ICICI Bank has announced a significant revision in its minimum balance requirement policy following public criticism. In an official release on Wednesday, the private sector lender stated that it has withdrawn the earlier mandate of maintaining a minimum balance of ₹50,000 for new savings accounts opened by metro and urban customers.

The revised minimum balance requirement for urban and metro account holders has now been brought down to ₹15,000, offering considerable relief to customers.

Similarly, semi-urban and rural customers, who were previously required to maintain minimum balances of ₹25,000 and ₹10,000 respectively, will now need to keep only ₹7,500 and ₹2,500 in their accounts.

The policy change comes after a wave of backlash on social media and banking forums, where many users criticized the high balance requirements as being exclusionary and impractical, especially amid fluctuating economic conditions.

This move by ICICI Bank is being seen as a customer-friendly step aimed at increasing accessibility to banking services and aligning with financial inclusion goals.