What is a special savings scheme?
The “double your money”, “monthly income” and “millionaire” schemes you see in bank adverts are special savings schemes. They are ordinary bank savings products: you leave money with the bank and it pays it back with interest. What is new is mostly the name and the presentation, since each one is built around a goal or an eye-catching figure.
So when choosing a scheme, what matters is the terms underneath, not the name: how much, for how long, and how much at the end.
Say Zahid walks into a bank and sees two posters: one says “double your money in 7 years”, the other “monthly profit”. Both sound appealing, but one grows the money in a single lump at the end and the other pays out a little every month. To see which pays more, he has to put both on the same scale: the percentage a year.
How it works
A special savings scheme is not a new kind of magic. Leaving a lump sum and getting more back at the end is an FDR; paying in every month and getting a lump sum at the end is a DPS. Banks package these around a goal or an attractive figure and give them their own names.
Adverts usually show an outcome rather than a rate: “double in 6 years”, “so much a month per lakh”, “pay this much a month and get Tk 10 lakh in 10 years”. The same outcome over a different term means a different rate, so convert the outcome into an annual rate before comparing.
The terms are set when you open the scheme and usually hold for the whole term. But if you close early, miss instalments or take tax into account, what you actually receive can be quite different from the advertised figure.
With compounding, the years it takes to double is roughly 72 ÷ the annual rate. Turned round, 72 ÷ the years gives the approximate rate. “Double in 6 years” means about 12.2% a year; “double in 6 years 9 months” about 10.8%; “double in 8 years” about 9.1%. The figures are only examples.
The common types
- Double- or triple-money schemes
- You deposit a lump sum and get double or triple back after a set number of years. In effect, a long-term FDR with compound interest.
- Monthly-income schemes
- The principal stays locked until maturity while interest is paid out monthly. Popular with retired people and others who want a regular income.
- Lakhpati or kotipati (millionaire) schemes
- A DPS built around how much you must pay each month to reach Tk 1 lakh, Tk 10 lakh or Tk 1 crore at maturity.
- Goal-based schemes
- Schemes named for education, marriage, Hajj, a home or retirement; some include a small insurance benefit.
Reading the real rate from an advert
For a monthly-income scheme the sum is simple: multiply the monthly payment per lakh by 12 and divide by 1,000 to get the annual rate (%). For example, Tk 900 a month per lakh means 10.8% a year. Check whether that figure is before or after tax.
For a lakhpati or kotipati scheme, set the total you will pay in next to what you get at the end. For example, if reaching Tk 10 lakh in 10 years takes about Tk 5,130 a month, you pay in about Tk 615,600 in total; that is equivalent to about 9% a year compounded monthly, before tax.
A common mistake: hearing “double in 6 years”, many people think it means 100 ÷ 6, about 16.7% a year. With compounding the real rate is much lower, about 12.2%. Comparing it with an ordinary FDR of the same term and risk shows whether the scheme really pays more.
Depositing Tk 500,000 at 10% a year with monthly payouts gives Tk 4,167 a month before tax, or about Tk 3,750 after 10% tax at source. At maturity you get the Tk 500,000 back. Because the income is paid out, nothing compounds. The rate is only an example.
How protected your money is
Whatever the name, a bank scheme is a bank deposit. Under the Deposit Protection Act 2026, if a bank is closed each depositor should get back up to Tk 2 lakh, counting all deposits at that bank. Double-money and millionaire schemes often involve much larger sums, so the safety of the rest depends on the bank’s financial health.
What return to expect
A scheme’s real rate usually sits close to FDR or DPS rates at the same time, a little higher for long terms. Rates were lower while interest rates were capped in 2020–2023. After rates were left to the market in 2024, some banks offered to double money in about 5½ years (about 13.4% a year); by late 2025, some schemes took about 6 years 9 months to double (about 10.8% a year).
If a scheme promises to double money much faster than others at the same time, ask why. Weaker institutions often pay more to attract deposits.
Why people choose it
- A clear goal and target figure make planning easier.
- The terms are fixed when you open it.
- A monthly-income scheme can provide a regular income.
- Many schemes let you borrow against them instead of closing them.
Points to weigh
- An attractive name can hide the real rate.
- Terms are long, and closing early cuts the return sharply.
- Over a long term, inflation can greatly reduce what the “doubled” money buys.
- Large sums at one bank go beyond the protection limit.
Tax
The bank deducts tax at source from a scheme’s interest or profit. Under the Income Tax Act 2023, in recent years this has been 10% if you have a TIN and 15% if you do not; the annual Finance Act can change these rates.
The “double” or “Tk 10 lakh” figure is often before tax, so you receive somewhat less. For monthly-instalment (DPS-type) schemes, up to Tk 1.2 lakh a year paid in has qualified for the tax rebate in recent years; the rules can change.
Once the balance crosses a threshold, excise duty is also deducted once a year; the threshold is set in the Finance Act.
Tax rules can change with each year’s Finance Act. Before a big decision, check the latest rules or speak to a tax adviser.
How to get started
- First decide what you need: to grow a lump sum, a monthly income, or to save monthly.
- Collect the advertised outcomes of the same kind of scheme at several banks and convert each into an annual rate.
- Find out in writing whether the figure is before or after tax.
- Get the rules on early closure, missed instalments and loans.
- The documents are the same as for an FDR or DPS: national ID, photographs, nominee details, and your TIN if you have one.
Check before you start
- Have I worked out what annual rate the advertised outcome equals?
- Does it really pay more than an ordinary FDR or DPS of the same term?
- Is the figure before or after tax?
- Can I keep the money in, or keep paying, for the whole term?
- Does my total at this one bank exceed the deposit protection limit?
- Is a nominee properly recorded?