OCBC 360 Account

Looking into OCBC 360 account as a good friend has asked me for my views. I’m totally oblivious to this product since I’m still living life as a student~ till now… Took a quick look at OCBC 360 account and it seemed like a pretty good deposit account that pays an attractive interest amount, maximum of 3.05% per annum.

OCBC 360 account:

• Deposit account – current account (you can choose to have a cheque book), comes with e-statements
• No lock-in period, you can withdraw $$ as and when you want to, via debit card or access via online banking
• Pays base interest on entire balance in the account and bonus interest on balance with a limit to the 1st S$50,000 (meaning bonus interest is not applicable after your account balance ≥ S$50,000)
• Accounts which did not receive a Base interest will not be eligible for Bonus interest in that month

There are 4 components to earning the maximum interest of 3.05% per annum:

1. Base interest 

• Prevailing interest at varying tiers based on your 360 account balance
  • 0.05% per annum on balances ≤ S$200,000
  • 0.15% per annum on balances > S$200,000
• Calculated on your account’s end of day balance (balance – all the $$ you have in the account)
• Interest is accrued daily
• Interest earned is credited into your account at the end of every month
• Note: no base interest will be credited for the month if the total amount of interest earning such month is ≤ S$0.01

2. Bonus interest: 1% per annum when you credit your salary every month

• Credit monthly salary ≥ S$2,000 (can meet this requirement via single credit or multiple credits)
• Salary credit through GIRO (only) with the transaction description “GIRO – SALARY” in your statements will qualify for this bonus (inform HR of your OCBC 360 account number, and ‘fight it out’ on the transaction description..)
• Credited into account by 7th business day of the following month and reflected as “360 SALARY BONUS” on e-statement

3. Bonus interest: 1% per annum when you pay 3 bills using OCBC online banking or GIRO it monthly

• Make 3 unique bill payments from your account with online banking using ‘Pay Any Bill’ and ‘Pay Any Card’ or GIRO
• Multiple payments on the same bill in the same month = single payment
• Payments that are subsequently cancelled, reversed or void will not be considered
• Payments to OCBC credit cards/ accounts before 9pm & payments to other banks’ credit card before 9.30pm will be processed on the same day
• Note: payments made via AXS, SAM, ATMs, eNETS not qualified for this bonus interest
• Credited into account by 7th business day of the following month and reflected as “360 PAYMENT BONUS” on e-statement

4. Bonus interest: 1% per annum when you spend ≥ S$400 across your OCBC credit cards monthly

• Spend at least S$400 in total across your OCBC credit cards
• You need to be the primary account holder and principal cardmember of the OCBC credit cards (supplementary card spending will be consolidated to principal)
• Transactions must be within the month to be eligible
• Note: (i) debit, ATM, corporate, business, and private label cards not applicable (ii) transactions like balance transfers, cash advance, cashwise, paylite, smartchange, fund transfers, fees and charges not applicable (iii) any transactions on credit cards terminated, subsequently cancelled, reversed or made void, not qualified
• Credited into account by 7th business day of the following month and reflected as “360 CC SPEND BONUS” on e-statement

Would I go for OCBC 360 account?

After looking through the available information online, OCBC 360 account seemed to be a good deposit account that offers very attractive interest rates. Personally I would take up OCBC 360 account and make the necessary arrangements to achieve the 3.05%. I may even consider transferring my savings to OCBC to capitalise on the bonus interests. However I will take note that bonus interest is applicable to the 1st S$50,000 of the balance and may take an extra step in ensuring that my balance is < S$50,000 for one main reason – S$50,000 is insured and guaranteed:

• SGD deposits are insured under Deposit Insurance Scheme for up to S$50,000 per depositor for each bank
• In the event of a bank failure (not saying any banks will fail but better be safe than sorry), Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC) guarantees depositors that they will get up to S$50,000 back (depending on the deposit balance they have with the bank)
• Click to read more on SDIC and the list of banks covered under this scheme

Other Information:

• Each customer is only allowed to open 1 OCBC 360 account where he/she is the primary account holder
• Age ≥ 18-years-old
• Singaporeans/ Permanent Residents / E-Pass and S-Pass Holders
• Initial Deposit: S$1,000
• Minimum Monthly Balance: S$3,000 (S$2 fee applicable if balance falls under S$3,000 – waived for the 1st year)

Notes:

• If you close your account before the bonus interest crediting date, the bonus interest for the previous month will be forfeited (so to be safe, close it in the middle of the month or check to ensure the bonus interest is credited before closing)
• From terms & conditions: OCBC reserves the right to vary (a) base interest rate, (b) bonus interest rates, (c) average daily balance cap for the bonus interest calculation, and (d) the eligibility criteria for bonus interest, in its sole and absolute discretion from time to time without prior notice
• Click to read more about OCBC 360 account Information, FAQs, and Terms and Conditions

Kindly note that this is not an advertising post for OCBC, it is simply one based on my curiosity on finding out about OCBC 360 account. The information here can be found on OCBC websites or through the links given in the post.

Cheers, JM