For the millions of people who maintain savings accounts in the country, the Reserve Bank of India has implemented a rule that has largely eliminated the stress of choosing a bank. Now, there's no need to worry about which bank offers higher interest rates or better returns on savings...

For the millions of people who maintain savings accounts in the country, the Reserve Bank of India has implemented a rule that has largely eliminated the stress of choosing a bank. Now, there's no need to worry about which bank offers higher interest rates or better returns on savings—because the RBI has mandated all banks to offer the same interest rate on deposits up to ₹1 lakh. This change will significantly reduce both comparisons and confusion regarding savings account interest rates.

What new rule has the RBI implemented?
The Reserve Bank has directed all commercial banks to apply a uniform interest rate to savings account deposits up to ₹1 lakh. Previously, each bank set its own rates, leaving many people confused about which bank to open an account with.
Now,
whether it’s SBI,
Canara Bank,
PNB,
HDFC,
ICICI,
or any other bank,
all offer the same interest rate up to ₹1 lakh.

What benefits will customers get?
This rule is especially useful for those whose savings typically hover around Rs 1 lakh.

Now –
changing the bank will not make any difference to the interest rate.
It will be easy to choose a bank based on service, facilities and branches.
Eliminating the difference in interest rates will increase transparency
This step is a big relief for small account holders.

What interest will be paid on balances above ₹1 lakh?
This change is limited to ₹1 lakh only.
For balances above this limit, banks will continue to pay interest at their established rates.
This means that interest rates on larger amounts will vary from bank to bank, as before.

How will interest be calculated?
The RBI has also clarified that interest will be calculated based on the daily end-of-day balance.
The higher the balance, the higher the interest will be added on that day.

When will the interest be credited to your account?
All banks are mandated to credit interest at least once every three months.
Now, customers won't have to wait long for their interest to be credited.

Why did the RBI make this decision?
The RBI wants to make savings account interest rates easier for people to understand and the banking system more clear and simple. The
confusion that used to arise among customers due to varying interest rates will now be reduced.