The Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) cash rate is one of the factors that bank's consider when setting their interest rates for deposit products. Given that the RBA aims to keep inflation between 2 - 3%, an interest rate of 2.5% or lower on your term deposit could mean that your investment isn't keeping up with inflation. Term deposits, like other investments, are great when the RBA cash rate is high. But when the cash rate is low, you may want to seek alternatives, such as shares.