You want the liquidity of a Savings bank account but at the same time find its interest rate (4%) too low. What do you do? Some of you may take the middle way and transfer your account to a bank that offers a 6% (or 7%) interest on a savings bank account. For others, there’s a thing called ‘auto sweep’, as many private banks’ call it. In auto sweep, any amount over the limit (that you set) in your savings bank account will be automatically transferred to a fixed deposit, earning you higher interest. This rate can be (generally) any where between 7 to 9.5%, depending on the term of the fixed deposit. You will have the option to choose the term and get the interest rate applicable to that term. 
SBI, the largest lender, also has this scheme. It calls it as a ‘Savings Plus Account’. This is nothing new; in fact, this scheme was introduced in late 2000 but as I see it, not many are aware of it.
At SBI, you can either directly open a Savings Plus Account, or simply convert your existing Savings account into a ‘Plus’ (for free). The minimum threshold you need to maintain in your savings plus account is Rs.5000. Above Rs.5000, starting from a minimum amount of Rs.10000 (and then in multiples of Rs.1000), all amount will be converted into a fixed deposit.
For example, you choose to set your threshold at Rs.10000, any amount that accounts to Rs.20000 (over all in your savings plus account) or over will be swept across in to fixed deposit. In simple words, apart from the threshold that you’ve set, you must have at least Rs.10000 to convert it into a fixed deposit. The term of this fixed deposit can be chosen by you and can be any where between 1 to 5 years. By default, this is selected as 1 year and if not changed by the customer, this will be auto-renewed for any another one year at the end of first year.
FAQ
Do I get all the normal benefits of a Savings account?
Yes, you will have an ATM cum Debit card, a cheque book, a Passbook, Internet Banking account (if you request).
If I need to withdraw an amount that is over the available balance, can I do that?
Yes, if the available balance is less than what you need, the remaining will be taken out from the fixed deposit (last deposit first out and so on) until your required amount is met. And, you can do this using your ATM card itself.
Can I change the threshold limit?
Yes you can.
To whom is this most useful?
Obviously, to those who maintain large amount of balances in their savings accounts and do not use them for longer periods of time.
Hi, I just wanted to know that the interest amount which comes from the SBI Savings Plus Account is it taxable just like FD.
Yes it is. But there’s one thing to note. FD interest is chargeable as usual, even if it is just, say Rs.100. For savings account, there’s no tax up to Rs.10000 interest. Since in a savings plus account the money sweeps b/w a savings a/c and an FD account, you should make some calculations.
Hi, as you mentioned that Savings Plus Account interest rate is taxable, so please let me know the tax is deducted by the bank like FD or we need to declare the tax through ourselves just like Savings Account.
There is no fixed procedure that all banks would follow. Generally, considering you are in some taxable income group and your PAN is registered with your Saving Plus account, TDS will be deducted at the end of sweep cycle. This is will show in your statement. This will only be done if your sweep’d FD interest is more than Rs.10000 per year.
Where can I find the option to change the threshold Limit?
In your bank branch? I don’t see that option in Internet Banking site yet.
I am a salaried person. Through out the year my a/c holds atleast 1 lakhs. I have auto sweep facility linked with my sbi salary a/c. My question is whether I need to open a FD and transfer my 1 lakh or as i have auto sweep facility, I don’t need it at all. 2nd question is rate of interest of normal fd and auto sweep fd, both are same in case of sbi?
1. You need to set a limit. For example, if you set limit as Rs.50000, anything over it (in multiples of ’000) will be auto transferred as FD. No need to open a separate FD but you should contact your bank to set a limit.
2. Yes, the interest rate will be the same.
Hi Sir
How can I change the Savings account to fixed deposit in SBI.
You cannot change the account itself, but you can transfer some money from savings to fixed deposit if you have a savings plus account with auto sweep feature. If you just have a normal savings account, you can ask your branch to convert it to a savings plus account and define a limit (anything over it will be sent to fixed deposit) or you manually take out some money from your savings account and open a fixed deposit account.
I want to convert my saving account to auto sweep account
ok