As part of our commitment to rewarding good savers and great customers like you, we’ve just introduced a new bonus rate that will help you earn more interest.

Here’s an example based on a starting account balance of $10,000, at 4th October 2011:

First, make sure you read the full Terms and Conditions below. Then start increasing your combined Savings and Cash Advantage Fund balance to receive bonus interest.

Should you have any questions about how bonus interest works please feel free to contact our Customer Contact Centre on 0800 22 44 33, 8am - 7pm weekdays, or review the frequently asked questions below.

1. What accounts are eligible to receive bonus interest?


2. How is the bonus interest calculated?


3. If I withdraw all my funds on deposit with RaboDirect to my nominated account and then transfer them back in, will I be eligible for the Bonus Interest?


4. How do I increase my total On Call balance?


5. When do you calculate the bonus interest?


6. When will my bonus interest be paid?


7. How long will the special bonus interest campaign run for?


8. Will interest rate changes affect my bonus interest?


9. Can you show me some examples of how bonus interest may work?


10. How long do I have to keep my money in my account?


11. How do I see a breakdown of my bonus interest payments?


12. If a term deposit matures and the money goes into my On Call account,
    is it eligible for bonus interest?


13. I have money in the Cash Advantage Fund. Do I need to move these funds to my
    On Call account in order for the interest to be eligible for the New Money bonus?


14. If I sell managed funds, are the proceeds that are deposited in my On Call account
    eligible for bonus interest?


15. I have money in the Cash Advantage Fund. Is the bonus interest taxed as RWT
    or as a PIE?

Joint, personal, children’s, personal trust and family trust accounts are automatically eligible to participate. Business accounts and other trust types (eg. trading trusts) are not eligible.

To calculate the bonus interest, your accounts are broken down into 2 components:

Total Portfolio balance:
This is the total balances of your accounts with RaboDirect (excluding Managed funds). Includes: On Call accounts, Term Deposits, Cash Advantage Fund, & Term Advantage Fund.

On Call Portfolio balance:
These are your accounts that are eligible to receive the bonus interest. Includes: On Call savings accounts and Cash Advantage Fund holdings.

On the last business day before the campaign starts, the value of your Total Portfolio balance and your On Call Portfolio balance is calculated. During the promotion, an additional bonus interest rate of 0.60% will be paid on eligible increases in your On Call portfolio balance (provided your total portfolio balance remains above the balance at the start of the campaign).

No. We will take a snap shot of your combined balance of your On Call Savings accounts and your Cash Advantage Fund on the 4th of October. Only increases of the total On Call balance above the snapshot amount will gain the bonus interest. Note that deposits from Term Deposit maturities and Term Advantage Fund withdrawals are not included as part of the increase.

To increase your On Call Savings Account or the Cash Advantage Fund, simply log into your RaboDirect account with your Digipass and arrange a transfer in. This will automatically arrange a transfer from your nominated bank account to your On Call account with RaboDirect. This will in turn place the funds directly into your On Call Savings Account and you will then automatically begin to receive the bonus as soon as this transfer is made.

The eligible amount is calculated each day.

Bonus interest is paid as a single interest payment to your Master Savings Account on the last business day of each month.

For customers who joined before 4th October 2011, the bonus interest period will run from the 4th October 2011 until the 31st January 2012.

No. Changes in the standard variable rate until 31st January 2012 will not affect the bonus interest.

Example 1: On Call account only:
At the start of the promotion, Mary has $50,000 on call. During the month she deposits $500 to her account. At the end of the month, as both her Portfolio balance and On Call balance have increased by $500, that $500 is eligible for the bonus interest.

Example 2: term deposit maturing:
At the start of the promotion, David has $10,000 on call and $10,000 on term deposit. This means that his Portfolio Start Balance is $20,000. During the promotion his term deposit matures, paying the $10,000 principal plus $200 interest to his On Call account. His Portfolio balance is now $20,200, meaning an increase of $200 which is then eligible for the bonus interest.

Example 3: funds transferred to term deposit:
At the start of the promotion, Richard has $10,000 on call. During the promotion he deposits a further $50,000 to his On Call account, and then sets up a term deposit for $40,000 with some of those funds (leaving $20,000 on call). In this case, his Portfolio balance has increased from $10,000 to $60,000, however his overall On Call balance has only increased from $10,000 to $20,000. After the term deposit has been set up, the amount of Richards savings eligible for the bonus interest is $10,000.

There is no minimum period. So you can keep your money in your account for as little or as long as you like and you will still be eligible (provided you meet the criteria detailed in the terms and conditions, of course).

You can see a breakdown of bonus interest payments on your Master Savings account statement, including the bonus interest rate. To generate your statement, log in to your account and select “Savings Accounts” and then “Statements”. Select your Master Savings account from the list, enter a date range and press “Search”.

Provided the date range is within the promotional period and after 1st November 2011, your statement will include details of your bonus interest earnings.

The interest from the term deposit is eligible, however the term deposit principal amount is not.

No. The Cash Advantage Fund is already considered part of your overall On Call balance

In most cases the answer is yes. Exceptions being the Cash Advantage Fund and Term Advantage Fund, which are treated differently as per the Terms and Conditions outlined below.

The bonus interest calculation will take into account earnings in the Cash Advantage Fund, however as it is calculated as a product externally to the Cash Advantage Fund, the bonus interest is taxed at your Resident Withholding Tax rate rather than your Prescribed Investor Rate.