Just a week ago, the State Bank of India (SBI) announced a special fixed deposit (FD) scheme for senior citizens. The interest rates are higher, tenure is low, and there are some other benefits. But, to give it a tough competition, India's one of the largest private banks - ICICI bank – has rolled out a special FD scheme for senior citizens.

What it is, and how can you get the maximum benefits; here are all the things you need to know about:

'ICICI Bank Golden Years FD'

This new FD scheme is named 'ICICI Bank Golden Years FD' by the bank. The scheme offers an interest rate of 6.55% per annum for deposits up to Rs 2 crore. The tenure of this deposit can be anywhere between more than 5 years to 10 years.

The most appreciable thing about the scheme is its interest rate. The scheme offers 80 basis points (bps) to the senior citizens, which is way higher than that of the general public (non-senior citizens) or the earlier rate provided to senior citizens. ICICI bank used to offer 50 bps to the senior citizens. But now, the FD has jumped to 80 bps with a single leap.

Talking to the media about this new scheme, Pranav Mishra, Head – Liabilities Group, ICICI Bank, said, "We at ICICI Bank have always valued our relationship with senior citizens. We know that FD interest is a key source of income for a large section of senior citizens. Keeping this in mind, we are offering higher interest rates to them through the new scheme, even in the declining interest rate regime, as a mark of our respect to them. We believe that this scheme will help them to create a good pension kitty on their long-term deposit and thereby enhance their convenience."

Some important points to note:

● The scheme is applicable to both new and the old FDs. If any customer already has a similar scheme in the past, he/she can renew the FD plan to the latest one. However, an old FD can only be renewed if its amount is less than Rs 2 crore singularly.

● The 'ICICI Bank Golden Years FD' is only available from May 20 to September 30, 2020.

● Customers can take a loan against their FD. The principal amount of loan can be up to 90% of principal and accrued interest of FD.

● Customers can also get a Credit Card against FD. Though, the interest rate on this credit is not cleared yet by the bank.

If you are interested in the scheme, you can open a Fixed Deposit using the ICICI bank's official app for net-banking and mobile banking. However, if the internet is not your preferred way, you can go to your nearest ICICI Bank branch.

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