The exclusions included other products like Recurring Deposits, Tax Savings Deposits, Annuity Deposits, MACAD Deposits, Multi Option Deposits (MODs), etc.
The State Bank of India (SBI) had released a special deposit scheme called the ‘Platinum Deposits Scheme’ in celebration of India’s 75th year of Independence. The scheme which was made effective on August 15, 2021, had a self-life of around a month as it was set to end on September 14, 2021. This means that you have just a few more days to invest before the offer expires. This SBI scheme was intended to be aimed at retail depositors and came with additional interest benefits for its customers. Under the scheme the customers of the bank could earn the benefits of up to 15 bps on term deposits for different brackets, namely for 74 days, 525 days (75 weeks) or 2250 days (75 months tenor).
In accordance with the release of the scheme, SBI had tweeted out on its official Twitter account announcing the launch of the plan. The tweet read: ““It’s time to celebrate India’s 75th year of Independence with Platinum Deposits. Exclusive benefits for Term Deposits and Special Term Deposits with SBI. Offer valid up to 14th Sept 2021.”
Here are the interest rates for the different tenors and different customer groups according to the release that was issued by the SBI.
SBI Platinum Deposits Interest Rates for Customers (General Public)
Tenor: Platinum of 75 days
Existing: 3.90 per cent
Proposed: 3.95 per cent
Tenor: Platinum 525 days
Existing: 5.00 per cent
Proposed: 5.10 per cent
Tenor: Platinum 2250 days
Existing: 5.40 per cent
Proposed: 5.55 per cent
SBI Platinum Deposits Interest Rates for Senior Citizen
Tenor: Platinum 75 days
Existing: 4.40 per cent
Proposed: 4.45 per cent
Tenor: Platinum 525 days
Existing: 5.50 per cent
Proposed: 5.60 per cent
Tenor: Platinum 2250 days
Under the ambit of the scheme customers that fell into the senior citizens bracket were eligible to avail of a 6.20 per cent interest rate. (Rate of interest was set to be applicable under SBI WECARE Scheme).
Payment of Interest
Interest could be paid under the scheme in a few ways as per the bank’s statement. For one, Term Deposits could be paid at month or quarterly intervals. For Special Term Deposits, the interest could be paid on maturity.
The SBI WECARE Scheme for Senior Citizens
The SBI WECARE Scheme gave its senior citizen customers an additional 30 bps interest rate on their Fixed Deposits for a 5-year tenor and above. According to the SBI release, if customers under the senior citizen category do apply for the scheme, they could see a return on their investment of up to 6.20 per cent. The same as what was mentioned for the Platinum Deposits Scheme under the tenor bracket of 2250 days or 75 months of the senior citizens.
Eligibility Criteria for the SBI Platinum Deposits Scheme
The bank had given guidelines that laid the framework for the eligibility for the scheme. In that, SBI stated that the Domestic Retail Term Deposits were eligible. This included NRE and NRO Term Deposits that were under Rs 2 crore. The scheme also finds those who apply for new or renewal deposits eligible for its benefits. Additionally, Term Deposits and Special Term Deposits were eligible as long as they were products only. When it comes to NRE Deposits, it was only made eligible for those that fell within the bracket of 525 days and 2250 days.
In terms of exclusions to the scheme, there were some mentioned as well. These exclusions included other products such as Recurring Deposits, Tax Savings Deposits, Annuity Deposits, MACAD Deposits, Multi Option Deposits (MODs) and the Capital Gains Scheme and so on. It was also mentioned that the NRE and NRO Deposits for staff and senior citizens are also considered as exclusions under the scheme’s ambit.
SBI had mentioned that the senior citizen category, as well as pensioners, would continue to receive their benefits under the SBI WECARE Scheme for the next five years and above the tenor. The bank also said in the release that the Interest rates for all other tenors of Domestic Retail Term Deposits which are below Rs. 2 crores will be unchanged. The same applies to NRE and NRO Term Deposits. SBI said that all other terms and conditions would be unchanged as well.
