Under the revised directions, interest rates payable on deposits, including bulk deposits, will have to be strictly in line with the schedule of rates disclosed in advance on the bank’s website.
For bulk deposits, banks will have to disclose the applicable interest rates on their websites at 10:00 am on every business day, with a grace period of 10 minutes, meaning the rates must be published by 10:10 am at the latest.
The RBI has also reiterated that interest rates offered on deposits should be uniform across branches and customers. Banks cannot discriminate between deposits of a similar amount accepted on the same date when determining the interest paid.
The revised framework also allows banks greater flexibility in pricing eligible bulk deposits based on the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) run-off rates applicable to different categories of depositors. The flexibility is also available for eligible non-resident rupee deposits, wherever applicable.
However, the RBI has not allowed banks to extend LCR-linked differential pricing to deposits below ₹3 crore. The central bank said allowing such flexibility for smaller deposits could make pricing more subjective and complex.
The changes were notified by the RBI on July 30 and will take effect from October 1, 2026.For depositors, the key change is the greater emphasis on timely and transparent disclosure of bulk-deposit rates, while banks will have to ensure that the rates offered match those published on their websites.