Four public sector banks of the country have decided that there will be no penalty for not keeping a minimum balance in the savings account. This will greatly benefit the customers of these banks. These banks include SBI, PNB, Canara Bank and Bandhan Bank. If your savings account is in any of these banks and the average monthly balance in the account is low then you will not have to pay any penalty.
Punjab National Bank (PNB) said in a statement that this decision has been taken keeping in mind the customers. This rule has come into effect from 1 July. This will benefit low -income families, women and farmers. Now they will not have to pay a fine on low account balance and they will be able to use banking services easily. Bandhan Bank’s rules have also gifted their customers. This bank has also abolished the fine imposed on not having minimum balance. If your savings account is in Bandhan Bank and you are not able to keep a minimum balance in the account, then no penalty will be taken from you. This rule of Bandhan Bank has come into effect from 7 July.
These banks have already done this work
SBI had abolished the mandatory to keep minimum balance in all savings accounts since 2020. If there is no minimum balance in SBI savings account, then there is no fine.
At the same time, Canara Bank also abolished the imperative of average monthly balance for all types of savings accounts in May 2025. This includes regular savings account, salary account and MRI saving account.
What is the minimum balance?
The average monthly balance (AMB) is the minimum amount that the customer has to keep in his bank account. If the balance in the account is reduced by this amount, then the banks impose fine for not keeping AMB. This penalty varies from different types of savings accounts.
PNB reduced interest rate
Now let’s talk about the interest rates received on PNB savings account. In PNB, people who have less than Rs 100 crore in their account, will now get 2.50% annual interest. Earlier this rate was 2.70% or 2.75%. Even large depositors (who have an amount of Rs 100 crore or more in account) will now get interest at the rate of 2.70%, which was earlier 3.00%. These new rates will be effective from July 1, 2025.