Lenders also pay slightly higher interest rates on fixed deposits to senior citizens.A fixed deposit (FDs) is a secure financial instrument offered by banks, which fetch guaranteed returns.

In a fixed deposit account, money can be invested for a higher rate of interest than savings accounts.

One can deposit a lump sum of money in fixed deposits for a specific period, ranging from seven days to 10 years.

While commercial banks pay interest rates in the range of 4-7.75 per cent to customers on FDs, small finance banks offer those between 3.5 per cent and 9.5 per cent.

The interest rates on fixed deposit of large banks like State Bank of India, HDFC Bank are not as high as those offered by small finance banks such as Equitas Small Finance Bank, AU Small Finance Bank and Suryoday Bank.Here's a comparison of interest rates paid by small finance banks on fixed deposits :Equitas Small Finance BankFixed Deposit for Domestic/NRE/NRO effective from November 1, 2018 as stated on equitasbank.com: Maturity period (term)Interest rate with effect from November 1, 20187 - 14 days5.00%15 - 29 days5.50%30 - 45 days6.00%46 - 62 days6.25%63 - 90 days6.25%91 - 120 days6.50%121 - 180 days6.50%181 - 210 days6.75%211 - 270 days6.75%271 - 364 days7.50%1 year to 18 months8.50%18 months 1 day to 2 years8.75%2 years 1 day to 3 years8.80%3 years 1 day to 4 years7.00%4 years 1 day to 5 years7.00%5 years 1 day to 10 years7.00%Senior citizens will get 0.75 per cent extra on the above mentioned rates, said the bank.

However, the rates are not applicable for NRE/NROs.Jana BankRates for fixed deposits effective from November 3, 2018 as stated on janabank.com: PeriodInterest Rate (p.a.)7 days to 45 days6.00%46 days to 60 days6.50%61 days to 180 days7.00%181 days to 365 days8.50%More than 1 year up to 2 years8.50%More than 2 years up to 3 years8.50%More than 3 years up to 5 years8.50%More than 5 years up to 10 years7.00%Senior citizens will get an additional 0.6 per cent interest over and above the FD rates, said the bank.AU Small Finance BankRates for fixed deposits effective from October 10, 2018 as stated on aubank.in:Maturity period (term)Interest rate with effect from October 10, 2018 GeneralSenior citizen7 Days to 1 Month 15 Days5.50%6.00%1 Month 16 Days to 3 Months6.75%7.25%3 Months 1 Day to 6 Months6.90%7.40%6 Months 1 Day  to 13 Months7.00%7.50%13 Months 1 Day to 18 Months8.25%8.75%18 Months 1 Day to 24 Months8.50%9.00%24 Months 1 Day to 36 Months7.75%8.25%36 Months 1 Day to 45 Months7.75%8.25%45 Months 1 Day to 60 Months8.00%8.50%60 Months 1 Day to 120 Months7.25%7.75%Source: aubank.in   Suryoday BankRates for fixed deposits effective from September 29, 2018 as stated on suryodaybank.com: Maturity period (term)Interest rate with effect from September 29, 2018 GeneralSenior citizen7 days to 14 days4.00%4.50%15 days to 45 days4.00%4.50%46 days to 90 days5.00%5.50%91 days to 180 days5.50%6.00%181 days to 240 days7.50%8.00%241 days to less than 1 Year7.75%8.25%1 Year to 2 Years8.50%9.00%Above 2 Years to 3 Years8.75%9.25%950 Days*9.00%9.50%Above 3 Years to less than 5 Years8.00%8.50%5 Years8.25%8.75%Above 5 Years to 10 Years7.25%7.75%Source: suryodaybank.com Lenders also pay slightly higher interest rates on fixed deposits to senior citizens, compared to the general public.