A normal or regular savings account is for everyone but not so ideal for those who find it difficult to maintain the minimum balance. But, zero balance savings account is for everyone. Be it students or working professionals or farmers or housewives. Anyone having proper KYC can open this account.
Adults are used to maintaining balance in their regular savings account be it from their savings or salary. But, students having a savings account might find it difficult to maintain even small amount as Rs. 1000. Thus, a zero balance account is undoubtedly most suitable for students. In this article, we have given the features of zero balance savings account at top banks such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI, Kotak Bank, among others.
Who offers zero balance savings account?
Many banks have been offering student accounts but none of them used to offer zero balance facility. But, not many people were aware of it may be due to the fact that banks wanted to focus on a regular savings account and earn money from the penalties of not maintaining the balance. It is quite recent that banks have started promoting their zero balance account after RBI has released guidelines to do so.
The list of banks offering no balance account is given below with relevant features. You can look into them along with the eligibility criteria and documentation required to open zero balance savings account.
Kotak 811 Account – Zero Balance Account
- India’s First downloadable account
- Zero balance account
- Instant Savings account with Aadhaar Card details
- Earn interest rate up to 6% per annum
- Virtual Debit card facility
- Free IMPS/NEFT using Net Banking and Mobile Banking
- Book movie tickets, flight tickets and shop online with Kotak 811 App
- Pay for instore purchase using Scan & Pay feature
SBI BSBD Account
- SBI Regular savings account holders can not open this account.
- No further debit allowed post the usage of 4 withdrawals in a month
- Zero balance account with no charges involved
- There are no charges on issuance of Basic RuPay ATM-cum-Debit card
- No maintenance charges
- No fee charged on deposit/collection of cheques drawn by Central/State Government
- Deactivated account can be activated without paying any fees.
- The account holders do not have to pay any charge on the receipt of money via electronic channels like RTGS or NEFT
- You can do four transactions in a month without paying any additional fee.
IDFC Bank BSBDA – Pratham Savings Account
- Easy to open the account with only Aadhaar even at the micro ATM
- Unlimited free transactions at ATM all across India.
Standard Chartered Bank – Basic Banking Account
- International Debit Card
- Phone banking
- Online banking
- Doorstep banking
- Locker facility
- Free access to any Standard Chartered Bank’s branch across India and unlimited financial and non-financial transactions in all ATMs across India.
ICICI Bank Basic Savings Account
- Free debit card
- Free cheque book with 15 leaves per year
- No charge on cash deposits and internet banking.
HDFC BSBD Account
- Free RuPay debit card
- International Debit Card available on request
- Safe Deposit Locker
- Sweep-In and Super Saver feature available
Who are eligible to open zero balance savings account?
Anyone having proper KYC and above the age of 18 years can open this account. The customers who want to open this account must have the following documents:
- Identity Proof- Aadhar Card/Voter ID Card/PAN Card/Driving License
- Address Proof- Aadhar Card/Voter ID Card/Driving License
- 2 passport size photos
With such simple documentation and so many beneficial features and facilities like a normal savings account, students can use it freely.
