7 Best NRE Savings Accounts for NRIs in India 2025

What Is an NRI Account?

An NRI is someone who has been living abroad for a minimum of 120 days. The person must have stayed for less than 365 days in India in the last 4 years. An Indian citizen is called an NRI if the person leaves India to seek a job in an overseas country.  If an NRI wants to have an investment in India, he/she must have an NRI account. A person can choose to open an NRI account in the form of NRO or an NRE account depending on their requirement.

NRE or Non-Resident External account is a savings account offered by banks to the NRIs or Non- Residential Indians to allow them to transfer their income home to India.

NRE Savings Account

Below are some key features of NRE Account:

1. It is denominated in INR or Indian rupees
2. An NRI can open an NRE account in the form of a Savings account, FD account, Current account and RD account etc.
3. NRE account can be opened by NRIs as well as PIOs in India under RBIs guideline with an authorized bank
4. The NRE savings account interest rates can be jointly operated with an NRI only
5. Deposits here has to be foreign country earnings only and not Indian earnings
6. Withdrawals can be done in the currency of the country resided by the NRIs and hence NRI may experience amount fluctuation
7. The account holder can easily transfer funds from an NRE account to an NRO/NRE account
8. The NRI can enjoy tax-free income from a NRE account since the interest rate as well as the principal amounts are tax exempted
9. NRE account can be used to make investments in India

Best NRE Savings Account for NRIs in 2025

Here is a list of some Indian banks offering NRE Savings account to NRIs:

Bank Name	NRE Deposit Interest Rate (1 Year)	NRE Deposit Interest Rate (5 Years)	Minimum Balance Requirement
Axis Bank	7.00%	7.20%	₹10,000
Canara Bank	6.80%	7.00%	₹1000
Bank of Baroda	6.75%	7.05%	₹1000
Citibank	6.50%	6.70%	₹10,000
HDFC Bank	7.10%	7.30%	₹10,000
ICICI Bank	7.00%	7.20%	₹10,000
State Bank of India	6.90%	7.10%	₹1000

7 Key Features of NRE Account Saving Banks

Below are some NRI bank account types with important features in 2025:

1. Axis Bank NRE Account

• The Axis bank NRE account allows an average minimum balance of INR 10,000
• The bank offers deposit rates for the NRE account at 7.00% per year
• It allows the facility to function the NRE account conjointly by a resident of India on behalf of the NRI
• The Axis bank NRE account can be easily managed via the facility of net banking

2. Bank of Baroda NRE Account

• The Bank of Baroda (BOB) allows a balance of average minimum INR 50,000 per quarter in the NRE account
• The deposit rates in this case start at 6.80% per year
• The bank offers net banking facility 24-hours a day
• It also allows tax exemption on the interest of the NRE income

3. Canara Bank NRE Account

• The Canara bank NRE account allows an average minimum balance of INR 1,00,000
• Here the deposit rates begin from 6.75% for 1 year
• Besides, there are other deposit schemes that are offered for NRIs
• It also allows nomination facility

4. Citibank NRE Account

• Here the average minimum balance is INR 80,000, which may vary from country to country
• The deposit rate of the NRE account begins at 6.50% per year
• The bank offers the facility of debit cards and net banking for the account holders

5. HDFC Bank NRE Account

• The average balance in an HDFC NRE account is INR 10,000 for cities and INR 5,000 for rural places
• The deposit rate begins from 7.10% per year
• All NRE account holders can avail international debit cards facility and Internet banking facility

6. ICICI Bank NRE Account

• ICICI bank offers an average minimum balance INR 10,000 in an NRE account
• The interest rate starts from 7.00% per year
• Tax exemption is available as well as internet banking facilities are available

7. State Bank of India NRE Account

• The average balance in a State Bank of India NRE account is, INR 1,00,000 in urban areas and INR 50,000 in rural areas
• The deposit rate begins from 6.90% a year
• The bank offers the facility of internet banking and international debit cards for all account holders.

NRE Savings Account Benefits

The key NRI account benefits are:

1. They offer decent rates to transfer money in an NRE account
2. In India, the interest on the account is not taxed
3. The facility of mobile banking as well as internet banking are available for NRIs
4. Generally, most NRE accounts allows joint account holding facilities
5. Funds in an NRE account are open to the risk of currency exchange
6. Most banks in India offer NRE account facilities
7. Features like minimum balance, interest rate etc. may vary from bank to bank
8. There are several best banks for NRI account available in India