ICICI Bank has made a major change to its savings account rules. The minimum average monthly balance requirement for certain types of savings accounts has been increased from ₹10,000 to ₹50,000.
If account holders fail to maintain this new minimum balance, the penalty charges will also be higher than before. The exact penalty amount will depend on the shortfall in the required balance — the bigger the shortfall, the higher the fee.
The bank has informed that this revision is aimed at encouraging customers to maintain a healthy balance in their accounts. However, this change could impact small account holders, as they may now have to keep five times more funds in their account than before to avoid penalties.
Certain account categories like salary accounts, basic savings bank accounts, and senior citizen accounts are expected to be exempt from this revised requirement.
The new rules are expected to come into effect soon, and the bank has already started notifying customers about the changes via email and SMS.
