Flexi FD, a Sri Lankan first from Seylan Bank

Friday, 22 November 2013 07:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Customers choose their deposit periods with real FD rates Seylan Bank gives new life and meaning to the traditional concept of fixed deposits with the launch of its newest product, Seylan Flexi FD. This is a new and revolutionary savings instrument which is primarily aimed at those who wish to have supreme flexibility in deciding on their period of investment while gaining higher returns. With a minimum 31-day deposit requirement of Rs. 100,000, Seylan Flexi FD gives investors the unique flexibility of choosing their deposit periods

ranging from any time period up to a maximum of one year. The interest rate will vary, based on a rate card depending on the time period of the investment and is payable on maturity. Seylan Bank DGM Marketing Tilan Wijeyesekera said: “This product was developed as a result of a key consumer insight which indicated an unmet need for more flexibility in managing one’s funds while gaining higher returns. “Our target market is customers with relatively short term excess funds looking for a higher return with flexibility, and, customers who have cash in hand, post sales of assets, or customers with funds who want to keep it for a predetermined specific period of time.” The bank envisages that specific segments such as retail customers, fund managers, real estate agents, customers who invest in Treasury Bills, REPOs, Gratuity Fund, EPF Funds, those engaged in the buying and selling of land and even high net worth customers would be especially attracted to this product. “As the ‘Bank with a Heart’ that constantly innovates and offers customers an exciting range of products with greater value to choose from, we are happy to give our customers the flexibility of choosing their investment periods, instead of being confined to pre-determined time frames such as 1-month, 3-months, 6-months or one year while ensuring that they get exceptional value for their investment by offering real FD rates. “This is a first in Sri Lanka’s banking industry where mass customisation is offered for deposits based on a customer’s requirement for the number of days of the investment with higher returns”, he added. Seylan Flexi FD goes yet another step further and also offers customers a free instant credit card with a lower rate of interest. One can also opt for an instant loan against the fixed deposit as well. As an industry first, the bank is confident that Seylan Flexi FD will revolutionise Sri Lanka’s banking and financial services industry with its attractive features and thereby induce more people to invest their monies based on their personal needs for customisation as well as greater value. The uniqueness of the product is that a customer can chose the exact amount of days between 31 days and 365 days (eg. 47 days, 72 days, 94 days, 178 days etc) and lock in a rate of return based on a pre-determined rate card comparable to the real FD rates which are on offer based on the time period. The interest can be obtained at maturity and if a customer wishes to he or she could opt to roll over the funds for a further period based on traditional investment periods. A customer could also re-design the exact period that he or she wishes to invest for by visiting the bank. Seylan Bank is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and recently achieved its milestone of passing 150 branches island wide, all of which are connected real-time and are fully geared to deliver the bank’s exciting and wide ranging portfolio of products and services to its thousands of satisfied customers all over Sri Lanka with exceptional customer service standards. The Seylan Flexi FD product is another key initiative which had been planned as a celebration of its anniversary to reward its loyal customers with more value for partnering the bank in its constant progression to the pinnacle of the financial services industry in Sri Lanka.