2 days ago  The steps to open a PPF account online via a Net-banking platform for leading banks, such as State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank are covered below. As per data compiled by BankBazaar, new private banks such as Bandhan Bank and IDFC First Bank offer interest rates of up to 7.15 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively on their savings account.

Savings account holders with the country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) will now earn an interest of 2.75 percent effective from April 19. With interest rates being slashed twice in two months, it is the lowest ever return offered by any Indian banks for its savings account. Amidst a pandemic, the falling interest rate for savings accounts is becoming a concern, as taking the cue from SBI, other banks might also follow suit.

The trigger for the second cut within a month

Following the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) declaration of 75 basis points repo rate cut as a COVID-19 rescue package last month, SBI announced a 25 basis point cut in its savings account interest rate to 2.75 from existing 3 percent. This was in fact the second interest rate cut for SBI saving accounts. Earlier on March 11, the rates were brought down from 3.25 to 3 percent for savings accounts with the balance above Rs 1 lakh. For this, the bank had explained that it does not need to incentivize customers with the extra rate of interest for deposit inflow as it already has enough liquidity. The real explanation, however, is due to RBI’s liquidity easing measures, banks are forced to cut lending rate, hence they wanted to make up the losses by bringing down the deposit rates.

Savings account interest rate revision in the past

As a part of financial sector reform, the RBI, in 2003, deregulated interest rates on deposits, other than savings accounts. The interest rate for savings deposits (fixed by RBI) between March 2003 and May 2011 remained 3.5. Finally, in 2011, individual banks got the power to determine their saving bank deposit interest rates, under two conditions:

• Each bank will have to offer a uniform interest rate on savings bank deposits up to Rs 1 lakh
• However, for savings bank deposits over Rs 1 lakh, a bank may provide differential rates of interest, if it so chooses

Following this, most major banks have been paying a 4 percent interest rate to its savings account holders.

However, for the first time ever since deregulation, SBI slashed its savings account interest rate to 3.5 percent in July 2017 triggered by demonetization and also falling inflation and real rate recovering.

Falling Savings Account Interest Rates

Your cash in the bank account will now give negative inflation-adjusted returns.

With the interest at 2.75% and the annual inflation hovering at around 4%, the real returns you are getting now are actually negative. Forget about it growing, your money is now losing its value sitting in the bank account.

So if you are still keeping any cash apart from what you need for your regular expenses like paying bills etc., you are making a loss. But it doesn’t have to this way.

Sbi Bank Savings Account Interest Rate Calculator

SmartDeposit as an alternative to a bank account

While we all cannot afford to let go of a savings account, we can make sure all the extra cash we have like an emergency fund or the money we don’t need in the next 7 days is not losing its value. And there is a solution that allows you to do that at almost zero risks.

7% Interest Rate Savings Account

That solution is ETMONEY SmartDeposit. Here are some key reasons why-

1. Low Risk – There is almost negligible risk of you incurring any loss. That’s because you are putting money in a liquid debt fund, which are the safest mutual funds.
2. FD-like returns with no lock-in or penalty – While there is no guarantee of returns, SmartDeposit 1-year returns are 6.24%. That’s similar to FD of similar duration will give. Plus there is no lock-in and you don’t pay any penalty if you redeem after 7 days
3. Bank Account like liquidity with Instant Redemption – With SmartDeposit, you can get instant access to your money. Just tap and money comes into your account. Be it a holiday or the middle of the night.

Bottom line:

Sbi Bank Savings Account Interest Rate 2019

With banks flush with cash due to government push to infuse liquidity in the system, banks have little or no incentive to pay a higher interest rates to retail investors. Due to this, interest rates are expected to stay low for quite some time. So, move your money to ETMONEY SmartDeposit today. And if you are someone who hasn’t build an emergency fund, it is a good idea to begin now and SmartDeposit is the perfect place due to reasons we mentioned earlier.

Rate Of Interest Sbi Bank

You can download ETMONEY to invest with Smart Deposit, which is the smartest way to invest in liquid funds.