OCBC 360 Review: Attractive interest rate of up to 4.65% p.a.

What is the OCBC 360 account?

The OCBC 360 account is one of the most popular savings accounts in Singapore offering an attractive interest rate of up to 4.65% per annum (p.a.) on the first S$100,000 of deposits when you credit your salary, save and spend.

As the flagship savings account of OCBC, the OCBC 360 account allows you to make your savings work harder especially if you are able to 'jump through a few hoops' to earn a higher yield.

Let us dive deeper to find out more about the OCBC 360 account and how you can make the most of the OCBC 360 account.

What is the interest rate on the OCBC 360 account?

The OCBC 360 savings account offers an interest rate of up to 4.65% per annum (p.a.) on the first S$100,000 of deposits when you credit your salary, save and spend.

You can earn an additional 3.00% a year when you insure and invest with your OCBC 360 account.

Like the UOB One account and DBS Multiplier account, the OCBC 360 account offers a tiered interest rate depending on the amount of deposit in the account and your ability to meet different categories. 

These categories include the following:

• Salary: Credit your salary of at least S$1,800 through Giro

• Save: Increase your average daily balance by at least S$500 monthly

• Spend: Charge at least S$500 to selected OCBC credit cards each month

• Insure: Purchase an eligible insurance product from OCBC

• Invest: Purchase an eligible investment product from OCBC

• Grow: Maintain an average daily balance of at least S$200,000

The interest rate you are able to earn on the OCBC 360 account will then depend on how many of these categories you are able to meet. 

We can look at the effective interest rate (EIR) earned on the OCBC 360 account across various tiers. To calculate the effective interest rate, we can add the total interest received across different tiers.

The effective interest rate is the average interest rate you would get by dividing the total interest earned by your average balances.

• Salary + Save: Maximum EIR of 4.05% a year.
• Salary + Save + Spend: Maximum EIR of 4.65% a year.
• Salary + Save + Spend + Insure / Invest: Maximum EIR of 6.15% a year
• Salary + Save + Spend + Insure + Invest: Maximum EIR of 7.65% a year

Realistically, most of us may only be able to hit the first 3 categories - crediting salary into the OCBC 360 account, increasing our average daily balance by $500 and spending at least $500 on an OCBC 365 credit card. 

If you hit the 3 categories, you will earn an interest rate of up to 4.65% per annum on your first $100,000 of deposit.  

If you are able to just hit the salary and save categories and have S$100,000 of deposits in the OCBC 360 account, you will earn an effective interest rate of 4.05%.

How do I earn the maximum interest rate of 7.65% per annum on the OCBC 360 account?

if you are able to hit the salary, save, spend, insure and invest categories and have S$100,000 of deposits in the OCBC 360 account, you will earn the maximum effective interest rate of 7.65%.

The insure and invest categories will be harder to hit, which is why you get a much higher interest rate if you are able to fulfil them!  

To qualify for the insurance and/or investment interest rate, you will need to purchase an eligible product from OCBC. The keyword here is eligible and it comes with a price tag.

For insurance, you need to purchase a minimum amount of $2,000 for Regular Premium: Protection/Legacy product, $4,000 for Regular Premium: Endowment/Retirement product or $20,000 for Single Premium Insurance product.

For Investment, you need to purchase a minimum amount of $20,000 for Unit trusts and structured deposits or $200,000 for bonds and structured products.

You should note that the financial products you buy will only qualify for 12 months of bonus interest. 

This means that you will need to buy another financial product after the 12 months is up. The question you’ll have to ask yourself is whether you’d want to buy another insurance product next year? 

What are the requirements for the OCBC 360 account?

To apply for the OCBC 360 account, you will need to be at least 18 years old. 

You will need to make an initial deposit of S$1,000. and maintain a minimum average daily balance of S$3,000. 

A fall-below fee of S$2 will be imposed if your minimum average daily balance falls below S$3,000. However, the good news is that the fall-below fee will be waived for the first year.

UOB One vs OCBC 360 vs DBS Multiplier – Which is the best savings account in Singapore? 

Many of you are probably wondering if the OCBC 360 account is better than the UOB One account and DBS Multiplier account.

This is especially so after the DBS Multiplier account was made simpler with effect from 1 August 2023. 

As there are many tiers involved, we have done the math to find out which is the best savings account in Singapore.

Our calculation is based on a few assumptions – 

1. You do not buy insurance/investment products from the Bank
2. You save and spend at least $500 respectively a month and
3. You credit your monthly salary into the bank
4. You spend the minimum amount with their credit cards

Here, we see that the UOB One offers a higher interest rate across the various balance amount shown below. 

Are there any sign-up promos for the OCBC 360 account?

OCBC is currently running a promo when you open an OCBC 360 Account and credit your salary within 2 months. 

• New-to-OCBC customers get S$180 cash reward
• Existing OCBC customers get S$120 cash reward

Valid till 31 December 2023. Limited redemptions available. Read the full T&Cs here. 

Final verdict on OCBC 360 account

The OCBC 360 account offers an attractive interest rate of up to 4.65% per annum if you are able to credit your salary into the OCBC 360 account, increase your average daily balance by $500 and spend at least $500 on an OCBC 365 credit card every month.

However, the hurdle is fairly high to get to the interest rate tier of 7.65% per annum unless you invest and insure with OCBC. 

That said, the interest rate of 4.65% per annum still makes the OCBC 360 one of the best savings accounts in Singapore with the highest interest rates. The interest rate offered by the OCBC 360 account is also higher than the T-bill and Singapore Savings Bond.

Like many other savings accounts in Singapore, the interest rate on the OCBC 360 accounts falls to 0.05% per annum for the portion of your monthly average balances above S$100,000. 

To maximise your interest earned, you might want to consider another high yield savings account for balances above S$100,000. 

Join the Beansprout Telegram group and Facebook group to get the latest tips on making your savings work harder. 

How to open a OCBC 360 Account

You can open a savings account online here, or head down to a OCBC branch.

To apply you will require the following:

• Singaporeans and Singapore PRs: NRIC and an image of your signature
• Foreigners: Passport and a valid pass (e.g. Employment Pass (EP) or S-Pass or Student Pass) 

In addition, you will need any one of the following documents that shows your residential address

• Phone bill
• Half-yearly CPF statement
• Any bank statement