I was surfing OCBC website and the tag "Earn up to 1.18% a year when you deposit $10,000" caught my eye. I followed the click through link and was brought to the OCBC Bonus Plus Saving Account page.
Here's how the account works:
- The account is a statement savings account with monthly statements availed.
- An initial deposit of S$10,000 is needed with no monthly minimum balance requirement.
- Singaporeans, Singapore Permanent Residents and Foreigners age 15 and above are eligible.
- The base interest rate is 0.2% p.a.
- Monthly bonus of 0.25% p.a. will be given if there is no withdrawal within the calendar month.
- Quarterly bonus of 0.73% p.a. will be given in the third month if there is no withdrawal within the calendar quarter.
- Base and bonus interest will be credited into the account on the first business day of the following month.
Curious on the average interest rate, i computed the interest amount an accountholder would earn based on a S$10,000 deposit for a full 12 calendar months.
Average interest earned:
| Month | Interest (% p.a.) | Interest Earned (S$) |
| 1 | 0.45 | 3.75 |
| 2 | 0.45 | 3.75 |
| 3 | 1.18 | 9.84 |
| 4 | 0.45 | 3.76 |
| 5 | 0.45 | 3.76 |
| 6 | 1.18 | 9.86 |
| 7 | 0.45 | 3.76 |
| 8 | 0.45 | 3.76 |
| 9 | 1.18 | 9.87 |
| 10 | 0.45 | 3.77 |
| 11 | 0.45 | 3.77 |
| 12 | 1.18 | 9.89 |
| 69.55 |
Effectively, the accountholder would earn S$69.55 over a one year period which translates to an average interest rate of 0.6955% p.a.
Seems like i would be better off by putting S$10,000 into the CIMB SGD Step Up Fixed Deposit and earning S$105 interest (i.e. average interest rate 1.05% p.a.) instead.
