Well, this is my first review of anything on mouthshut.com.
I have read plenty of bad reviews of ICICI. I would have to agree with few of them.
However, my personal experience is excellent with them. Never ever had a problem. I have been banking with them with over 5 years, had multiple accounts in multiple cities (upto 5 accounts in 3 cities) which I have consolidated now. I also use ICICIDirect and their DEMAT services. Also, I must add, I also have their bonds and own their stock. I think I should add here that I bank/had banked with Canara Bank, SBI, Syndicate Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ABN AMRO, UTI Bank, HDFC Bank, Union Bank of India, OBC etc. So I know the comparative levels of services in various competitors. In addition, I had banked with various foreign banks in foreign countries like Fleet, JPM Chase, Bank One, ABN, ING, etc.
I’m very critical of everything to begin with. So was reluctant to open an account with ICICI bank (when I had so many accounts already to begin with). Not much banks offered anywhere banking then that I needed that as I had accounts with numerous banks in various cities. I don’t regret that decision even today. Their internet banking is the best in the country. I almost never go to the bank, except for some minor clarifications related to their products on offer (it is better to go to bank for these then calling cust care reps). I have changed my address various times and never had a problem. Infact I change the ICICI address first, and use it as address proof to get other things in place.
Any bank branch in India is like macchi bazaar be it ABN, UTI, HDFC or ICICI. Only Kotak Mahindra branches are good to bank with but thats because they are small, and charges are high.
The only problem I had with ICICI was when my AMEX credit card from Tata Finance got acquired by ICICI. They still don’t have service benefits in place for AMEX customers. I had to cancel that card. ICICI Master or Visa cards are good. I don’t have a house loan or car loan from ICICI so don’t know their loan services. But good thing is they don’t bother me with ’’pre-sactioned loan calls’’.
My usage frequency of ICICI is daily. I get alerts on mobile as well as email. I use their Bill pay effectively. Also, I logon to their internet banking every alternate day for one reason or another. I trade using idirect and since my trading requirements are not high (I’m not a day trader, I’m an investor), it works well for me. If you are day trader, don’t take idirect, invest in good accounts (they cost much more, but you are serious, do your homework).
For phone banking, I don’t use that much, in fact, only for changing addresses. Anything you can do via phone, you can do over Internet. So weigh your options. The phone banking queues are long, an average waiting time is 4 mins. So call up and go for coffee, come back and transact.
So, in nutshell, ICICI bank scores well over its competitors in India. SBI is coming up well but their internet services leave much to be desired. Infinity is by far the best system I have seen for internet banking, though it takes time to get used to. The email statements and customer service (branch) is great. Phone service is bad. Overall experience is good, but you need to know your requirements before jumping on to ICICI. If you have easy access to Internet and can live with chq drop boxes and weekly money withdrawls, it the best bank to bank with.