Best Current Accounts for Business

We are not publishing a per-bank table of free cash deposit limits here. We could not verify current figures from each bank’s own schedule of charges. A stale table would cost somebody real money. What follows is the mechanism instead. Use it to read any bank’s schedule and compare like with like.

How is a free cash deposit limit actually set?

Read as of 6 September 2026. The AMB-linked structure is standard practice at Indian banks. AU Small Finance Bank, for example, publishes that its current account cash deposit limit applies from the third month and is set from the previous month’s AMB.

Why does the free limit reset every month?

Because the bank is pricing its own cost. Handling notes costs money. Counting, storing and moving cash to a chest is a real expense. So the bank gives you free capacity in step with the balance you park with it.

That is why the limit floats. Hold a higher balance and next month’s free capacity rises. Let the balance slip and it shrinks, in the month you may need it most. Seasonal firms get caught by this every year.

The charge beyond the limit looks small per rupee. It is not small in total. Banks quote it per ₹1,000, with a minimum per deposit. Ten small deposits can cost more than one big one. If you bank cash daily, that minimum is your number.

Am I even allowed to open a current account?

Not always. RBI tightened this in August 2020, in its circular on opening current accounts. Have a cash credit or overdraft line and your money is meant to route through that account.

The rules then step by exposure. At ₹50 crore or more, an escrow applies. Only the escrow managing bank keeps the current account. Between ₹5 crore and ₹50 crore, lending banks may open one. Non-lending banks may open only collection accounts. Below ₹5 crore, a bank may open one against your written undertaking. You must tell it when exposure crosses ₹5 crore.

None of this applies if you hold no credit facility. Most small firms sit there.

What should I compare, in order?

1. Free cash deposit capacity in your peak month, not your average one.
2. The per-transaction minimum charge beyond that limit.
3. The AMB or AQB, and the penalty if you miss it.
4. Free NEFT, RTGS and IMPS counts, and whether they are free only online.
5. Whether your regular payees sit at the same bank, since internal transfers are usually free.
6. Whether the account supports a current account overdraft you may want later.

Then get the schedule of charges as a PDF and keep it. Banks revise these every year. The version shown at account opening stops binding once it is revised. The revision arrives by email you will not read.

Which banks are worth shortlisting?

Shortlist on branches and cash logistics first. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank run the widest ranges. Small finance banks such as AU Small Finance Bank often price the cash-heavy variants harder. Cash handling is closer to their core business.

Public sector banks usually ask for a lower balance. They give you weaker digital tools. If your staff pay cash in at a counter daily, that trade can be worth it. If your collections are all UPI and NEFT, it is not.

Do not shortlist on the sign-up offer. A waived first-year charge against a poor cash deposit limit is a bad trade in year two. Our bank reviews cover service and pricing separately for that reason.