The State Bank of India has extended its special Fixed Deposit (FD) scheme for senior citizens for the second time. The country's largest lender is going to continue with its special SBI 'WECARE' Senior Citizens' Term Deposit scheme.
The special scheme, which was announced in May, was going to stay applicable till September initially. Later, the SBI extended the scheme till December-end.
Now, the special scheme has been extended even further and it will be available for senior citizens till March-end in 2021.
"'SBI Wecare' deposit scheme stands extended till 31st March 2021," the national bank stated on its website.
The SBI 'WECARE' Senior Citizens' Term Deposit scheme was brought into force to provide a higher interest rate to senior citizens to counter the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
What is SBI 'Wecare' Scheme?
SBI Wecare Scheme is a special FD scheme for senior citizens which fetches 80 basic points (bps) interest rate, which is more than the rate applicable to the public in general. The SBI currently provides a 5.4 per cent interest rate on an FD of five years for the public. If a senior citizen avails this scheme and puts an FD under it, the bank would give an interest rate of 6.2 per cent on it.
The additional interest of 30 bps under this special scheme will not be payable if the FD is withdrawn prematurely. If a senior
citizen opts for premature withdrawal of the FD under this scheme, the investment will fetch only 5.9 per cent interest rate.
Latest FD interest rates by the SBI
SBI FDs between seven days and 10 years can come with a 2.9 per cent to 5.4 per cent rate of interests for its general customers. Senior citizens get a 50 bps extra on these deposits. The Wecare scheme adds 30 bps for their benefit.
The SBI had last revised these rates on September 10.
