Canara Bank waives minimum balance requirements — Here's what SBI, HDFC, Axis Bank, among others mandate

State-owned Canara Bank announced that, effective Sunday, 1 June 2025, the institutional lender has waived the average monthly balance (AMB) requirement for all types of savings bank accounts.

According to Mint's earlier report, this means that customers will not be charged for failing to maintain the minimum balance requirement for all savings accounts from 1 June 2025. 

A minimum average monthly balance is the lowest amount that a customer has to keep in their account every month; failure to do so will attract additional penalties.  

“With this new policy, all Canara Bank SB account holders will now enjoy true ‘no penalty on minimum balance’ for all SB accounts, free from any AMB-related penalties or fees,” said the bank in an official statement. 

Here's what other banks charge 

Axis Bank: According to the official fees and charges structure released by the bank, effective 1 April 2024, the average balance requirement criteria for a Priority Savings Account is ₹2,00,000 or ₹2 lakh per month for all Metro, Urban, Semi Urban, and Rural accounts. 

The average monthly balance required across all locations is ₹10,000 per month for a semi-urban or rural branch or an FD of at least ₹50,000 for a tenure of 12 months or more. 

If a customer fails to maintain the minimum balance, 6 per cent of the shortfall from the Average Balance Requirement will be charged. According to the tariff structure effective 1 April 2023, this charge can go up to a maximum of ₹600. 

HDFC Bank: In a regular savings bank account with HDFC Bank, the customers are mandated to maintain a minimum average monthly balance of ₹10,000 or a fixed deposit of ₹1 lakh for a minimum time period of 1 year 1 day for only Urban branch offices. 

In case of a Semi-urban branch, the average monthly balance will be off ₹5,000, or a fixed deposit of ₹50,000 for a minimum 1-year 1-day period. In case of a Rural bank account, the customers will have to maintain an average quarterly balance of ₹2,500 or a fixed deposit of ₹25,000 for the same period of time as the other branch locations. 

If customers fail to maintain the balance, the bank can charge up to a maximum of ₹600 for the urban account. The bank has different slabs for penalty charges for non-maintenance of this balance. 

SBI Bank: According to the official State Bank of India website, the basic savings bank account from the largest PSU Bank does not require a minimum balance to be maintained monthly or quarterly. 

The website also shows that the Savings bank account and the Savings Plus bank account from the institutional lender do not have a Monthly Average Balance component. 

ICICI Bank: The official website of ICICI Bank shows that customers with an Easy Receive Account with the private lender must maintain a minimum balance of ₹10,000 for Metro and urban locations. In case of Semi-urban and rural locations, the minimum balance amount is set at ₹5,000. 

If customers fail to maintain the minimum monthly average balance, they will be charged a maximum of ₹450, depending on the difference between the minimum balance and the location of the branch. 

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