The All New DBS Multiplier Account!

Well, finally DBS is catching up with the other banks. I think for the longest time, they have such strong local foothold that they are flooded with cash (probably from the older generation who still believes that DBS is backed by the government and therefore, is the safest place to put their money), hence negating the need for them to be more aggressive in pursuing new deposits. Finally they are waking up.

Cutting to the chase, I think this is an awesome account. As long as you credit your salary with them, and transact in 1 other category, you get to earn bonus interest. The interest is even higher if you transact in 2 other categories. Take a look at their interest rates table:

What's more, there is no minimum credit card spend required, and POSB invest-saver qualifies as transaction in the "Invest" category.

More details here.

Possible Combo with DBS' Be Your Own Boss Account

I blogged about the merits of DBS' BYOB account here.

Well, I've signed up for it, and since I am already crediting my monthly salary to POSB (previously I was crediting my salary to BOC SmartSaver account), I might as well look at how else I can benefit from this arrangement right?

So the revision to the Multiplier account came just at the right time. Take a look at this table:

When I signed up for BYOB account, I'm already prepared to credit my salary with DBS, and make 5 transactions on any DBS/POSB credit/debit card. Without any additional effort on my part, I can already qualify for bonus interest with the DBS Multiplier account. That's what we call SYNERGY!

The only additional effort that I might possibly make is to sign up for POSB invest-saver, to qualify for the higher tier interest. I think I might just do that.

POSB Cashback Bonus as an Alternative

DBS Multiplier account is good for those who have savings (the bonus interest is applicable for the first S$50,000). For young adults who are just starting to build up their stash, a good alternative to the Multiplier account is the POSB Cashback Bonus.

Well, again, this can be layered with BYOB account, the only difference being that signing up for Invest-Saver is no longer an option if you want to be eligible for earning the cashbacks.

Still, I think this is a great combo with BYOB account for those who don't have much savings.

P.S. I previously blogged about how DBS Visa Debit card is a good combo with BYOB account here. Do note that spending on the debit card will not fulfill the "credit card spend" requirement for both the Multiplier account and the Cashback Bonus; You have to use a credit card. Well, my plan is to use my DBS Esso card once a month, and use the DBS Visa Debit card for an additional 4 times to hit the requirement for BYOB account.

DBS Visa Debit Card - Possible Combo with BYOB Account!

And so I signed up for the DBS Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) offer which I blogged about here.

Starting from this month, I will be making a monthly regular savings of $3000 into the account to maximise the offer, which is only valid for 2 years.

To earn the bonus 2% interest, I have to make 5 retail transactions using DBS/POSB credit/debit cards.

But I don't have any decent card from DBS/POSB.

Well, I have the DBS Esso card, but the discount is not that great compared to using UOB ONE Card at SPC.

I also have the POSB Go! debit card. Nothing much to say about this card really. It's just a plain vanilla debit/atm card.

So the hunt for a useful DBS/POSB card is on!

Because I already have to make minimum spending to earn higher interests in my other savings accounts, I don't want another card that has hurdles to jump through.

I was all ready to simply use my Go! card to make the 5 transactions, until I came across the DBS Visa Debit card!

5% cashback with no minimum spending and no annual fees!

Awesome stuff.

But nothing comes free. To qualify for this 5% cashback, you have to make less than 3 cash withdrawals across all your DBS/POSB accounts in a month. The total value of your withdrawals also must be $400 or less. Full T&C can be found here.

Sounds easy enough, as I am already going cashless whenever possible.

If you are in a similar situation, this card might work for you as well.

DBS Be Your Own Boss - A Very Attractive Offer!

I am one of those who have been waiting for the next big crash to come, opting to construct my portfolio with more than 50% cash. Well, sitting on a pile (small one for me) of cash is not the gloomiest situation, but watching them eroding away by inflation day after day is not exactly enjoyable either. For anyone who wish to grow their wealth, keeping cash that generates close to nothing is hardly a palatable proposition.

Thankfully, the banks are competing hard to get our cash parked with them. I've been parking my warchest in UOB ONE and BOC SmartSaver accounts, with the former yielding an average of 2.43% p.a. and the latter, between 1.55% to 3.55%. I was actually quite happy to continue with this arrangement until I chanced upon SGBudgetBabe's post on Be Your On Boss (BYOB) offer by DBS. More details on the product website here.

On first look, BYOB offers interest rates of up to 4% for the next two years if you do the following:

That's simple enough, but do scroll to the bottom of the product page and read through the terms and conditions. Of note, to qualify for this offer, you must be between 18 to 30 years old, and with no salary credit arrangement with POSB/DBS between 1 Sep 2016 and 28 Feb 2017.

Interest Calculation

Being slightly more mathematically-inclined, I was wondering how the interests are calculated. Below is an illustration provided by POSB/DBS on interests calculation:

On first look, it does seem like the interest are not credited and compounded monthly. Upon further investigation, I found out that the "Additional 2% interest" only applies to the original amount credited + interest earned in the preceding month. The "Bonus 2% interest" only applies to the original amount credited into SAYE. This all sounds very confusing, so I tried to reverse engineer the whole calculation process:

I tried various methods of calculating, but I simply couldn't get the exact figures provided by the bank. The above table shows the closest attempt I managed.

If I changed the monthly saving amount to $3000, this is what I get:

A total interest of just over $3000 over 2 years. Neat.

Just to satisfy my curiousity, I wanted to find out what's the equivalent rates if interests are credited and compounded monthly, instead of the convoluted way of calculation that POSB/DBS has decided to use. I've learnt not to trust headline numbers so readily. This is what I found:

An equivalent interest rate of approximately 3.9%. Not too different from the headline numbers, fortunately.

To Sign Up or Not to Sign Up?

Numbers don't lie, and I think this is one of the best places to park your excess cash at the moment. You might lose some liquidity though, since to qualify for 4% (or 3.9%) promotional rate, you are not allowed to make any withdrawals.

On the flipside, at least you know for certain the amount of interest you will get at the end of the 24 months. Neither UOB ONE nor BOC SmartSaver can give you this certainty, since the terms for those accounts can be changed overnight.

Oh oh oh....and if you sign up before 31st Oct, you get an additional $88 as a welcome gift =)

P.S. This is not a sponsored post. My blog is not popular enough for that, so you can be assured that all opinions contained herein are those of mine and mine alone.