One account for salary, spending, investing, IPOs, and max interest? Here's the honest 2026 comparison — HDFC vs ICICI vs IDFC FIRST across the four dimensions that matter, the zero-balance-vs-ecosystem tradeoff, and the one sweep-FD-vs-IPO question that decides it (and that no bank publishes).
BankingSmall finance banks advertise 7%+ savings rates — but the fine print is brutal: your first ₹1-3 lakh earns the same 2.5% as SBI. Here's the real comparison across SFBs, private, payments, and public banks, the marginal-tiering trap, the ₹5 lakh insurance limit, and where idle cash should actually go.
Banking"Free of cost" is only half true for an SBI Unnati / basic-savings debit card. The catch is the gap between free issuance and a recurring annual maintenance charge — and the fact that 'Unnati' has quietly vanished from SBI's live catalogue. Here is exactly what to check on your own card.
BankingNot every 'zero-balance' account is actually zero-balance — and the difference between a true zero-AMB account, a BSBDA, and a salary account can cost you a penalty you didn't expect. A reviews-style comparison of IDFC FIRST, Kotak 811, Fi (winding down), Jupiter, IPPB and SFBs — with the traps each one hides.
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