Several banks in India offer flexible fixed deposit schemes to customers, some of which are mentioned below.
SBI:
State Bank of India offers Flexi Fixed Deposits under the scheme Flexi Deposit Scheme. To open the SBI Flexi Fixed Deposit Scheme, you need a minimum balance of Rs. 5,000 in your Savings/Current accounts. Account holders can deposit upto Rs. 50, 000 for a tenure 5 years – 7 years.The rate of interest on SBI Flexi FD is similar to term deposits and stands at 7.25%.
Axis Bank:
With Axis Bank Encash 24 Flexi Deposit, you can get dual benefits of the liquidity of a Savings Account and high earnings of a Fixed Deposit at 7.25%. To open a Flexi FD account, you need to have a minimum balance of Rs. 100 in your Savings Account. However, if you have a Current account in Axis Bank, you need to maintain a minimum balance of ₹ 20,000 in your accounts. Also, account holders can deposit a maximum balance of Rs. 1,50,000 in their Savings/Current Account.
ICICI Bank:
To open Flexi Deposit Scheme, account holders should ensure that they have a minimum balance of Rs. 10,000 in their Savings/Current Accounts. Also, account holders can open Flexi FD for a tenure ranging between 15 days to 91 days.
PNB:
PNB offers Flexi Fixed Deposits under the scheme PNB Swechha Jama Yojna Flexi FD Scheme. To open the PNB Flexi Fixed Deposit Scheme, you need a minimum balance of Rs. 100 in your Savings/Current accounts. You can invest in PNB Flexi FD for a tenure ranging from 6 months – 10 years. The rate of Interest on PNB Bank Flexi FD is similar to term deposits and stands at 7.25%.
Central Bank of India:
With the Central Bank of India Flexi Yield Deposit Scheme, you can get dual benefits of the liquidity of a Savings Account and high earnings of a Fixed Deposit at 7.25%. To open a Flexi FD account, you need to have a minimum balance of Rs. 50,000 in your savings Account. Also, the tenure of Flexi FD of Central Bank of India ranges from 1 year – 10 years.
Union Bank of India:
Union Bank of India offers Flexi Fixed Deposits under the scheme Union Flexi Savings Deposit Scheme. To open the Flexi Fixed Deposit Scheme, you need a minimum balance of Rs.50,000 in your Savings/Current accounts. Account holders can open Flexi FD for a tenure ranging from 46 days – 1 year.
Bank of Baroda:
With BOB Suvidha Fixed Deposit Scheme, you can get dual benefits of the liquidity of a Savings Account and high earnings of a Fixed Deposit at 7.25%. To open a Flexi FD account, you need to have a minimum balance of Rs. 5,000 in your Savings Account. Also, the tenure of Flexi FD of Central Bank of India ranges from 12 months – 5 years.
Bank of India:
Star Flexi Fixed Deposit is a unique Flexi Deposit scheme which offers flexibility to the customer to choose monthly Flexi instalments for a tenure ranging from 12 months to 10 years. There is no limit for maintaining balance in your Savings/Current Account and account holders can get a return on these deposits at 7.25%.
Features and Benefits of Flexible FD
Flexi Fixed Deposits combines the features of Savings Account and Fixed Deposits and provide following benefits to the investors.
Higher rate of Interest: You can earn better returns on investments on a Flexi-Fixed Deposit as the rate of interest on these deposits is higher than a savings account.
Flexibility: With Flexi Fixed deposits, you can customise the amount and tenure of investment as per your requirement as the tenure and amount of instalment can vary each month in a Flexi Fixed Deposit.
Easy Withdrawal: Flexi Deposit scheme allows premature withdrawal of your investment, unlike traditional Fixed Deposits. Thus, these deposits have more liquidity which makes it a more preferred and convenient investment option.
Loan: You can also avail loan against Flexi Fixed Deposits where FD acts as a security or collateral. The norms and rate of interest of these loans differ for every bank.
Auto-renewal: Flexi Deposits also come with the facility of auto-renewal. Investors thus do not need to remember the dates for renewing the FD account.
How Flexi Fixed Deposits differ from Normal Fixed Deposits?
As the name suggests, Flexi Fixed Deposits are more flexible in nature, and thus investors can choose the investment amount and tenure in Flexi Deposits as per their requirements. Unlike a regular Fixed Deposit, the tenure, amount and number of instalments in a Flexi Fixed Deposit is not fixed and can vary during the investment tenure as per the Bank’s guidelines.
Further, these deposits also offer more liquidity and overcome the problem of withdrawing money in a regular fixed deposit. Account-holders can withdraw certain sums of money in emergencies from their savings/current account, which is generally merged with a fixed deposit in Flexi FDs.
