ICICI Bank Minimum Balance Is Rs. 10K!
I went to the nearest ICICI bank branch this evening with my father to open a new savings bank account. ICICI has good internet banking features and customer service and my dad was satisfied with them so he recommended I open an account with them.
The problem is, they have changed the quarterly minimum balance to Rs. 10,000!
What. The. Hell.
I don’t want 10,000 rupees locked up in my bank account. I am not excessively wealthy like George or Anusha and can’t afford to maintain a balance as high as that. If I were employed, that would be half my salary!
Rs. 10,000 is simply way too high. They offer phone banking and net banking and SMS banking and doorstep banking (whatever that is) and all sorts of extras but I’d rather endure the annoyances of nationalised banks where I don’t have to give up 10,000 bucks. Such is life.
By the way, I’ve seen some people from my college using the word ‘bugs’ to refer to money. They probably heard some people saying ‘bucks’ and assumed it was ‘bugs’ due to their limited exposure to pretty much everything. You’d think that people would look things up, in this age of the Internet with Google, Wikipedia and The Urban Dictionary, before using what they think is slang and embarrassing themselves.
Preshit says:
Well, why not open a Students account with them ? Since you are still a student, you can get one easily. I own one myself. The joy of having just 500 bucks as min balance is wonderful.
ICICI / Citibank and others have 10,000 bucks as a necessity for Savings account.
Try HDFC, they have 5000 as the magic number.
Posted on January 19th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
sindhu says:
ROFL @bugs
Posted on January 19th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
rachel says:
Beware of ICICI, coz at first everything will go good, but later you may suffer ( talking outta experience). It’s up to you.
Posted on January 20th, 2008 at 1:23 am
Marc Z says:
Explain.
Posted on January 20th, 2008 at 1:49 am
George says:
Well, first of all, the last time I had to deposit 10,000 bugs for anything was in an MMORPG quest, so a bank that demands that much is obviously scamming and won’t give you the promised credit + 5.
Secondly, you have nearly exactly 10 times the amount I have at my disposal, your stash amounting to a large 5-figure sum.
Thirdly, they’re actually talking about crabs, not just bugs.
Posted on January 20th, 2008 at 3:10 am
Adithya says:
Marc just give your money to me I will take care of it
Posted on January 20th, 2008 at 6:19 am
Jason Dsouza says:
Hey… which college are you from…
Posted on January 20th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Karthik says:
Bugs have been found on many blogs too.
Not only is the minimum balance too high, they also fine you like crazy. 200 bugs everytime you don’t maintain minimum balance.
And believe it or not, they charge you money if you go and talk to someone inside the bank. In your transaction statement, you will see ‘consultation charges’ - Rs. 200/- Which is why I still think Govt. banks are way better than banks like ICICI.
However if you have a salary account, then they treat you like king. Minimum balance is much lower and all the facilities come along. Doesn’t infy deal with ICICI ?
Posted on January 20th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Karthik says:
I dug this up (from not too long ago)
http://marcvz.net/blog/2007/12/06/money-matters/
And bugger now you say minimum balance is an issue ? Filthy rich you!!
Posted on January 20th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Vin says:
Just give them a packet of Lady bugs, cockroaches, grass hoppers, etc, and tell them to keep the change.
Posted on January 20th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Suren says:
yeah, infy deals with ICICI.
the bank is surprisingly crowded for all the negative criticism you people claim.
Posted on January 20th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Marc Z says:
Preshit, the advantages of a student account last till you are a student and I won’t be one in about three months. HDFC minimum balance is now Rs. 15,000 but they have another type of account that seems slightly better.
George, the amount of money I have is immaterial. Why would I want a huge sum like that locked up for a bank account with low interest rates?
Adithya, that is precisely why I won’t give you the money.
Jason, why do you want to know?
Karthik, I believe the fine amount is now Rs. 750. Yes, Infosys gives employees zero-balance accounts at ICICI. You sure about the consultation fee? Sounds ridiculous. That Canara bank account is useless and IOB is not supported by Paypal. So my money is still inaccessible.
Vin, I did tell one guy I’d give him 20 ants. He didn’t get it until I explained.
Suren, after the minimum balance increase the bank is now deserted. Also, the old accounts still get to have the old minimum balance so only those people will turn up at the bank.
Posted on January 20th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
George says:
You’re going to invest the money? Real smart. Good luck.
Posted on January 20th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Marc Z says:
I meant that the 10K wouldn’t even count as an investment because of the poor interest rates for SB accounts.
Posted on January 20th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
George says:
Ah okay, my mistake.
Posted on January 20th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Anusha Narayan says:
Dammit Marc!! Leave me out of this, especially when I can’t defend myself. You know I can’t check this during the weekends!
Posted on January 21st, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Marc Z says:
Looks like no one noticed, anyway.
Posted on January 21st, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Anusha says:
I did =(
Posted on January 21st, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Marc Z says:
Then my work here is done.
Posted on January 22nd, 2008 at 12:24 am
Anusha says:
Grow up.
Posted on January 22nd, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Marc Z says:
You are 600 comments down from George. You’ll never beat him.
Posted on January 23rd, 2008 at 1:04 am
Anusha Narayan says:
I didn’t ask. Why did you even say that here?
Posted on January 23rd, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Marc Z says:
Why did you?
Posted on January 23rd, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Anusha Narayan says:
Nuts.
Posted on January 23rd, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Suren says:
cashew nuts are nice. but i prefer peanuts. has anyone tasted macadamia nuts? i hear those are very expensive.
Posted on January 24th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
India Forum says:
I have 5 year old savings account with ICICI. I haven’t received any such notice from the bank.. But if this is true and is applicable to old accounts as well, then it surely will cause a problem to ICICI.
Posted on February 1st, 2008 at 9:13 am
Stock Market Forum says:
This decision could have been influenced by the RBI’s directive to all banks to waive the ATM usage charge when using other bank’s ATMs.
Other banks may follow….
Posted on February 1st, 2008 at 9:18 am
Marc Z says:
I hope you would use a real name instead of names of forums. Anyway, the old minimum balance still applies to old accounts so it is not a problem.
Are you sure about this RBI directive? Where did you hear about this?
Posted on February 1st, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Gun says:
I came to know today that the minimum balance has been raised to 10,000 bugs,now the problem is that i have to pay a fine as already the month of July is over for this quarter. Buggers didn’t bother to send me a mailer telling me that they have increased the minimum balance required.And yeah, the fine is Rs. 750 + service charges…comes out to be more than 800. ICICI gave nice service but if this is the way they continue, I guess they will go down pretty soon.They are taing the customers for granted…..and who said that old minimum balace applies to old accounts….my account is like from 2001….but i am being fined.
Posted on August 2nd, 2008 at 2:36 am
Marc Z says:
http://marcvz.net/blog/2008/03/15/we-do-not-use-insects-as-currency/
Without mailing you about it, they cannot change your minimum balance. I suggest you contact a consumer support organisation.
Posted on August 2nd, 2008 at 3:44 am
Praveen says:
Ya, 10K is too much! Wtf do they think of us? I went to Citibank last Saturday and asked for details on opening a joint account, and one of their stupidest policies seems to be that they want us to have a minimum of 10K at the end of every quarter! Right away I decided I am not gonna open t he account there, and I conveyed it directly to her on the spot and shot out of the place!
Posted on August 3rd, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Anand says:
maintaining account in ICICI with 10k minimum balance is really stupidity…
Posted on August 23rd, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Marc Z says:
Yes, but then again you have a AOL email account.
Posted on August 23rd, 2008 at 6:55 pm