How Many Bank Accounts Can I Have?

Today’s Financial landscape demands having a multiple bank account which helps the account holder to manage multiple transactions.

You might have a question in your mind How many bank accounts can I have? Well, there can be no straight forward answer to this question.

It depends on your financial requirements. Whether you are using a single account or holding multiple accounts, it is necessary to limit yourself to using multiple accounts to ensure that owning multiple accounts does not cost you much. Ultimately, banks are all about managing your finances.

In this article, we will help you answer the question of how many bank accounts can have and discuss the pros and cons of having multiple accounts.  

Reasons for Opening Multiple Bank Account

The following are the reasons why we open multiple bank accounts-

Budgeting

Budgeting is very important in engaging your expenditure in a strategic manner which not only helps you reduce your risk but also helps you in making smart decisions.

Having only one account can hamper your efforts to save and budget your expenses properly which is why you should have different accounts where you can allocate the budgeting funds for expenses.

Tracking Financial Goals

Having multiple bank accounts helps you in tracking your financial goals easily and effectively.

Separating Finances

Adding a joint account with your spouse or kids will help you provide in managing the finances of the family and make every member of the family accountable for the spending.

Benefits of Having Multiple Bank Account

The following are the benefits of having multiple bank accounts-

• With multiple bank accounts, you can track your finances better, you can allocate different bank accounts to different types of expenditures like lifestyle accounts, savings accounts, emergency fund accounts, etc.
• Having multiple bank account reduces your dependency on one bank account which diversifies your risk as well as help you navigate better if one of the account gets into technical difficulty
• It is also an amazing way to reduce your ATM charges if you are a high ATM user
• You can have one UPI transaction account using which you can purchase everyday essential things and keep the account low on the amount. This way you can also protect yourself from UPI fraud

Cons of Having Multiple Bank Accounts

The following are the cons of having multiple bank accounts-

• The biggest disadvantage of having multiple bank accounts is to maintain a minimum maintenance balance in each of those accounts and if you fail to do so then your account might attract penalties and sometimes shut down as well
• Since you have to maintain a minimum balance, you may not be able to use your funds effectively
• Managing and monitoring all your accounts may become a painful task
• As per the RBI Guidelines, if an account has not been used for more than 2 years then the bank should change the account status from Active to dormant

How to Find the Ideal Number of Bank Accounts that You Need?

Depending on one’s goal, the ideal number of bank accounts can range anywhere between 2-4 accounts. Anything more than this is something you should think about whether you are wasting your money or not.

Every bank has different products to suit different needs of individuals, some may need more interest rates or a dedicated manager for which you may open different bank accounts but a better option than doing this is to upgrade or change your existing product with the bank.

For example- if you are using a savings bank account and you now feel like you want a specialized savings bank account then instead of opening a new account, you can ask your account manager to upgrade your existing account for a new type of account.

But before making any changes to your account, it is important to do a cost-to-benefit analysis. The ideal bank account number also depends on your earning status for a businessman the requirement will be different and for an employee, the requirement may be different.  

FAQ