7.35% Equitas Small Finance Bank Fixed Deposits – Should you invest?

Equitas Small Finance Bank Fixed Deposits ReviewEquitas Small Finance Bank Fixed Deposits Review


Majority of the banks are offering FD interest rates between 4.5% to 6%. Only a few banks are offering high interest rates. One among them is Equitas Small Finance Bank. It offers FD interest rates ranging between 6.75% to 7.35% for 1 to 5 years tenure. Equitas Small Finance Bank is small finance bank and has come up with an IPO too. Should you invest in Equitas Small Finance Bank Fixed Deposits?  While it offers up to 7.35% interest rates, are Small finance banks are safe to invest?

Also Read: Best FD interest rates in India in 2020

About Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited

They are the largest Small finance bank in India in terms of number of banking outlets, and the second largest Small finance bank in India in terms of assets under management and total deposits in Fiscal 2019.

Features of Equitas Small Finance Bank Fixed Deposits

Equitas Small finance bank offers fixed deposit for 7 days to 10 years tenure. However for less than 1 year, like any other bank it offers lower rates.

The interest rates are ranging between 6.75% to 7.35% for 1 year to 10 year tenure FDs.

One can open digital savings account and open FD online anywhere anytime.

You can earn 7% interest on savings account too for balance above Rs 1 Lakh and below Rs 2 Crores.

One can get 7.35% per annum interest for 888 days fixed deposit scheme. The annualised yield works out to be 7.56%.

Senior citizens would get a higher interest rate of 0.6%. e.g. for 888 days fixed deposit scheme, they would get 7.95% interest rate.

This bank provides 7.15% interest rate son recurring deposits.

Monthly interest payout options available.

No penalty for premature withdrawals for senior citizens.

The bank would deduct necessary TDS on the FD interest. If you want to avoid taxes, you can submit Form 15G and 15H if it is applicable to you.

Interest Rates on Equitas Small Finance Bank Fixed Deposits

Here are the latest interest rates.

Tenure Interest Rates Annualised Yield
7 – 14 days 3.60% 3.60%
15 – 29 days 3.60% 3.60%
30 – 45 days 4.10% 4.10%
46 to 62 days 4.60% 4.60%
63 to 90 days 5.60% 5.60%
91 to 120 days 5.85% 5.85%
121 to 180 days 5.85% 5.85%
181 to 210 days 6.10% 6.19%
211 to 270 days 6.10% 6.19%
271 to 364 days 6.60% 6.71%
1 year to 18 months 7.10% 7.29%
18 months to 2 years 7.10% 7.29%
2 years to 887 days 7.15% 7.34%
888 days 7.35% 7.56%
889 days to 3 years 7.15% 7.34%
3 to 4 years 6.75% 6.92%
4 to 5 years 6.75% 6.92%
5 to 10 years 6.75% 6.92%

FAQs on Equitas Small Finance Bank Fixed Deposits


How to open Equitas Small Finance Bank FDs?

You need to have a savings account before you open FD (except for Selfe FD). You can open savings account online first and then open the FDs online like you do on any other internet banking portal.

What documents are required to open Savings account?

You just need Aadhaar card and PAN card to open a savings account. You need to complete application form along with these documents.

What is Equitas Bank Selfie FD?

One good feature in Equitas Bank is where one can open Selfe Fixed Deposit online with just Aadhar Number and PAN handy and book your FD online in just three minutes.

Fund your Selfe Fixed Deposit directly through UPI from any bank account and get returns up to 7.1% p.a. for 1 year. Invest as low as Rs 5,000 upto a maximum of Rs. 90,000 with Selfe FD and choose tenure between 7 days and 365 days. On maturity, the Principal+ Interest will be credited to your designated bank account.

What are Equitas Small Finance Bank savings account interest rates?

This bank offers 7% p.a. savings account interest rates for balance above Rs 1 Lakh, but below Rs 2 Crores.

Do Equitas Bank comes under RBI?

Yes. All small finance banks too comes under RBI purview.

Is Equitas Bank Safe for FD?

Many of you must have doubts about FDs in small finance banks. Small Finance Banks come under the purview of RBI (like other scheduled commercial banks) and the fixed deposits are insured by the Deposit Insurance up to Rs 5 Lakhs. Means if something happens to such small finance banks, deposit insurance would pay up to Rs 5 Lakhs of investors deposits (Savings + fixed deposits).

Also Read: Post Office Fixed Depotis – Features and interest rates

What is the minimum balance in Equitas bank?

One needs to maintain minimum average balance of Rs 10,000 for regular savings account in metro cities and Rs 5,000 / Rs 2,500 in semi urbank / rural areas respectively.

Should you invest in Equitas Small Finance Bank FDs?

ESFB offers high interest rates on fixed deposits compared to other public sector and private sector commercial banks. Investors major doubt is whether these small finance banks are safe to invest their FDs. This bank has come up with IPO now which would create brand value as well as awareness about investor community about such bank. If something happens to small finance banks, deposit insurance would pay up to Rs 5 Lakhs of their FDs (highest amount) to investors. While you want to earn high interest, instead of taking a bigger risk, one can invest up to Rs 5 Lakhs in such small finance banks fixed deposit schemes. Investing over and this limit can put your money into risk as we do not know how small finance banks would perform in medium to long term.

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Suresh KP

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