NRI Fixed Deposit

Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) have a number of investment options in India. A Fixed Deposit (FD) is one such popular option for an NRI. These financial instruments come with a wide range of benefits and offer NRI’s an ideal platform to park their foreign earnings and also earn an attractive rate of interest. An NRI fixed deposit is a type of term deposit account that can be opened by those residing outside the country either in foreign currency or in Indian rupee. There are a great range of NRI FDs to choose from including:

• Non-Resident External (NRE) fixed deposits
• Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) FDs
• Foreign Currency Non-Repatriable Account (FCNR)
• Resident Foreign Currency (RFC) accounts

Non-Resident External (NRE) fixed deposits interest rates for top banks: 

Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) fixed deposits interest rates for top banks: 

Foreign Currency Non-Repatriable Account (FCNR) fixed deposits interest rates for top banks in USD: 

Resident Foreign Currency (RFC) accounts fixed deposits interest rates for top banks in USD:

In order to make banking more easier for those living outside India, banks offer internet banking facilities, using which accounts can be opened online at the click of a button. There are number of benefits that investors can gain from these types of FDs including tax-free earnings and a higher rate of interest.

Eligibility criteria for NRI Fixed Deposits

To open such an account then investor must be an NRI. Let us understand more about who qualifies to be an NRI:

• Is an indian citizen or foreign nation of Indian origin (PIO) who is employed or owning a business outside the country
• Any person who stays in India for less than 182 days in a financial year is considered an NRI

Documents required to open NRI Fixed Deposits

Types of NRI deposits

• NRE Fixed Deposit: This is a type of term deposit account that offers a high rate of return for foreign earnings. It is an FD account that is maintained in Indian rupees and the interest that is earned through this investment will not be subject to tax in India. This also offers 100% repatriability along with loan/overdraft facility.
• NRO Fixed Deposit: NRO term deposits though not fully repatriable offer a high rate of return. NRIs who have any kind of earning in India will have to mandatorily open an NRO savings account. An additional FD account can also opened in addition. The interest that is earned on this type of time deposit will be taxable in India.
• FCNR Accounts: This is a type of fixed deposit account, where investors will be able to deposit their money in the form of a foreign currency. Banks usually accept funds in all major currencies of the world including US Dollar,  Pound, Japanese Yen, Canadian Dollars, Australian Dollars, etc.
• RFC Accounts: This is one of the ideal options for NRIs to save money in any foreign currency. In most cases, the interest that is earned through this account will be fully repatriable.

Benefits of NRI FDs

• NRIs can gain a lot of tax exemptions through certain types of investments such as NRE and FCNR accounts, etc
• Allows those residing outside the country to earn higher rate of returns
• Safe and secure investments
• A good way to park foreign earnings
• Loan and overdraft facilities make this a good option
• Nomination facility is also available on these deposits

How to open NRI Fixed Deposits

Opening any type of NRI account is a simple and easy process. This can be done online by logging on to the bank website in most cases. Many banks in the country have started to offer online account opening facility to make it more hassle-free for people living in other countries to open an FD account.

Many banks have online application forms that can be filled out to initiate the process of opening any type of FD account.

Interest rates on NRI Fixed deposits

The interest rate that is paid is different for each type of term deposit account. This also varies with the duration of investment and amount deposited. Also, the rate paid by each bank vries based on a number of internal and external factors. As far as FCNR and RFC accounts are concerned the interest rate also varies along with the type of currency the account is held in.