Fixed Deposits are so highly prevalent in India that all other investment instruments like mutual funds, stocks, and bonds et al often take a backseat. While investor numbers for the latter products have been on a constant incline, catching up to term deposit investors’ numbers is some way away as of now. And, when discussing all the FD options available in India, State Bank of India’s offering is vastly preferred by people when compared to others.

In this article, we will let you know how to go about opening an SBI Fixed Deposit online in a few simple and easy steps and why it is the best alternative to choose.

Steps For Opening A Fixed Deposit Account In SBI

Any State Bank of India account holder can open an SBI Fixed Deposit as long as they have a Savings Account with the bank and the Ónline Banking facility activated. Here are the steps involved in opening a State Bank of India Fixed Deposit:

Step 1: Open the www.onlinesbi.com website, type in your personal credentials and login to your account.

Step 2: Once you are logged on, you will find a list of tabs such as My Accounts, Payments/Transfers, Enquiries, Profile etc. Click on the e-Fixed Deposit tab.

Step 3: Click on the Deposit Schemes tab (on the left) and then on Term Deposits option.

Step 4: In this step, you will have to choose the bank account (if you have multiple SBI accounts) for which you want to open the fixed deposit.

Step 5: After choosing the account, you will then have to type in the amount you want to open the FD for. In case, you are a senior citizen, check the “Senior Citizens” tab right below. This helps you receive much higher interest rates on your deposits, while also offering a few additional tax benefits.

Step 6: Select one of the two term deposit options: Special Term Deposit (STDR) or Term Deposit (TDR), which offer interest earned on maturity and those on selected time intervals respectively.

Once you submit the form, you will have officially opened a fixed deposit with the State Bank of India. At the time of writing this article, SBI FD rates ranged from 5.5% to 7.4% for different tenures.

Why You Should Open An SBI Fixed Deposit Online

While you have learnt how to open an SBI FD online, we will elucidate on some of the key benefits of doing so in general.

• Quick process: As State Bank of India is a national bank with a massive presence, visiting your nearest branch would first result in you waiting in a queue. On the other hand, if you opt to open the fixed deposit online, you can complete a couple hours’ worth of documentation and other formalities within a span of 5-10 minutes.
• Complete online schedule: As SBI has aggressively started integrating technology into its core banking, just about everything a branch does is being done online as well. As long as you have the internet banking facility access, you can routinely check how much interest your fixed deposits are earning and can also get a clear projection of how much you will receive at maturity.

Easy withdrawals: Financial needs often come with little or no warnings, and when you require money the most, making a run to your bank branch can be a cause of consternation. If you have a e-fixed deposit, you can clear the withdrawal process within a few minutes and have the amount remitted to your savings account in no time.