Fixed Deposits Look Safe. Silver Is Safe.

Fixed deposits (FDs) have long been Nepal’s favourite savings tool. They promise stability: lock in your money, collect interest, and sleep well. But in today’s financial environment, that stability is deceptive. Low FD rates, steady inflation, and a rupee that keeps sliding against the U.S. dollar are eroding returns. Silver, meanwhile, has quietly proven itself to be the more innovative and safer alternative.

Currently, most commercial banks in Nepal offer FD rates between 5% and 6.5%. Subtract the 5 per cent withholding tax, and the yield falls. Subtract inflation—hovering around 2.7 to 3.4 per cent through mid-2025—and you’re left with barely 2 per cent real growth. That’s a return so thin it does little more than tread water.

Worse, the rupee’s weakness against the dollar wipes away much of even that modest gain. In 2020, one dollar was equivalent to approximately 118.5 rupees. By 2025, the rate is expected to be closer to 140–141. That’s a nearly 19 per cent fall in the rupee’s strength in just five years. For any Nepali family saving for dollar-linked goals—such as overseas education, imported technology, or even medical care abroad—an FD is simply not keeping pace. In real terms, the same FD savings today are worth the same in USD as five years ago, if not less.

Silver tells a different story. Over the past five years, silver has appreciated by roughly 35 to 39 per cent in U.S. dollar terms. It gained more than 20 per cent in 2024 alone and has continued to rise in 2025, hitting decade highs. Beyond investor appetite, industrial demand—from solar panels to electric vehicles—provides a long-term floor for silver’s value. In rupee terms, silver has risen even faster because of the currency’s depreciation.

This is where silver becomes more than just another investment: it is a hedge against USD inflation itself. For centuries, precious metals have been viewed as “real money”—assets that hold value when paper currencies are being printed in excess. When you own silver, you are essentially holding a dollar hedge. In effect, silver offers Nepali investors the same security as holding USD cash, but without the same risks of government controls, capital restrictions, or inflationary erosion.

Run the numbers. A 10 lakh rupee FD in 2020 would have grown to about 12.6 lakh after five years, post-tax. But in dollar terms, much of that gain disappears; you would hold nearly the same USD value as when you began. By contrast, the same 10 lakh rupees converted into silver would have appreciated by almost 40 per cent in USD, and far more once valued back in rupees. That is not just a higher return—it is protection against both inflation and currency depreciation.

In Nepal’s context, this is critical. FDs depend on banks. Real estate depends on buyers. Stocks depend on exchanges. Silver relies on none of these. It is wealth you can hold, carry, and liquidate instantly, regardless of whether banks are open or markets are functional.

To be clear, fixed deposits still have a place in short-term liquidity management. Management, however, as a long-term store of value, is failing Nepali savers. Silver, by contrast, serves as both an investment and an insurance. It holds value in USD terms, hedges against inflation, and grows when the rupee weakens.

At Himalayan Bullion Company, we provide 99.99 per cent pure, certified silver bars—sold with transparent pricing, a zero per cent making charge, and guaranteed buy-back at live market rates. In a world where the dollar strengthens, inflation persists, and FDs underperform, silver is not an alternative. It is the essential asset for Nepali households seeking to protect their future. Buy silver today, call us at +977 9820999999