Find out how term deposits work, how they’re different to a savings account and more.
When you open a term deposit, you lock away some money for a set amount of time (that’s the ‘term’). Since accessing your funds before the term is up will affect the interest you could earn, it can help you fight any temptation to dip into your savings.
Plus, because you get a fixed rate, you can guarantee the amount of interest you’ll earn.
With a term deposit, you’re putting your money aside for a fixed term, with a fixed rate. Term deposits usually have an initial minimum deposit, so they can be better for established savers.
With a savings account, you can access your money at any time – and you earn a variable rate. To be eligible for your best possible rate each month you usually need to meet some requirements (like a monthly deposit or making no withdrawals).
At the end of your term, you have seven calendar days (we call this your ‘grace period’) to let us know what you’d like to do with your term deposit. We’ll remind you around 10 days before your grace period starts, so you can start thinking about your options.
You can:
If you have one of our online term deposits, you can manage your term deposit yourself in Bankwest Online Banking. Go to your account to get started – you can message us 24/7 if you get stuck.
If you have an ‘in branch’ term deposit, message, call or visit us so we can help you out.
You can, but you need to give us 31 days’ notice. Plus, it’ll affect the interest you earn.
You don’t need to give us any notice if you withdraw your funds at the end of your term.
Here are some things to think about.
How long you’ll invest for
If you choose a longer-term and interest rates rise, you’re locked in at a lower rate. But if you invest for a shorter term and interest rates fall, you could be missing out on potential interest down the line.
It’s important to research the trends in market to make an informed decision.
When the interest is paid
If your term is less than 12 months, we’ll pay you interest at the end of your term. When you set up a term of 12 months or more, it can’t just be paid at maturity – you can choose whether you’d like interest to be paid monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually. Keep in mind that interest must be paid at least once a year.
The interest rate for your term will be different depending on how frequently interest is paid.
Don’t set and forget
We’ll remind you when your term is ending so you can let us know what you’d like to do with your account.
But if you don’t, we’ll automatically reinvest your total balance for the same amount of time at the applicable rate. It pays to shop around to make sure the term length and rate are still the best option for you.
