When a bank accepts a Fixed Deposit, it issues a receipt acknowledging the arrangement — the amount, the interest rate, the tenure, and the maturity commitment. That receipt is the FDR: Fixed Deposit Receipt. Think of it as the contract between you and the bank for the FD — the physical or digital evidence that the bank has received your money and committed to returning it with interest on a specific future date.
In older banking, the FDR was always a physical paper certificate with official stamps and an authorised signature. Customers kept these like share certificates — safely in a drawer or a locker. Today, most banks maintain FDRs as digital records in the CBS, accessible any time through internet banking. But the term remains widely used and the document still matters practically when pledging an FD or making a claim.
| Parameter | Details |
| Full Form | Fixed Deposit Receipt |
| Also Called | TDR (Term Deposit Receipt), FD Certificate, eTDR (digital version) |
| Contains | Principal, interest rate, tenure, maturity date, maturity amount, nominee details |
| Issued By | Bank at the time of FD creation — physical or digital depending on bank |
| Required For | Loan or OD against FD, premature withdrawal, nominee estate claim, TDS reference |
| Duplicate FDR | Report loss to branch, submit indemnity bond, bank issues duplicate after verification |
| Auto-Renewal | FDR may carry auto-renewal instruction — renewed at prevailing rate on maturity |
| SBI Variant | TDR (cumulative) and STDR (non-cumulative, periodic interest payout) — same concept |
The FDR’s Most Practical Use — Loan Without Breaking the FD
The most valuable feature most FD holders don’t know about: you can pledge your FDR as collateral for an overdraft or loan without breaking the FD prematurely. The bank marks a lien on the FDR, opens a loan account, and credits up to 85 to 90% of the FD value to your account. The FD continues earning interest throughout. You repay the loan at your convenience within the sanctioned period.
The math often works in your favour. If your FD earns 7% and the bank charges FD rate plus 1.5% on the loan — so 8.5% on the borrowed portion — you’re paying a net 1.5% for the liquidity rather than breaking the FD and paying a 1% premature withdrawal penalty on the entire amount while losing all future compounding. For short-term cash needs of a few weeks or months, an FDR-backed OD is almost always cheaper than premature withdrawal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What does FDR stand for in a bank?
FDR stands for Fixed Deposit Receipt — the official document a bank issues as proof of a Fixed Deposit, detailing the amount, interest rate, tenure, maturity date, and maturity value. TDR (Term Deposit Receipt) refers to the same instrument.
Q: Do I need to submit the FDR at maturity?
For banks that issued physical FDRs, the original is typically surrendered when claiming maturity proceeds. For digital FDs in modern banking, the maturity amount is automatically credited to the linked savings account — no physical document submission required.
Q: What if my physical FDR is lost?
Report it to your branch immediately. You will need to sign an indemnity bond protecting the bank if the original surfaces later. After verification, the bank issues a duplicate and processes future transactions against it. In CBS-based banking, the deposit’s existence is confirmed digitally regardless.
Q: Can an FDR be pledged for someone else’s loan?
Yes — called a third-party pledge. You sign pledge documents and the bank creates a lien on your FD as security for the borrower’s loan. Be clear-headed about the risk: if the borrower defaults and the bank invokes the pledge, your FD is liquidated to recover the dues. Only do this for borrowers whose repayment you are entirely confident in.
