Review of iWish Recurring Deposit from ICICI Bank
POSTED BY ON December 26, 2013 COMMENTS (160)
Around December last year, ICICI Bank launched a flexible Recurring Deposit scheme called “iWish”. Customers with an ICICI savings account and who have access to Internet banking can use the iWish facility. Here’s how
- Login to the iWish section in your ICICI saving bank account
- Define a goal (like buying a laptop, vacation, down-payment on a house, etc.)
- Define the amount and tenure
- Make the starting contribution and the iWish goal starts
After this point, you are free to deposit additional money in your iWish account anytime you have surplus funds. Also, you can clearly see how much of goal is completed in % terms at any stage of the process. Interest rates on the iWish scheme range between 7.75% and 8.5%. Rates depend on the tenure of your goal – which can be between 6 months and 10 yrs.
To learn more about ICICI iWish Scheme, please watch the video below.
How its different from normal Recurring Deposit ?
Compared to a standard Recurring Deposit, the iWish scheme does not make it compulsory for users to make payments on a fixed date and also gives them the power to categorize savings into goals – which is a more human way to visualize and save your money.
Personally, I see iWish as a mechanism to define goals and save for them through Recurring Deposits. While standard Recurring Deposits just help save money for an unlabeled goal, iWish helps you define and prioritize your goals – helping you decide which goal to save for first. It also helps build a focused saving approach as once someone defines a goal, they are more likely to be serious about achieving it.
The scheme is clearly going to benefit the young generation, who are new to investing. For a generation who rely a lot on visual stimuli, the ability to see defined goals and a visual image of progress towards that goal (e.g. 34% of your ‘new car’ goal has been achieved) is a huge plus.
Fine Prints and things to know
While, on the whole, the iWish Scheme is good, there are few things one should be aware of to avoid a mismatch with expectations.
- One can create maximum of 10 goals (wishes) and the maximum goal amount can be Rs 10 lacs
- The minimum installment amount per month has to be Rs 500
- If you want to withdraw the money on maturity or even before maturity, you need to open a request online for that.
- There is no compulsion of making payments each month, so you can skip the installments if you want
Disadvantage of iWish from ICICI
By now, you must be wondering what the downsides of the iWish scheme are? Simply put, it is the problem of “manual intervention”.
I am convinced that it takes a great degree of resolve and discipline to properly manage one’s personal finance and investments. Unless the saving process is automated, people are tempted to be a little relaxed about saving in every period. While iWish touts its ‘flexibility’ as an innovative feature, in real life it might not help, as people are more likely to stop ‘voluntarily’ paying into their goals after 2-3 contributions.
With a traditional recurring deposit, the process of investing is compulsory and forced on you and in essence, you are compelled to make payments on a fixed date. Furthermore, the knowledge that there is an auto-debit leads you to ensure the monies are there in the account on the designated date. All this means that over 1-2 years, the Recurring Deposit really works and creates the money pool you need. While iWish is a fancy product, I do not see it as an improvement over the traditional Recurring Deposit.
Only in selected conditions and situations, iWish seems to work better than normal Recurring Deposit. An example would be when the investor’s income is not stable (one does not know if the bank account will really have the required balance on a certain date). For all other cases, I would prefer using traditional Recurring Deposits. Choose a goal, fix the amount, divide it by number of months and just start the RD for that amount. That should get the job done without needing my involvement every month.
What’s your verdict about iWish Feature and its utility? Do you think it’s any better than traditional Recurring Deposits?
UPDATE : Just realised later and came to know that you can have funds debited from your account automatically just like traditional RD, but it was kind of hidden and I never realised it . So mainly iWish has both, traditional RD features and innovative flexible way to accumulate your money and hence is better than what I have projected above.
how can i see all transactions/statement for my iwsh account? I need to know how much did i put in and how much was my interest paid
You can view in Transactions tab after you navigate to iwish account from your icici savings account.
Yes Rahul you are right. I think ,this is the philosophy of this Iwish RD
Is there any TDS applicable on maturity of goal?
Now RD also has TDS anyways
Hi,
At what interval interest will be credited for Iwish?
What I meant to ask is, Is it monthly or for 3 months or directly at the end?
Thanks,
AM
It will be done in 3 weeks
Thanks for the detailed explanation Manish, I have found an additional caveat in I wish as with below example.
1. If your complete your goal before mentioned duration: i set a target of 100,000 for 13 months @ 7.5%. I have to put around 73064 each month and with the interest applied i will get 100,000 post 13 months. Now if i put all 100,000 today itself, for rest 13 months, i will get the interest rate of only 4% which is generic interest on savings. Seems like cheating to me.
Seems the only benefit of this recurring RD is we are not forced for saving. Flexibility! is actually a disadvantage.
ok thanks for sharing that . Didnt knew that ~
Not true, read their faq again. It clearly says if you reach goal before goal period you will still enjoy higher interest rate on the amount until goal period is over.
The other case where your goal period is over and you haven’t transferred money from iwish rd to your savings account (which user is required to do himself), you will get normal savings interest on the amount.
Hi ,
I set my 1 lakh. and i made my first deposite of 10k and then again i deposite 10k .
from my account 20k is deducted but in iwish account only 10k is displaying i:e the second txn.
and i do receive the message you achieved 10% of your goal.
then what about the 10k which i have deposite earlier.?
Hi Aditi
This is very specific query which you should follow up with the concerned authority only. We wont be able to comment on that
Manish
iWish is not counted towards the savings account balance and “Minimum Account Balance” charges have been imposed by ICICI. I think that is a no-brainer and quite conveniently in the service request options, there is nothing that a customer can query ICICI about the charges!!
But any RD is not counted under saving bank balance . IWISH is RD !
I’ve created a goal today and added 5000 as first deposit.
But the iwish says it had zero balance. Whereas my bank account says amount transferred towards i wish.
How long does it take to reflect the money in iwish?
Check with ICICI on this !
Hi ,
have you got the refund..?
i also added 10000 as first deposit. But its not showing in the iwish balance.
Whereas my bank account says amount transferred towards i wish.
It shows up after 48 hours per icici.
I have been investing in a iWish for last 6 months, but somehow I forgot what was the tenure for my iWish. how to know the tenure for a iWish? I couldnot find it.
Customer care !
what is interest overpayment, interest deposit and misc deposit amount credited for each goal on quarterly basis?
I am not sure of that!
Needs a call from ICICI for better clarification of I wish Flexi RD
I have not made any savings till date and need to start now. I am amateur at all these stuff, specially tax related. So please tell me if i get it right:
1. There will be no TDS
2. I have to pay tax at interest only and not the saved amount.
3. after maturity the money will be transferred to my savings account.
4. If i complete early and let the money in till tenure completes, I earn more interest as it will be calculated on the amount present in the account.
Yes, all points are correct !
Thanks 🙂 will explore this.
Can I withdraw amount from I-wish any time? Is any penalty charges if I withdraw the amount??
Yes, you can withdraw any time you want
How is interest amount calculated in Iwish
For 6 months account it is 7.75%
But what is the formula?
Do we have concept of IBB here?
(IBB * Interest rate )/(Duration of account * 100) ???
if ensure deposit 10k/month to my iwish account for 6 months RD what would be matured value and what would be the interest
Not clear about IWISH interest calculation
That is where the catch is as far as Flexible RD is concerned. I am sure there will be a different formula. Trying to google it but so far not succesful. Probably will have to check with ICICI Bank. Not sure if they will reveal it.
Hello Prabhu – I am also trying much to find out more on the formula and how ICICI is calculating the Interest Amount and Maturity value. However, till now I have not got any concrete info.
Did you get any futher info on this topic? If you could please share, that would be of great help.
Hi,
There is one time deposit of 500rs option for every goal we create.Is it like one time deposit for each goal or for all goals only once deposit is enough ?will the deposit gets added to goal or its like non-refunding.If it is non-refunding then it is lose for customers.Anyone please reply me.
I created 3 goals without clarifying this, now am little thoughtful of losing 1500rs.
Regards,
Samatha
Its not a deposit or anythign like that. You get it back
i made a goal earlier this week and deposited 5000 as the initial onetime deposit thing. its been a week and its not reflecting and my progress is still 0. have i lost the 5000?? how do i get it back? iwish does not show anything about 5k. it displays however, in the statement. also, it deducted 1000 rupees today but even that is not visible and the progress bar still shows 0%. plase help. how can i get the money back and close this goal. its not fun to put in savings and then see 0% everywhere 🙁
Hi anandi
I suggest you talk to ICICI Customer care on this .
No you will get it in your iwish account. Best way to use icici app for faster processing.
@ Anandi.. what is your goal amount ? if it is 10,00,000 then to reach 1% u must atleast invest 10k.. as u said it is 6k now, u can see the 1% only after it reaches 10k.
In section “Fine Prints and things to know”, doesn’t your second and fourth point contradicts each other?
Yes prasoon . I think i made a mistake. I wanted to say in second point that incase in any month you want to put money, it has to be minimum 500
is it possible to take a hard copy statement regarding iwish of icici bank …
sahanul
Hi Sahanul
You can visit bank and take it
Okay thanks for the reply..
NK
Hi Manish
I have a doubt which many could not clarify..AS per IWish calculator for goal of Rs 10,000 for 12 months (at 8% interest), the savings reqd is Rs 798 per month for 12 months…I open this IWish and put Rs 798 , 12 times say in the first month itself.. Will the final goal amount accrue to more than Rs.10,000 as all the installments have been there for almost 12 months…Even the ICICI personnel were not sure of this…
Would be thankfull if you can clarify.
NK
Yes, it will be
I closed my i wish account today before maturity but haven’t got the money credited in my savings account. How long does it usually take?
Hi Puja
That only ICICI can tell
It usually takes 2 working days.
If it is more than that then there is a concern. You may have to get in touch with Bank people.
Manish,
As an initial fund, I had put Rs.2000 but it is not reflecting in my i-wish account..it is showing 0% saved !! Does it mean I need to put this money in addition of my goal amount?? Will this not be a part of the goal amount?? Please let me know.
Also, I have an account with SBI.. so here is their “e-SBI flexi Deposit” scheme:
(I guess someone asked u in the comments too)
e-SBI Flexi Deposit Frequently Asked Questions ;;
How it is different from Recurring Deposit account ?
Unlike Recurring Deposit account, SBI Flexi Deposit offers flexibility in choosing the deposit amount within the minimum and maximum limits per financial year.
What is the minimum and maximum limit for SBI – Flexi Deposit ?
The Minimum deposit amount is Rs. 5,000/- per Financial Year. Higher amounts in multiples of Rs. 500/- may be deposited with minimum of Rs. 500/- at any one instance. Deposits can be made anytime during a month and any number of times. The Maximum deposit amount is Rs.50,000/- in a Financial Year.
Is there any Penalty in default Payment ?
Penalty for default in payment of minimum deposit will be Rs. 50/- per financial year.
What is the minimum and maximum period of deposit ?
The minimum period of deposit is 5 years and maximum is 7 years.
Who is eligible for this scheme ?
All resident individual customers including minors are eligible for this scheme.
What will be the rate of interest ?
As applicable to Term deposits. Interest will be compounded at quarterly intervals, based on the balance outstanding on the last date of each month.
Can Senior Citizen avail additional rate of interest on SBI Flexi Deposit ?
yes
In whose name will the SBI Flexi deposit account be opened ? what is the mode of operaton ?
The name(s) and mode of operation and branch of newly generated deposit a/c will be same as in debit a/c, from which Flexi Deposit a/c is funded.
What are the types of accounts from which I can debit an amount for the deposit ?
You can debit a savings, current, or OD account to open Flexi deposit account. The account selected for debiting should be valid transactional a/c through Internet Banking channel and should not be a stopped / dormant / locked account.
Can I set the maturity instructions for e-SBI Flexi deposit account ?
Yes, as provided in the account opening screen.
How can I add nominee(s) in SBI Flexi Deposit A/c ?
While opening an e-SBI Flexi Deposit account, you will be provided with an option to retain the nominee(s) for SBI Flexi Deposit a/c as already available in debit a/c from which it is funded.
Can I add a new nominee online ?
No. You will have to approach your branch for adding a new nominee or change of nominee
Can I open online SBI Flexi deposit a/c for any other name(s), not appearing in the debit a/c from which deposit a/c is funded ?
No.
Can I transfer the maturity proceeds to any of my accounts ?
No. The maturity proceeds or the amount payable before maturity will be transferred only to the debit account from which the SBI Flexi Deposit was initially funded.
Is there any cut off time for creating e-SBI Flexi Deposit account online ?
Yes. It can be created online from 8:00 AM IST to 8:00 PM IST. Requests initiated beyond this period will be scheduled for the next day.
Can I close my e-SBI Flexi Deposit account online?
Yes, you may close your Flexi Deposit account online through “Close A/c” tab under SBI Flexi Deposit. Account created through any other means can not be closed through “Close A/c” tab under SBI Flexi Deposit.
What will be the premature closure penalty ?
The rate applicable in case of premature withdrawal shall be 0.50% below the rate applicable for the period the deposit has remained with the Bank.(This subject to change from time to time, without notice. The applicable rules on the date of closure will govern.)
Is SBI Flexi deposit is subject to TDS ?
Interest payable will be subject to TDS.
Hope that helps.
Please answer my query. Thanks in advance.
As far as I Know, your initial deposit account is part of the goal !
Excep the first monh I never got any interest for my iwish deposit. There is 5 lakh in that for 6 moth. I got only 350rs interest.
Talk to bank on this , why they have not given interest ?
Hi Manish,
I am using the iWish account facility and have a couple of iWish goals that I have been maintaining over the last 2 yrs or so. I recently closed one of the goals after it had met both its goal amount & tenure but was amazed to find that the net returns were only about 5.66%!!!! (using XIRR formula in excel). Can you please through some light on how would ICICI be calculating the interest for iWish accounts??
My goal’s transactions are as below:
07/01/2013 Initial deposit for goal creation ₹7,000.00
09/02/2013 Scheduled contribution ₹1,000.00
31/03/2013 Interest Deposit ₹132.00
09/04/2013 Scheduled contribution ₹1,000.00
09/05/2013 Scheduled contribution ₹1,000.00
09/06/2013 Scheduled contribution ₹1,000.00
02/07/2013 Interest Deposit ₹185.00
07/07/2013 Scheduled contribution ₹1,000.00
07/08/2013 Scheduled contribution ₹1,000.00
07/09/2013 Scheduled contribution ₹1,000.00
30/09/2013 Interest Deposit ₹249.00
07/10/2013 Scheduled contribution ₹1,000.00
07/11/2013 Scheduled contribution ₹1,000.00
07/12/2013 Scheduled contribution ₹1,000.00
31/12/2013 Interest Deposit ₹310.00
07/01/2014 Scheduled contribution ₹1,000.00
07/02/2014 Scheduled contribution ₹1,000.00
30/03/2014 Interest Deposit ₹359.00
30/06/2014 Interest Deposit ₹378.00
01/10/2014 Interest Deposit ₹390.00
27/10/2014 User closed a goal and funds were removed to a/c -₹20,543.00
Also in the above do not understand how come the final amount be less that the sum of the amount deposited + interests earned!!!!!
Best Regards,
kg
http://jagoinvestor.dev.diginnovators.site/forum is the right place to ask these questions !
Premature close of account bears penalty.
Hi Manish,
Any luck with the comparison of iWISH with SBI Flexi deposit?
I am sure you are too busy with other things but just a high level advice on SBI or ICICI would be a great thing.
Thanks again for the guidance.
regards,
Abhijit
I am yet to look at SBI product , but I think iwish can be bought !
REally Hell is ICICI no service
What a hell banking they provide.its Second time my Money is Debit without loging through Payment gateway….. And These guys say India’s secure Banking.. Onthe Name of security They do fraud with us. Interesting thing is ICICI deny to take complaint towards Such Cases….. Wot Hell Bank With its Secure System. ……
Please tell me some one i do complaint against a third class Fraud Bank, who dont take care of its Acc/- holders.
Why these people remove transaction pass facility from ACC.
Hi,
I have opened iWish accounts during last year. Initial 1-2 instalments went fine but subsequently I was unable to view the iWish page. I could not see the landing page which shows me the accounts and the outstanding balances.
I spoke to customer care but they could not help me. They wanted me to provide them with screen shots of error messages. I told them there is no error message but the basic page itself is not showing up for days together. Finally I told them that I am not interested in testing their website but wanted to transfer funds to the accounts for that month.
They gave me a work around but finally I closed the accounts. I gave my honest feedback to them.
Thanks,
Nageswar
But Nageshwar
I think it was really a technical glitch for some time/days ..
Agree but their focus should be to help me to transfer credits to my iWish account rather than asking the customer for screenshots where the web page fails. Thanks, Nageswar
yes
@Manish – You mentioned in one of the comment – “RD’s dont attract TDS !”
So interest earned from iWish has no Tax implication
I opened an iwish account just 10 days before with 1000 rupees and immediately I add 1000 rupees more to my goal.
Now I want to add some money to my goal account but I don’t know that how to add the amount to the goal account.
Please guide me.
When you go to iwish page, there is an option which says add money manually , you can do that … Or talk to customer care !
Dear Manish ji
Thanks for reply.
For your kind information my problem has already solved.
Hi Manish,
I’ve been using iWish of ICICI for 5-6 months now.
I just wanted to know whether penalty will be there if I’ve completed the goal in monetary terms and want to close the goal before the mentioned duration.
What are my options if i’ve completed the goal before the stipulated time??? Actions & implications….!!
I think you can still break it without any issue !
I know that I can break it (first reason why I created it), I’m not sure if there are any penalty charges?? Like any kind of deductions for not aligning to the duration???
I will have to find it out online itself ! , not sure !
Anyway thanks for trying to help. Let me know if you find out. I’m going to do it soon, so i’ll let you know whatever happens.
Keep up the goodwork man. God bless you….!!!
Hi Manish,
I have opened an iWish account for 10 years with a goal of Rs x.
If i can reach the goal early, say in 2 years, and after reaching the goal if i close the account, will it be considered premature closure ?
Thanks,
Rajesh
It might be .. better not create such a long one’s .. maximum 2-3 yrs with IWISH !
Hi Manish,
Could you please give us an example on how is the tax calculated for the interest earned from the deposit.
Its not a separate thing , the income earned from FD is included in income and then taxed in normal way , there is no separate way of calculating it for FD
Hi,
small query:-
Will the surplus amount deposited get the compound interest?
Yes, it would be
I THINK iWISH INTEREST IS COMMING UNDER TDS, WHERE AS RD IS FREE FROM TDS.
No
iWish is also a RD, so no TDS !
hi,
i’m 19 and i’m planning to have a goal of about 65,000 rs. for buying a new bike. should i pay income tax or anyother tax after my goal is complete. if yes, how much would be the payable tax amount roughly ?
Anand
There is no tax on buying bike, its on income earned !
if i get 65,000rs. after rd is over…and should i pay tax for that?
OBviosuly, RD interest is taxable
No Anand, You wont need to pay the tax as long as you are not earning more than the 2,50,000 per year. RD interest is taxable but I think you may not need to pay that tax if you income is under the 2.5L limit. Thanks
Hi Manish,
I have a SBI Max gain home loan OD account with interest rate of 10.3%. I usually park the surplus amount to this account. Also, the interest saved is taxfree. Now, my dilemma is. Would it still be beneficial for me to park money in IWish goals or put it in the OD account? What are your thoughts?
OD is preferred for two reasons:
1) You get liberty to withdraw and deposit at your wish – there is no question of tenure, frequency, maturity.
2) as OD account nullifies interest on home loan a/c with no taxation – its yield is higher than that of FD or RD – for the very basic reason that home loan interest rates are higher than those for RD/FD.
more-over banks offer daily reducing interests for OD+home loan accounts as compared to quarterly cycles for iWish.
As long as you have an instrument that can balance or surpass home loan/personal loan/car loan interest rates (be it OD, equity, MF, IPOs) – its anytime worth opting for one. Safest is OD – as it assures to tie-up with home loan interest rate. Other instruments would involve market risks (and thus opportunities as well)
Hi All,
This product is a definitely a good bet with all the advantages of a regular FD and RD and it also overcomes the disadvantages linked with these like mandatory payments each month etc. One thing I am not sure of is whether the interest earned from this is tax free. I seriously doubt if it is tax free. There is no confirmation either way from ICICI bank. Let me know if anyone have any verifiable information on this. Thank you.
Its not tax free . One has to pay the TAX , where did I mention that its TAX FREE ?
Manish,
Thanks for an excellent post covering this feature in detail. It was also helpful to read the other reader’s ideas on how to use this facility. I’ve been using this facility extensively for some time now and thought I’ll share with the other readers on how iWish makes for an effective tool to automate and manage my savings, so wrote a small post on it: http://goo.gl/NyNann
Thanks for sharing it in so much detail Nikhil .. good work . I am sure if someone will read it , they will be able to replicate what you did !
Manish
IKF Finance is a company listed in BSE. There will be PE investmen in the company at Rs 35 and the current price is 19
Whats the question ?
Hello Manish,
I was trying to find out how i can book mark some articles which i like to read later point in time. But i did not found one.
Is there a way to bookmark the articles once i am logged in to the site ?
Regards
Kunal
Its a browser feature , not a website Feature. You can do normal bookmarking in your browser !
II camThere is a scheme called variable fixed deposit VRD scheme in Indian bank which as the same flexibility that you can invest any amount of your choice with out any fine and has a better interest rate of 9 % as of now.Request you to comment about this option and comparison.
Let me have a look at it, have not seen it yet !
I-Wish allows to put more money than specified as ‘GOAL’ Amount?
Ex: Open I-wish RD with 120,000 as goal amount with 12 months term. If I manager to reach goal with in 12 months; will this account allow me to put more money into it ?
I am not sure on this , I guess it will not !
No it will not. I tried and it did not work for me.
and what if we cannot meet the goal – say put 45K instead of 50K and tenure has lapsed, will it pay the interest on available amount ?
Yes, the goal thing is just as support help for you to visualize things , you will get interest on full amount you deposit
In this case, will it earn the same interest till the tenure or saving bank interest?
Is TDS applicable on ICICI Bank’s iWish product?
No its not. It cant be . as its a RD !
But you’ve to pay tax at the time of filing returns, is that correct assumption Manish.
Correct .. TDS is not cut in RD, but you have to still pay the tax !
Manish,
Are you sure? In that case, instead of a normal FD (where banks take away 10% as TDS), one can start an iWish and deposit the amount(say 2L) in it, right? And since its not mandatory to deposit every month, it will save the purpose of FD at the same time you save the TDS.
Ofcourse, Im aware im supposed to pay the tax irrespective of whether banks takes it or not.
Yes, you can do that !
Manish,
How is this different from SBI flexideposit scheme ?? SBI provides better interest rates right ??
I have not looked it yet, but I guess it has same kind of feature !
Although icici bank started it last year. Few nationalized banks had started it many years back. The worst part is that due to poor marketing and lack of good trained staff, nationalized banks are unable to introduce this product in the market “iWish” seems promising as it has strong marketing view to attract customers.
But, some nationalized banks offer much better Flexible Recurring Deposit, where the initial amount of deposit is less, penalties are less and yes the RATE OF INTEREST is better than iWish.
Few examples of excellent Flexible recurring deposits are:
1. Corp recur- By Corporation Bank
2. Lakshmi Yojana- By UCO Bank
3. Pnb Sweccha Jama Yojana- By Punjab National Bank
Thanks a lot of that information !
Hi All,
I was just extracting Brill points here from everyone’s experience and could find a good list of take away’s. Listing them back here for quick reference for everyone. Thanks everyone for your points.
1) Everytime I felt an urge to eat at some restaurant but avoided and ate at home (or ate at a simpler restaurant) then I put in that difference into the iWish account.
2) If interest rate fluctuate in the favor of customer then ofcourse one can stop putting money in existing goal and open a new goal and in vice versa case i would have luxury of keep on putting money in the existing goal where i am getting more interest rate.
3) If ICICI wishes to increase the interest rates then i can go ahead with another goal, pretty Simple
4) I use credit cards often so I get lots of cash back, petrol points, reward points and discount on particular cards. Instead of letting these little savings washed away from my account, I have created a iWish saving account for accumulating the credit card savings. Whenever I get a cash back or redeem reward points I would transfer the saved amount to my iWish account. I could say my iWish account is growing decently. I call my goal as “Cut down on eat outs”.
5) I have taken automatic deduction (Auto debit) facility for primary goals, and self deduction facility for secondry goals. So for my primary goals, money is deducted automatically every month. For secondry mode, i add money whenevr i have some extra amount.
Morever, if at any point of time u feel u cant stick to auto deduction for few months (due to some emergency expenses), u can go and remove that option in between.
6) SBI Flexi deposit has almost same features
7) In addition to the regular amount, when I have surplus cash I transfer to iWish. So I get the best of an RD and FD with the interest already fixed.
8) I will earn 9% for an RD of 6 months (which was actually taken for 15 months but I could contribute only for 6 months and then stopped). So I am getting 9% for an RD of 6 months. So It perfectly worked for me.
Sounds like an MOM..? I just captured and sharing it back 🙂 Thanks
You said in the article that ‘The minimum installment amount per month has to be Rs 500’ …. I think there is no such minimum installment per month.
Please correct me if I am wrong
Its here – http://iwish.icicibank.com/iwish_faqs.html
The minimum amount to be deposited at the time of opening the iWish account is Rs. 500…. But there is no condition that we must deposit Rs.500 every month….
Yea , I just realised that I was wrong . Will make that change in the article !
Hi Manish,
If I am not wrong, there is a predefined formula for calculating Interest part for RD. How the interest is calculated when we deposit variable contribution to our goal in different intervals.
Its the normal formuala of amount * interest rate on quarterly basis
Hi Manish,
What if I reach my goal early?
I mean to say. I have a goal of 90k (11 month) and i reach it within 7 months?
Will this earn me more interest? Should i wait till end of 11 months still??
I am not very sure on this, but you will have to pre-close it. Its not that it will mature before the time !
Just to clear..
It will fetch you interest on the amount which is deposited in the RD at that point of time.
Which means if you complete your goal you will be benefited with more interest amount
Hi Manish,
About your statement:
“If you want to withdraw the money on maturity or even before maturity, you need to open a request online for that.”
I confirmed with bank: money on maturity will be directly credited to savings bank account irrespective whether I have achieved goal or not.
Also about standing instructions:
Standing instructions are not compulsory, however you can give it. This is what you have added as updates. Also information want to add to it:
Even if you do not have enough money in your savings account on auto debit date, i.e. if standing instruction fails, you are not charged with any penalty.
Rajan
Thanks for confirming this with bank and sharing with us !
I second you Rajan. We can add and delete standing instructions. I have set the standing instructions on and off.
Informative article.
On the face of it, many banks are giving upto 2% more(than ICICI) on deposits. But this needs some work, going to bank for the deposit etc.
For those who seek easy solution, this works find.
Yea ,its like you get less because of feature !
I wish, this would have been better scheme, if it offers dual benefits. What is the dual benefits ? To inculcate, financial discipline, let it be as usual RD with variable voluntary contribution additionally (fixed +variable component ). Let voluntary contribution shall be limited to few instalments for a month. Banks shall impose fine if, there is a default in fixed component. If there is no compulsion, we tend to spend.
I missed a point in the review which I came to know later, that you have a facility to give standing instruction and add more flexible amount later anytime.
But there is no FINE if you do not make payments in between
Although standing instruction is good, it lacks in attractive interest rate ! The graphics and friends/relatives contribution towards achieving goal is new and attractive in this scheme.
I liked ur habit of eating at home and putting that money in iwish
I use it as an encouragement tool.. I have a goal created called “Cut down on eat outs”. Basically everytime I felt an urge to eat at some restaurant but avoided and ate at home (or ate at a simpler restaurant) then I put in that difference into the iWish account. So far it worked our well and few of my friends are starting to do as well.
This is extremelly good . You are actually making use of “mental accounting” technic 🙂
That was a good idea 🙂
I have started a 15 month iwish account with 500/- funding in February and thereafter no payments. This month onwards I will deposit till the end of the tenure. In effect I will earn 9% for an RD of 6 months. I have started another account this month and will start putting money once the first RD is completed(around June).
Thanks for sharing that Jitesh
So are you saying that iWish has not worked for you , but it would have worked if it was a normal RD ?
No. It worked perfectly for me. I have got a salary hike only in November. Since then I have started to put money in that RD. So I am getting 9% for an RD of 6 months. So It perfectly worked for me.
jitheshani, you may be thinking wrong here.
you will get 9% only for the amount you invest & not for what you make the goal for.
I beg to differ here!
For me it worked for the following reasons :-
1. I went for the goal duration which has highest interest period.
2. The auto-debit/auto-transfer takes care of the forceful savings.
3. The best one – In addition to the regular amount, when I have surplus cash I transfer to iWish. So I get the best of an RD and FD with the interest already fixed.
Agreement –
the visual stimulus and the fact that you are chasing a financial goal helps is saving…
Yes, Agree with you Madhab !
SBI has a similar scheme – SBI Flexi Deposit with no bells & whistles (social media sharing etc.) like ICICI iWish. Being a disciplined investor, I do automated investing with normal online RD! 🙂
Thanks for sharing that Chethan !
I have been using I-wish since the time it got launched. I have defined several goals – primary and secondry. I think it will be wrong to say that iwish requires more financial discipline. Wht i feel is that it gives us flexibility to be disciplined or flexible with our savings, it depends on which mode we decide to choose. I have taken automatic balance deduction facility for primary goals, and self deduction facility for secondry goals. SO for my primary goals, money is deducted automatically every month. For secondry mode, i add money whenevr i have some extra amount.
If u feel u want savings to be done in a disciplined mode, u can opt for the first option. Morever, if at any point of time u feel u cant stick to auto deduction for few months (due to some emergency expenses), u can go and remove that option in between. I find it very very intelligent and useful form of saving introduced by ICICI, and its useful for every one, salried ppl, as well as students!
My opinion is, that its perhaps best saving method for young people, who need to save money fr many things, in a flexible way (or srtict way) 😀
Happy iwish !!
Thanks for sharing that Madhukar ! .
It has its own advantage. I use credit cards often so I get lots of cash back, petrol points, reward points and discount on particular cards. Instead of letting these little savings washed away from my account, I have created a iWish saving account for accumulating the credit card savings. Whenever I get a cash back or redeem reward points I would transfer the saved amount to my iWish account. I could say my iWish account is growing decently 🙂
Nice .. thats a great sharing !
Manish,
I have started with iWish few months back, and i should say it is the most wonderful thing in the area of RD’s that have happened in the recent past.
I agree you need to have dicipline, but the onus lies on you, whether you want to be sincere or not.
There is a huge advantage in this, such as RIDING the interest rate cycle. If ICICI wishes to increase the interest rates then i can go ahead with another goal, pretty Simple.
Thanks for the post.
Regards,
Sunil.
Thanks for sharing your views Sunil !
the article is not taking any new thing for discussion. except 13 months interest all
other cycles have very low interest compared to cub,lvb. instead of this a auto sweep in savings account from sbi and many others stands very good
Thanks for sharing your views Prasanna !
Hi ji,
I believe, we can set a standard instruction on your iWish account so that money will be automatically debited every month which mandates us on monthly deposits. But i have noticed that this has not been mentioned in your article, please clarify.
Its my bad actually. I was never able to find that option when I used iWish myself, I will have to change the article a bit to include this info !
Hi Manish,
I agree with you that it needs more financial discipline with I-Wish.
But One advantage that i find really useful wrt I-Wish is the elimination of Interest Rate Risk. If interest rate fluctuate in the favor of customer then ofcoourse i can stop putting money in existing goal and open a new goal and in vice versa case i would have luxury of keep on putting money in the existing goal where i am getting more interest rate.
Please correct me if I understood it wrongly.
Thanks
Yes, you are correct , you have that advantage in iWish !
Hi Manish,
Can you write a post on House hold appliance insurance schemes and is that worth buying it?
Sorry for posting irrelevant to ongoing thread 🙁
Thanks in advance
Its nothing but normal general insurance you get from some nationalised companies, what exactly do you want to know . Ask them on forum – http://www.jagoinvestor.com/forum
If there is no proper Finanical discipline with the Investor,then i-wish would not be a suitable option for him.
In case an Investor is having an Income which differs from month by month(Business persons) then i-wish would be suitable.
Yea .. thanks for sharing your views on this Nagamohan !