Jay Kotak speaks out against ₹50k minimum balance norm; says 'if banks don't do it, fintechs will'

In a bid for premiumisation, ICICI Bank's recent move to hike the minimum account balance limit has received immense public backlash. Kotak811 chief Jay Kotak recently shared his thoughts on these minimum account balance norms, without explicitly calling out the bank, in a post on X.

The Kotak 811 co-head wrote that for a country like India, those earning less than ₹25,000 per month make up for 90% of the population.

“Every Indian must access our financial sector. 90% of India makes less than ₹25,000 a month. A ₹50,000 minimum balance implies a sum equal to ~94% of Indians monthly income is to be left with the bank at all times, else a fee,” Kotak wrote in a post on X, without explicitly mentioning the name of the bank.

He, thus, highlighted how this way the banks would become unapproachable automatically for a major chunk of the population, leaving immense legroom for growth for fintech startups.

“Implication: physical cost to serve may be high. Digital first is the way. If banks don’t do it, fintechs will. Banking should be for all Indians,” he added.

ICICI Bank recently revised its minimum average monthly balance requirement for savings accounts opened on or after August 1, 2025. For new accounts in metro and urban branches, the minimum average monthly balance has been set at ₹50,000, compared to the earlier requirement of ₹10,000, marking a four-fold jump in the limit. In semi-urban branches, the requirement has been revised to ₹25,000. In rural branches, the minimum average monthly balance is now fixed at ₹10,000.

While existing account holders will continue with their prevailing minimum balance requirements, the fear remains how long will this be the case.