As explained before by cybpsych, OCBC e-SmartSavers is a saving account that functions as a fixed deposit, offering 4% of interest per annum if no withdrawal is made.

So, there is an extremely low possibility that OCBC will extend the date for the 4% of interest, beyond 31 December 2015, right?

For those who have OCBC e-SmartSavers, what would you do after 31 December 2015? After the interest is credited, do you all make full withdrawal and close the account?

Thanks for the advice.

Sorry for not making myself clear. I have already opened e-SmartSavers two months, before the closing date of 30 September 2015.

Same as any holder of OCBC e-SmartSavers, I am enjoying 4% of interest per annum.

It has higher interest than 1 month eFD. Plus, I can add in any amount to my e-SmartSavers account any time within a month. We cannot add more money into eFD or FD, once eFD or FD is placed.

For sure, the money added near the beginning of any month will attract more interest, but I am not rich to have lots of excess cash. I will deposit unused money into my e-SmartSavers account, as soon as I can.

As you said, after 31 December 2015, e-SmartSavers becomes SmartSavers, with restrictive unfavourable conditions you mentioned. Thus, it is most likely that I will close my e-SmartSavers account, pending further advices from the experts here.

This post has been edited by kart: Dec 13 2015, 11:59 AM

Yeah, that is the thing. What is OCBC planning, after 31 December 2015?

Assume that I make full withdrawal and close my e-SmartSavers on 2 January 2016. Then, OCBC issues a statement that the promotional rate of 4 % per annum is extended till 31 June 2015 (an imaginary situation).

Since I have made a withdrawal on January, I will not gain any interest on January, even if I top-up on later days of January. The earliest time I can gain interest is February 2016, so in effect I lose out on January interest.

That is why I want to know, if anyone here can somehow guess OCBC's exit plan.

I understand your point. For me, I just treat e-SmartSavers like a FD. Closing e-SmartSavers is similar to uplifting a FD after maturity, so a visit to the bank for this purpose is still manageable.

This post has been edited by kart: Dec 13 2015, 11:58 AM

I placed an FD with 4.6 % interest per annum, in Affin Bank, about one month ago.

Upon FD maturity, can both the principal and interest be automatically transferred to my Affin saving account, without me going to Affin bank again?

The Affin officers could not give me an affirmative answer.

Thank you very much for your advice, Nom-el.

After the interest for OCBC e-SmartSavers is credited on 1 January 2016, I will use IBG or IBFT to transfer almost all of my money, leaving only RM 20 in the account. I will proceed to close the account by visiting OCBC on some other day, when I am free.

This post has been edited by kart: Dec 26 2015, 11:14 AM

Thank you very much, bbgoat and Ramjade.

wil-i-am, the Affin Bank Officers could only confirm that the FD interest will be credited into my Affin Saving Account, and were unsure about the state of the FD principal, upon FD maturity. In their Affin system in their computer, the instruction upon maturity does not explicitly mention about the principal.

This post has been edited by kart: Dec 26 2015, 11:17 AM

Is there any written clause in the FD official terms and conditions that confirms monthly interest crediting?

Correct me, if I am wrong. It seems that you do not invest in ASNB funds, and I respect your reasons.

Do you have any reason not to invest in ASNB funds? It would be great to hear alternative opinion.

Sorry for being out of topic.

Can anyone use OCBC online website to perform IBFT?

When I select 'Transfer Now', there is no option for me to select IBFT.

Well, since the 4% interest rate per annum for OCBC e-SmartSavers expires today, I plan to use IBFT to transfer all my fund today.

If IBFT is unavailable, using IBG will not be useful, since it is only effective next Monday.

Appreciate any advice from experts here.

This post has been edited by kart: Jan 1 2016, 11:35 AM

I am very sorry, for being out of topic. My issue is more of OCBC IBFT, with some relevance to OCBC e-SmartSavers, a saving account that should be correctly described as a fixed deposit account. Well, it is the time to close this 'fixed deposit' account, by moving out all funds from it.

Definitely, for the past weeks, there was an option to select 'MEPS Instant Transfer', but the option was missing as of yesterday.

Is it a 'clever plan' by OCBC to disable 'MEPS Instant Transfer', to stop us from transferring our fund from e-SmartSavers account using online IBFT, since this 'fixed deposit' account loses its attractiveness starting 1 January 2016? It is just my opinion, though.

This post has been edited by kart: Jan 2 2016, 07:41 AM

Thanks for expressing your opinion.

So, did you close your e-SmartSavers account on 1 January 2016, a public holiday? Which OCBC branch did you go to?

I quickly checked though OCBC branch listing. Correct me if I am wrong, but there is no OCBC branch that opens during Saturday or Sunday.


Does IBFT transfer via OCBC ATM cost RM 0.53, or is it more expensive than that?

So, there is virtually no capping on the amount of money that can be deposited into an OCBC saving account, but there is comparatively low online transfer limit of RM 10000 from OCBC saving account. A smart way for OCBC to boost their deposit amount.

In my opinion, with such restrictive measures imposed on OCBC 360 Account, OCBC 360 Account is no longer a true saving account.

Since when is your credit card directly associated with the interest rate of your saving account? 1.2 % of interest, gained from spending RM 500 on OCBC Credit Cards, is not really the interest of saving account, but instead is taken form Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) from the credit card transaction. If OCBC claims that 1.2% is high, the cashback of many credit cards suggested in this Finance subforum can easily beat that 1.2%.

Most of users in this Finance subforum use specific credit cards to pay bills and other things, to maximize cashback. It would be difficult for us to spend RM 500 on OCBC Credit Cards, and pay any 3 bills online every month, while earning no cashback along the way.

I guess that it is best for us to stick to what OCBC is really good at, which is Fixed Deposit Account (4.5% per annum ).

This post has been edited by kart: Jan 2 2016, 08:39 AM

^
I agree with you, Ramjade.

The reason that I want to transfer all of my money as soon as possible is that I am not gaining any interest on the money placed on OCBC e-SmartSavers this month.

Normally, ATM transactions cost more than online banking transactions. Plus, OCBC banks only open next Monday.

So, there is a potential loss in saving account interest for 3 days, even though my money is tiny, compared to those HNWI here.

The website does not mention about e-Smartsavers. So, for OCBC, e-Smartsavers may not be same as Smartsavers.

Yeah, I transferred all my money from my e-SmartSavers account (which is a tiny amount, compared to HNWIs here ), using IBFT via OCBC ATM. ATM IBFT costs RM 0.32, cheaper than the cost of online IBFT, which is RM 0.53.

The remaining balance is RM 20, which cannot be withdrawn, until the e-Smartsavers account is closed.

I opened my e-Smartsavers account around August 2015. It has been about 5 months since then. Does OCBC impose a penalty fee for closing e-Smartsavers account which was opened less than 6 months ago?

Thanks for the advice.

This post has been edited by kart: Jan 3 2016, 03:50 PM

Thanks, cybpsych.

The terms and conditions links:

OCBC SmartSavers Deal
OCBC Al-Amin SmartSavers Deal

If we compare both terms and conditions, it appears that OCBC Al-Amin SmartSavers-i offers 4 % of interest per annum, as compared to 3.9 % of interest per annum offered by OCBC SmartSavers.

If that is the case, I shall go to OCBC Bank to close my e-Smartsavers account (assuming that no penalty fee is imposed). Then, I go to OCBC Al-Amin Bank to open OCBC Al-Amin SmartSavers-i. Thus, I can enjoy 4% of interest per annum.

Correct me, if my idea is incorrect. Thanks.

This post has been edited by kart: Jan 3 2016, 03:48 PM

Why does HLB insist to claim back excess interest paid to the customers? Isn't that the more money the customer deposits, the more money the bank can lend to other customers, and the more loan interest the bank gets?

Thanks for the explanation.

This post has been edited by kart: Jan 13 2016, 09:30 PM

I am interested to place a FD in Mach, with 4.5% interest per annum.

Let's assume that I do not have any saving account with Mach and Hong Leong, and no access to HL Connect online website at all.

Suppose that I go to Mach, to open a Mach Moneybox saving account, so that I want to place a Mach FD. If it is possible, I want to avoid RM 8 annual fee on Mach ATM / debit card, as I only use IBG to transfer fund out of my Mach Moneybox saving account.

Which of the following is true for me?
a) Bank officer gives me a Mach ATM / debit card. RM 8 annual fee on Mach ATM / debit card is waived, as I select the option of limited ATM withdrawal per month, or:

b) I choose not to get a Mach ATM / debit card. Then, I insist the bank officer to issue me a virtual ATM card (or just a login ID and password). With that virtual ATM card, I can gain access to HL Connect online website, and I can then place a Mach FD.

Thank you for your advice.

The promotion period of PB FD XTRA Campaign, posted by cybpsych before, has been extended to 31 January 2016.

Same as before, the effective rate is unattractive at 4.3% p.a. for 12-month tenure. Plus, the minimum placement of RM 20,000 is higher than the usual RM 10,000 for the fixed deposit promotions for other banks.

Source: https://www.pbebank.com/Personal-Banking/Pr...A-Campaign.aspx



Terms and Conditions: https://www.pbebank.com/pdf/Promotions/tc_fdxtra16.aspx

Question to FD Experts here:

Has Public Bank ever organize a promotion with the best fixed deposit interest rate, as compared to other banks? I notice that promotional fixed deposit interest rate for Public Bank seems to be lower than of other banks.

This post has been edited by kart: Jan 17 2016, 02:54 PM

Thanks for the info, TOMEI-R. Their minimum placement of RM 20,000 appears to be steep, compared to that of other bank.

Yeah, BSN FD with 4.5 % p.a. for 12-month tenure is way better than Public Bank.

I am just highlighting the Public Bank Fixed Deposit promotion, just for information. Who knows that some people prefer Public Bank due to sentimental reason, closer to home, or some other reasons?

This post has been edited by kart: Jan 17 2016, 09:05 PM