Indian banks charged over ₹26,170cr in minimum balance penalties (FY23-FY26)
Between FY23 and FY26 (financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26), Indian banks charged over ₹26,170 crore in penalties just for not keeping enough money in accounts.
In the last year alone (FY26), these fines added up to over ₹7,000 crore, most of it coming from private banks rather than public ones.
Private banks collected most FY26 fines
Private banks collected more than twice what public sector banks did, with HDFC Bank topping the list at nearly ₹1,800 crore in fines last year.
Axis Bank and SBI followed behind, though SBI has stopped charging these penalties on savings accounts since 2020.
The good news: most public sector banks have dropped minimum balance fines for savings accounts, and basic accounts like those under Jan Dhan Yojana are still totally exempt.
So if you're using a basic or Jan Dhan account, you're safe from these charges.