Has ICICI Bank taken a U-turn on Rs 50,000 monthly average balance? Here's what its website shows

ICICI Bank, on Wednesday (August 13, 2025), revised the minimum balance requirement for savings accounts to Rs 15,000 for new accounts opened in urban areas effective August 1. Last weekend, it had raised the monthly average balance needed in urban areas to Rs 50,000.

ICICI Bank said: "We had introduced new requirements for the Monthly Average Balance (MAB) for new Savings Accounts opened from August 1, 2025. Following valuable feedback from our customers, we have revised these requirements to better reflect their expectations and preferences."

According to the ICICI Bank website, the monthly minimum average balance (MAB) for urban areas is now Rs 15,000. Before this latest update, the bank had raised it to Rs 50,000. For semi-urban areas, the MAB has beenrevised to Rs 7,500, down from Rs 25,000 for those locations

Also read: Rs 4.58 crore stolen from ICICI bank customers: Broke FDs, created overdraft and personal loan; how relationship manager executed fraud

Available in	All cities
Eligibility	Resident Indian below 60 years
Minimum monthly average balance (MAB)* (MAB is the simple average of day-end balances for a calendar month)	Metro and Urban locations - Rs 15,000 Semi-urban locations - Rs 7,500 Rural locations- Rs 2,500 Pensioners (Below 60 Years) and Students of 1200 select institutes – Nil MAB
This SOC is applicable to	Savings Account, Account for Pensioners (Below 60 Years) and Minors • Programme: Select Banking, Wealth Management and Private Banking • Savings Account integrated with Demat & Trading Account (3-in-1 Account)

Source: ICICI Bank website (https://www.icicibank.com/content/dam/icicibank/india/managed-assets/docs/pdf/savings-account.pdf)

Please note: This Schedule of Charges (SOC) and MAB requirements are not applicable to Salary Accounts, Senior Citizens / Pensioners (Above 60 years), BSBDA/PMJDY, and Accounts for people with special needs. They are also not applicable to Savings Accounts opened before July 31, 2025.

We have sent our queries to ICICI bank and are waiting for their response.

Also read: ICICI Bank branch manager duped depositors of crores for years to meet targets.

How is Minimum monthly average balance (MAB) calculated?

MAB is the simple average of day-end balances for a calendar month. MAB is calculated by dividing the closing day balances in your account every single day, and dividing them by 30, or 31, whatever the length of the ongoing month has been. In the case of ICICI Bank, if the individual failed to maintain this MAB, they would be penalised 6% of the shortfall, or Rs 500, whichever is lower. Following this, in case the MAB in your account came down to below Rs 15000 , you'll be required to pay penalty of 6% on the shortfall of Rs 500, i.e. Rs 30.

While these rules were not applicable to existing ICICI customers i.e. those who held an account with the bank before August 1, 2025, the rules significantly impacted those opening an account with the bank post this date. While calculating MAB, it is important to remember that you are not required to maintain the MAB in your account at all times. This means that in case the MAB stipulated by your bank is Rs 10,000, it does not mean that you have to have Rs 10,000 in your account at all times. It simply means that the average of your daily closing balances should come down to 10,000.