Banky team Reviewed editorial answerالمتدرجة بتبدأ بسعر عالي، والثابتة سعرها واحد.
A stepped certificate's rate changes from year to year under a schedule published at the start, usually highest in year one and lower afterwards, so the monthly income falls with it. A fixed certificate pays the same amount every month for the whole term. The figure in a stepped certificate's advertisement is often the year-one rate only, so you cannot judge by it. A hypothetical example per 100 pounds over 3 years, with made-up rates: a stepped certificate at 20%, then 15%, then 10% pays about 1.67, then 1.25, then 0.83 pounds a month, totalling 45. A fixed one at 16% pays about 1.33 every month, totalling 48. So the starting rate alone does not tell you which total is larger. Beyond the total, there is a second question: how much it matters to you that the income stays steady, especially if you rely on it for monthly expenses. Note that stepped does not mean variable; all its rates may be in the contract. Ask the bank for the rate schedule year by year and the monthly income in each year on your amount, and check the rate type and the break-penalty table in the key-facts statement.