A significant change in the banking system will begin on October 1st: financial institutions will now be required to provide updated interest rates for fixed deposits.
The decision to change the rules for deposits was made by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This new regulation, which comes into effect on October 1, 2026, aims to increase the transparency of interest rates, especially concerning large deposits, or so-called Bulk FDs.
If you plan to open a deposit with a bank, it is crucial to familiarize yourself with these new provisions. Under the new rules, all banks are obligated to post the current interest rates for Bulk FDs on their websites daily.
Banks must update their new rates daily by 10:00 AM, with an additional grace period until 10:10 AM. The rates published on the website will be binding for the bank when processing a deposit on that day.
These rules apply exclusively to Bulk FDs, which are typically defined as deposits of 30 million rupees or more in commercial banks. Furthermore, the changes will not affect existing terms or interest rates for clients opening regular or small deposits.
Another rule changing from October 1st concerns the practice where different branches of the same bank offer different interest rates to clients depositing large sums. After the new norms take effect, the bank will not be able to set arbitrarily different rates for the same amount and term for Bulk FDs across different branches within one day.
Exceptions to this rule will only be possible in specific cases related to special requirements concerning the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR).
For clients making large deposits, this means they will be able to receive accurate daily information on interest rates. Bank employees will not be able to mislead clients. Thus, clients will no longer have to visit multiple branches or negotiate rates. Rate transparency will ensure a more orderly and fair conduct of financial transactions.