Tokenised Bonds vs Fixed Deposits.
For 40 years, the Indian household balance sheet has been a fixed deposit. It is safe, familiar, and — at ~7% with CPI near 5% — barely real-positive after tax. Tokenised private-market assets is a newer answer to the same question: where do I park rupees for income? Here is the side-by-side, written plain.
Head-to-head, five dimensions.
Yield, liquidity, safety, taxation, minimum ticket. Read row by row.
| Dimension | Bank Fixed Deposit | Tokenised Private Debt (e.g. Bharat Nexus) |
|---|---|---|
| Headline yield | ~6.5–7.5% p.a. interest | 10.5–14% p.a. target IRR (Senior to Mezz) — not guaranteed |
| Real return (after 5% CPI, 30% slab) | ~ -0.1% to +0.3% | ~ +2.4% to +4.8% (target; depends on slab) |
| Distribution | Cumulative or quarterly interest | Monthly coupon on the 7th, via SPV waterfall |
| Liquidity | Premature withdrawal allowed; typically 0.5–1% interest penalty | SCRA-safe scheduled liquidity windows + bilateral spot-delivery between whitelisted investors |
| What backs it | Bank's balance sheet; DICGC insures up to ₹5 lakh per bank per depositor | Ring-fenced bankruptcy-remote SPV; first charge on assets; strategic equity absorbs first loss |
| Issuer of record | Scheduled commercial bank, regulated by RBI | SEBI-registered AIF / debenture trustee; LiquiCo as LSP; on-chain via ERC-3643 |
| Taxation (resident) | Interest taxed at slab; TDS at 10% over ₹40k | Coupon taxed at slab; capital gains treatment on secondary transfers (consult Tax-AI) |
| Minimum ticket | ₹1,000–₹10,000 | ₹10,000 (Senior tranche) |
| Lock-in | Until maturity, with penalty for early break | Liquidity windows on a published calendar; lock-up enforced on-chain |
Why the spread exists.
A 4–7 point yield gap is not magic — it is paid for in three currencies.
Credit risk. An FD is unsecured exposure to a bank that re-lends your money. Tokenised private debt is secured exposure to a specific pool of receivables — rent from a Grade-A warehouse, a discounted invoice from a logistics operator. The borrower is concrete; the collateral is named.
Liquidity premium. FDs are continuously breakable. Tokenised debt clears through scheduled windows — designed to stay inside the SCRA perimeter — so investors are paid extra for waiting their turn.
Complexity premium. SPV, trustee, RTA, on-chain register — the structure exists for protection, but it is more to learn than "open FD". Yield compensates the time spent understanding it.
What protects you when things go wrong.
Six layers, in order of who eats the loss first.
- 1Strategic Equity — first loss. 10% of every stack, by invitation, never offered to retail. Eats losses before any debt is touched.
- 2Lender of Last Resort reserve. 2.5% cash reserve at the SPV, between equity and Mezzanine debt.
- 3Mezzanine debt. Unsecured but yield-rich. Takes losses after equity + reserve.
- 4Subordinated debt. Second charge on the underlying assets.
- 5Senior debt — you, if you bought BNX-SR. First charge on cashflows. Last to absorb losses.
- 6The asset itself. Real warehouses, real rent, real receivables — perfected with the registrar.
When an FD is still the right answer.
Tokenised debt is not for every rupee.
- Money you may need next week, not next quarter — FD wins on instant liquidity.
- Capital below ₹10,000 — the Senior tranche minimum sets the floor.
- Zero tolerance for variability — FDs are contractual interest; tokenised coupons are targets, not promises.
- Investor not comfortable reading an Information Memorandum.
Bharat Nexus is secured against Grade-A warehouses leased to Amazon, Flipkart, DMart and Foxconn. Senior target IRR 10.5–12% p.a., monthly distribution, from ₹10,000.
Education only. Not investment advice. Returns are targets, not guarantees, and depend on asset performance. Read the Information Memorandum and Risk Disclosure before subscribing.