They say precaution is better than cure. And it doesn't just apply to health, but also personal finances. Only those people have relief in the lockdown who have savings in their bank accounts. To promote the same behavior, SBI has come with a new savings scheme. In this scheme, customers will have to deposit as minimum as Rs 100 per month, and they will get huge interest rates in returns.

What Exactly Is The Scheme?

The scheme comes under a specific type of bank account that is called RD or Recurring Deposit. In the RD scheme, one has to keep depositing a specific sum of money regularly for a specific period of time. Once that time completes, the customer gets a huge return on his deposits.

The biggest advantage of RD schemes is that they give higher interests than standard savings accounts.

Deposit From Home

If you want to take benefits from this scheme in SBI, the biggest perk is that all procedures - from opening an account to money deposits - can be done sitting at your home. All you have to do is just install the YONO SBI app on your smartphone.

Step By Step Procedure

1.      Log in into your SBI account in YONO app

2.     Click on 'Deposits'

3.    Click on 'Create Recurring Deposits'

4.    Fill the money that you want to deposit per month in your RD account

5.    Choose the bank account in which you want to deposit the money

6.    Choose the time period for which want to deposit the money

7.     Choose the monthly date on which you will deposit the money in your account

8.    Click on 'View interest rates' to know RD interest rates

9.    You will see different interest rates for different maturity periods

10. Choose the maturity period that suits your interests

Account Nominee

Another good thing about RD accounts is that you can also choose nominee, just like you do in a standard savings account. After completing the aforementioned steps, you will be taken on the page where you will have to choose your RD account nominee. Once you choose the nominee, your RD account will be opened, and the necessary details will be sent to your email id.

Features of RD Account

The minimum amount that you can deposit monthly in RD accounts is Rs 100. There is no maximum bar. In this scheme, you can open an RD account for a minimum of one year and a maximum of 10 years. You can also take a loan of 90% of your deposited money.

Right now, SBI is giving interest rates of 2.9% to 5.4% for different maturity periods. Seniors Citizens will get an extra interest of 0.5%.

To get more tips and insights on banking and savings, keep reading BankingOnTips.

The State Bank of India has again changed the fixed deposit interest rates by 40 basis points. The bank made the announcement through their official website, stating that the changes will be effective from May 27. This is the second time in May that SBI has made the cuts in FD rates.

As per the financial pundits, this decision will impact those depositors who were planning to renew their FDs in the coming months. Now, the one-year SBI FD rate stands at 5.10 per cent. This is lower than before. Earlier, the one-year SBI FD rate of interest was at 5.50 per cent.

New FD rates For General Public:

·     7 days to 45 days - 2.9%

·     46 days to 179 days - 3.9%

·     180 days to 210 days - 4.4%

·     211 days to less than 1 year - 4.4%

·     1 year to less than 2 years - 5.1%

·     2 years to less than 3 years - 5.1%

·     3 years to less than 5 years - 5.3%

·     5 years and up to 10 years - 5.4%

New FD Rates For Senior Citizens

Amidst the changes, only senior citizens are getting some benefits. SBI has introduced a special “SBI Wecare” Deposit for Senior Citizens. The step was taken to protect senior citizens in the tough time.

As per the new scheme, an additional 30bps premium will be available for the senior citizen’s Retail term deposits with “5 Years and above” tenor only. However, this will remain in effect only up to September 30, 2020.

Here are the FD rates for senior citizens:

·     7 days to 45 days - 3.4%

·     46 days to 179 days - 4.4%

·     180 days to 210 days - 4.9%

·     211 days to less than 1 year - 4.9%

·     1 year to less than 2 years - 5.6%

·     2 years to less than 3 years -5.6%

·     3 years to less than 5 years - 5.8%

·     5 years and up to 10 years - 6.2%

The Takeaway

Earlier on May 12, SBI had cut the interest rates on term deposits of up to 3 years tenor by 20bps. The bank had also slashed the interest rates on FD twice in the month of March.

With RBI cutting the repo rates, it is expected that the conditions might go sour. The bank fundings are also falling and this may lead to further decrease in the interest rates on fixed deposits raising concerns among people.

For more such updates and news, keep reading BankingOnTips.

Just a week ago, the State Bank of India (SBI) announced a special fixed deposit (FD) scheme for senior citizens. The interest rates are higher, tenure is low, and there are some other benefits. But, to give it a tough competition, India's one of the largest private banks - ICICI bank – has rolled out a special FD scheme for senior citizens.

What it is, and how can you get the maximum benefits; here are all the things you need to know about:

'ICICI Bank Golden Years FD'

This new FD scheme is named 'ICICI Bank Golden Years FD' by the bank. The scheme offers an interest rate of 6.55% per annum for deposits up to Rs 2 crore. The tenure of this deposit can be anywhere between more than 5 years to 10 years.

The most appreciable thing about the scheme is its interest rate. The scheme offers 80 basis points (bps) to the senior citizens, which is way higher than that of the general public (non-senior citizens) or the earlier rate provided to senior citizens. ICICI bank used to offer 50 bps to the senior citizens. But now, the FD has jumped to 80 bps with a single leap.

Talking to the media about this new scheme, Pranav Mishra, Head – Liabilities Group, ICICI Bank, said, "We at ICICI Bank have always valued our relationship with senior citizens. We know that FD interest is a key source of income for a large section of senior citizens. Keeping this in mind, we are offering higher interest rates to them through the new scheme, even in the declining interest rate regime, as a mark of our respect to them. We believe that this scheme will help them to create a good pension kitty on their long-term deposit and thereby enhance their convenience."

Some important points to note:

● The scheme is applicable to both new and the old FDs. If any customer already has a similar scheme in the past, he/she can renew the FD plan to the latest one. However, an old FD can only be renewed if its amount is less than Rs 2 crore singularly.

● The 'ICICI Bank Golden Years FD' is only available from May 20 to September 30, 2020.

● Customers can take a loan against their FD. The principal amount of loan can be up to 90% of principal and accrued interest of FD.

● Customers can also get a Credit Card against FD. Though, the interest rate on this credit is not cleared yet by the bank.

If you are interested in the scheme, you can open a Fixed Deposit using the ICICI bank's official app for net-banking and mobile banking. However, if the internet is not your preferred way, you can go to your nearest ICICI Bank branch.

Found the piece helpful? Keep reading BankingOnTips to know more about how you can save more of your hard-earned money.