banks are free to decide the minimum balance for savings accounts and that it does not fall under the regulatory domain of the central bank.

What is minimum balance and why do banks charge them?

The minimum balance is the minimum amount that all banks require their customers to maintain in their savings account. However, in case the customer does not ot maintaining the minimum amount in their account, the banks can levy heavy penalties. This amount is decided by the particular bank which may differ from bank to bank.

Banks ask the customers to maintain a minimum balance as they offer various facilities like ATM, mobile banking and customer support. To maintain their offices and pay their staff, banks do this. Also, the banks ensure that all services, physical and digital, function smoothly. Therefore, banks carry these services by levying some charges on their customers.

Banks which have outdone minimum balance requirement

There are some government banks which have outdone the minimum balance requirement for customer convenience. These are: State Bank Of India, Punjab National Bank and Indian Bank. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said, “The RBI has left it to individual banks to decide on what minimum balance they want to set. Some banks have kept it at Rs 10,000, some have kept Rs 2,000 and some have exempted (customers). It is not in the regulatory domain (of RBI).”

ICICI Bank recently increased the minimum balance requirement for those opening new savings accounts from August 1. The minimum average monthly balance (MAB) has been increased five times to Rs 50,000 from Rs 10,000 on savings bank accounts, as per the lender's website.