Banks are applying various promotions for different customer groups. For saving customers, the most popular promotion is adding interest rates from 0.1 to 0.3 percent per year, reducing transfer fees, and giving gifts on holidays and anniversaries. If customers use other services, such as credit card, they can get unlimited rebates when shopping, annual fee waivers, and strong discounts on various services such as shopping, entertainment, food, travel, and healthcare.
While promotions used to happen once in several months and only focus on major holidays, banks now launch new campaigns every week, one following another.
Besides, deposit rates can be divided into distinct groups. For the terms of less than six months, some small and medium-sized joint stock banks offer interest rate ceilings or close to the ceiling. For longer terms, the interest rate difference is even greater among banks. Some banks apply the deposit interest rate at eight percent per year for terms of 12 months and higher for terms of 18 months. As in Viet Capital Joint Stock Commercial Bank (Viet Capital Bank), seven-month term deposit interest rate is 7.9 percent per year; for longer terms, the interest rates are higher than 8.6 percent per year.
Why are banks racing in promotion?
Currently, because the ratio of short-term capital for medium and long-term loans are decreased from 45 percent to 40 percent from the beginning of 2019, all banks tend to encourage long-term customers through adding interest rates and increase incentives. The aim is to increase the medium and long-term capital to meet the requirements of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) as well as to have more resources to lend.
At the same time, many banks also carry out their own promotions with more flexible conditions to suit each subject.
For example, Viet Capital Bank has continuously implemented promotions that usually last two to three months with different types of gifts for each group of customers.
The latest is the programme ‘Ngay moi theo chan BAN’ launched from March 11, giving gifts to customers who deposit from 50 million dong with a term of only one month. Customers can flexibly choose different types of gifts when signing up for Viet Capital Bank’s ATM E-plus card and activating free e-banking service. The gifts are products from Lock&Lock brand such as water jugs, food containers, heat holding cups, versatile scissors, and rice container sets. In addition to gifts, depositors also enjoy interest rates of up to 8.6 percent per year.
The gifts are also diversified to meet different needs of depositors such as self-care, family care, and technology equipment. The promotion mechanism is simple that one will receive gifts respective to their deposit levels.
The question is how depositors choose the most profitable among all the interest rates and promotions that banks offer.
According to experts, firstly, depositors should consult savings interest rates at many banks as well as mobilisation programmes and conditions of those programmes.
Currently, some joint stock commercial banks offer high mobilising interest rates with a minimum deposit requirement of two billion dong or more, or a requirement of a very long term. In the event that the person withdraws before the maturity date, the deposit will be subject to demand interest rate. Other banks offer added interest rates and gifts, but the lower the deposit amount, the longer the deposit term is required. This will cause inconvenience to customers if they have an unexpected need for capital. Therefore, depositors need to consider banks as well as suitable and flexible promotions with few binding conditions.
Promotion gifts for depositors are also very diverse and diversified from personal items to home appliances suitable to the tastes and preferences of customers in many regions. Therefore, consumers have more choices besides enjoying preferential interest rates.
Promotion on credit card is often fee discounts, books, and purchase discounts. Each product fits the needs of different subject. The value of each gift is also different. Therefore, depositors should also consider the usefulness of the gifts, in addition to their value, to choose the most beneficial option.
