Saving Bank Account: The Best Banks to Open Saving Accounts in India

Before moving ahead, you must answer yourself why need saving bank account and what is the importance of that for you?

A simple short answer to this question is: Protecting your money. Keeping your money at home will not serve any purpose or you will not get any interest. 

Also, after the demonetization campaign, it is advisable to put a small portion of your savings in a bank account anyway. 

Therefore, you can easily transfer and reinvest deposits in savings bank account according to your financial objectives.

Points to be considered before selecting any bank for opening a SAVING BANK account

• Security: To protect your hard-earned money.
• Interest: To earn a fixed interest rate on the amount deposited.
• Simplicity: This is probably the simplest way to invest your money and earn a definite return in it.
• Automatic payment: You can give standing instructions for automatic payment of bills and auto debit for certain transactions in a hassle free manner.
• Net-banking facilities: These days banks provide online banking facilities where you can easily transfer funds when needed.

Best banks to OPEN A SAVING BANK ACCOUNT in India:

The list given below for opening a saving bank account in India has been selected based on various factors which are necessary for every person who is thinking to open a bank account. 

The factors, which are taken into consideration before selecting the following list, consist of Interest Rate, Security level in a bank to protect the entitlement to the money of account of the account holders, Easy accessibility to bank services, Network level of banks, Centralization of Banks, Customer support services, Technology adoption, Banking Process simplicity, staff support etc.

So Here is list which you must be desiring for your information needs. For further details, you can go to the official website of the banks. 

1. State Bank of India or SBI
2. Axis Bank
3. Kotak Mahindra Bank
4. Yes Bank
5. Punjab National Bank or PNB 
6. Bank of India
7. HDFC bank
8. ICICI Bank
9. Canara Bank 
10. Union Bank
11. IndusInd Bank

The above banks generally gives on an average 3% to 4% interest on saving bank account. So Interest rate is not the good factor to compare the level of banks for comparison purposes. The important point for consideration is that Kotak Mahindra Bank's 811-Zero balance account is generally giving around 6% interest on saving bank to open more saving bank account.

The network level of all of the above banks is of world class. Yes, There can be some problems in some branch of the above banks, but overall all are same. Differences in the bank services depend on the place of the branch. Generally in urban areas, banking facilities are better in comparison to rural branches.

The most important factor which you can consider for opening a saving bank account is maintenance of minimum balance of saving bank account. Because if you don't maintain that level, the banks start to charge you for non-maintenance of minimum saving bank account balance. 

Let us have a look on minimum balance requirement  and non maintenance charges of some banks:

Savings Account	Minimum Balance Requirement	Non Maintenance Charge
SBI Savings Plus Account	Metro and Urban locations Rs. 3,000 Semi-urban locations Rs. 2,000 Rural locations Rs. 1,000	Metro and Urban Locations Max. Rs 15 Semi Urban Locations Max. Rs 12 Rural Locations Max. Rs 10
Kotak Mahindra Bank Edge Savings Account	Rs. 10,000	Maximum Rs 500
IndusInd Bank Privilege Savings Account	Category A Branches Rs. 10,000 Category B Branches Rs. 10,000 Category C Branches Rs. 5,000	NMC will be 5% of the balance Shortfall (subject to minimum of Rs 100 & maximum of Rs 500 per month)
ICICI Bank Regular Savings Account	Metro and Urban locations Rs. 10,000 Semi-urban locations Rs. 5,000 Rural locations Rs. 2,000 Gramin locations Rs. 1,000	Metro/ Urban/ Semi-Urban/ Rural locations Rs. 100 + 5% of the shortfall in required MAB Gramin locations: 5% of the shortfall in required MAB
HDFC Bank Regular Savings Account	Metro / Urban branches Rs.10,000 Semi-Urban Branches Rs.5,000 Rural Branches Rs.2,500 or Fixed Deposit of Rs. 10,000 for minimum 1 year 1 day period	Metro and Urban Locations Up to Rs 600 Semi Urban Locations Up to Rs 300 Rural Locations Up to Rs 450
Punjab National Bank Savings Deposit (General) Account	Metro / Urban / Semi Urban branches Rs.2,000 Rural Branches Rs. 1,000	From Rs. 25 to Rs. 250 as per the location, category and deficit in QAB** as per brackets in Rs.100s
Yes Bank Savings Advantage Account	Rs 10,000	Up to Rs 500 per month

** QAB is the average of the all the closing day balance of a bank account in a given quarter

Now I think you are in a better position to take your decision to open your saving account. What you need to remember before you take your decision:

"Your money is your convenience to choose your bank for account opening. "

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DISCLAIMER 

The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only. All efforts have been made to provide accurate information in this document, however it should not be perceived as a professional or legal advice. Reader should consult a professional before making any decision based upon this document. Under no circumstance author or the publisher shall have any liability to you for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of this information.

Secondary Source: Website of above banks and of RBI websites.