One-year interest = Capital × EA rate You choose term and amount: You decide how much to put in and for how long. Longer terms usually carry different rates from short ones. The rate is agreed: The institution offers you an EA rate for that term. It can be fixed or tied to an index, such as the CPI. You choose how interest is paid: At the end of the term or in regular payments, such as monthly or quarterly. The EA is the same; only the calendar changes. At maturity, you decide: You receive the capital plus interest net of withholding, or you renew. If you do nothing, many institutions renew it automatically at that day's rate.

Is it true that if I need the money, I can cancel the CDT early?

A CDT can't be redeemed before maturity. That's why the term is chosen around when you'll need the money.

Is it true that 10% EA paid monthly is 10% every month?

It's 10% a year. Paid monthly, you receive an equivalent monthly rate of about 0.8%.

Is it true that the rate is what reaches me?

Withholding tax applies to the interest, and inflation reduces what you can buy with it.

General Questions · Basic level · 3 min read · Updated October 3, 2026

What is a CDT?

A CDT, certificado de depósito a término, is Colombia's certificate of deposit: you hand a sum to a financial institution supervised by the Superintendencia Financiera for a fixed term, in exchange for an interest rate agreed at the start. At maturity you get back what you put in plus the interest, minus withholding tax.

In 30 seconds

The rate and term are agreed when you open it and don't change during that term.
It can't be cancelled before maturity: the money is committed for the whole term.
The rate is quoted as an effective annual rate (EA), whether interest is paid monthly or at the end.

Why should you care?

The CDT is one of the most common reference points in Colombia for deciding what to do with savings. Understanding how it works helps you read any other option with the same yardstick: rate, term, liquidity and tax.

You know what the rate you are offered means and how to compare it in EA.
You understand why you can't take the money out before maturity.
You work out what you really receive after withholding tax.

Think of it as renting out your money on a fixed-term lease

It's like renting out a flat on a lease you can't break: you know from the start how much you'll be paid and when you get it back, but while the lease runs you can't use it.

How does a CDT work?

1
You choose term and amount
You decide how much to put in and for how long. Longer terms usually carry different rates from short ones.
2
The rate is agreed
The institution offers you an EA rate for that term. It can be fixed or tied to an index, such as the CPI.
3
You choose how interest is paid
At the end of the term or in regular payments, such as monthly or quarterly. The EA is the same; only the calendar changes.
4
At maturity, you decide
You receive the capital plus interest net of withholding, or you renew. If you do nothing, many institutions renew it automatically at that day's rate.

The formula

One-year interest = Capital × EA rate

Capital: = what you put in when you open the CDT
EA rate: = the agreed rate, as a decimal

An example with numbers

As arithmetic, unrelated to any institution or project: you open a one-year CDT of 1,000 units at 10% EA, and withholding tax is 4% of the interest.

An example with a CDT
Capital	1,000
One-year interest (10% EA)	100
Withholding tax (4% of 100)	4
You receive at maturity	1,096

Withholding applies to the 100 of interest, not to the 1,000 units of capital. And if inflation that year was 6%, the real gain in purchasing power is smaller than those 96 of net interest.

Where do you see it at Circular Urban?

A participation at Circular Urban works differently from a CDT: it has no agreed rate, because results depend on the project's actual performance, and its liquidity is low. What they share is the unit: each project's projections are expressed in EA, so you can read them with the same yardstick, knowing they are non-binding reference figures.

Each project's page, with the projection expressed in EA.
The participation simulator, which works in annual rates.

What changes in your finances once you get it

You compare in the same unit

You convert any rate to EA before putting it next to another.

You set aside what you'll need soon

Money you may need before maturity doesn't go into a term you can't break.

You subtract tax and inflation

You look at what's left after withholding and rising prices, not at the advertised rate.

Common mistakes

Myth If I need the money, I can cancel the CDT early.: In reality
A CDT can't be redeemed before maturity. That's why the term is chosen around when you'll need the money.
Myth 10% EA paid monthly is 10% every month.: In reality
It's 10% a year. Paid monthly, you receive an equivalent monthly rate of about 0.8%.
Myth The rate is what reaches me.: In reality
Withholding tax applies to the interest, and inflation reduces what you can buy with it.

Test yourself

You open a one-year CDT of 500 units at 8% EA, with 4% withholding on the interest. How much do you receive at maturity?

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This content is educational. Every participation carries risks inherent to the project, including the possibility of partial or total loss, and results are subject to each project's actual performance.