Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Comparing DBS Multiplier Program with OCBC 360 Account

Those who have been reading my posts will know that I have been blogging about these 2 different accounts for sometime now. From my point of view, these are fantastic new products by the banks that offer higher interest rate than what they supposing "high interest account" offers.


So with limit cash on our hands, which is the better account to deposit our money into? Lets take a look at them heads on.

Overview of DBS Multiplier program

DBS Multiplier  looks at the total transaction based on 4 activities in your associated DBS/POSB accounts. These are
  • Salary crediting
  • Credit Card spending
  • Home Loans Instalment
  • Investment Dividends
Once the total for all 4 activities in your account hit and exceed a certain threshold, you will be rewarded with a higher interest rate for the first $50,000 cash in your multiplier account. Details for the interest rate can be found
http://moneychatroom.blogspot.sg/2014/03/dbs-multipler-programme-has-increased.html


In short, there is no minimum amount that you must hit for each individual activity.


Overview of OCBC 360 Account

For this account, you will be awarded a base interest rate of 0.05% p.a. for your account. In additional, the first $50,000 in your account will be rewarded with an interest of 1% p.a. for each of the following activities.
  • Credit Salary of at least $2,000 per month
  • Make 3 unique bill payments from this account with OCBC Online Banking
  • Spend $400 on all your OCBC credit cards per month
In theory, you can get a maximum of 3.05% p.a. of interest for the first $50,000 in the account. But even if you do not hit the requirement for all 3 activities, hitting each one would already have netted you 1% of interest.


Which one is for you?

Generally, I feel that the conditions from OCBC is easier to reach for middle income worker, as they revolves around activities that you most likely will do every month, such as paying 3 bills, spending $400 on credit cards.


Although DBS does not have a minimum amount for each activity, its minimum threshold for all activities is at $7,500, which shows that it is aiming at those who are earning and spending more. They are also targeting the group that has high home loan instalment and/or high investment income.


So you will need to work our based on your earning, spending and investment patterning to see which one can give the best return for your money.


If you do not have problem hitting the all the requirements for both, the OCBC will be better as it offers a higher interest rate of 3.05%. DBS highest interest rate is only at 2.08%. Better yet, put into both if you have more than $50,000 so that you can enjoy higher interest rate for higher amount of your cash.


Wednesday, April 9, 2014

OCBC 360 Account

Some time back, I wrote an article about DBS Multiplier Program where DBS rewards you with higher interest based on the total banking relationship with the bank. Hot to the heels of DBS is OCBC, where they have recently launched their OCBC 360 Account.


How does it works?

It earns a base interest of 0.05% p.a. for all money in the account.


In addition, it will award extra interest in the month on the following condition,
1% p.a. on the first $50,000 in the account if you credit your salary to that account.
1% p.a. on the first $50,000 in the account if you pay any 3 bills in that month.
1% p.a. on the first $50,000 in the account if you spend more than $400 in credit card


With everything in, this means that the maximum interest rate that one can possible earn from $50,000 is 3.05% p.a. This is a very good rate, taking into account the current low interest environment that we are living in.


Conclusion

If you indeed have banking relation with OCBC, do consider using this account to increase the rate of return of your money