Icici bank withdraws ₹50 000 minimum balance requirement after backlash

Icici bank withdraws ₹50 000 minimum balance requirement after backlash

ICICI Bank Ltd. has revised lower the minimum balance requirements for its customers, days after a hike triggered widespread backlash.

India’s second largest private lender will now require its metro and urban bank account holders to maintain a minimum monthly average balance of ₹15,000 as against ₹50,000 proposed just days ago, according to a new notification seen by Hindustan Times.

“We had introduced new requirements for the monthly average balance for new savings accounts opened from 1 August 2025,” the lender said in the notification released on Wednesday. “Following valuable feedback from our customers, we have revised these requirements to better reflect their expectations and preferences.”

Consequently the minimum balance requirements are:

For metro and urban locations: ₹15,000

For semi-urban locations: ₹7,500

For rural locations: ₹2,500

Pensioners below 60 years of age and students of 1,200 select institutes do not have to maintain a minimum monthly average balance.

On 9 August, ICICI Bank raised the minimum average monthly balance for metro and urban customers to ₹50,000 from ₹10,000 earlier.

The revised minimum balance requirements were:

For metro and urban locations: ₹50,000 from ₹10,000 earlier

For semi-urban areas: ₹25,000 from ₹5,000 earlier

For rural locations: ₹10,000 from ₹2,500 earlier

Customers, who aren’t able to maintain these minimum balance requirements, would face penalty charges of ₹500 or 6% of the shortfall, whichever is lower, ICICI Bank had said.

“It’s a blow to the middle-class,” Shama Mohamed of the Indian National Congress said. “Now people will be penalised for not maintaining this huge amount.

“Even people with a ₹1 lakh salary per month will not have ₹50,000 monthly average balance because of their EMIs, bills, loans, credit card usage, etc.,” wrote an X user. “Every sector is just focused on looting the middle-class. Poor people are just the walking dead for them and the government.”

To be sure, those who have ₹50,000 to spare every month won’t keep the amount parked in a savings bank account to earn a paltry interest. “In 2025, urban youth don’t want their money to rot in accounts earning 3% interest. They want to invest, grow, and build wealth—not just keep banks rich,” said yet another X user.

On Wednesday, ICICI Bank shares fell 0.07% to ₹1,421.15 apiece on the BSE even as the benchmark BSE Sensex ended the day 0.38% higher at 80,539.91 points.