The below information is correct as of September 2023

Term lengths and payment frequency

Bendigo offer a wide array of term lengths, as well as different rates for more regular payment intervals. For example, monthly payments currently have a 5 basis point discount from equivalent products with interest payments at the end of the term. Generally, the more frequent customers receive interest payments, the more the interest rate is discounted. The following term lengths are available at Bendigo:

Interest paid at maturity

Interest paid annually

Interest paid semi annually

Interest paid quarterly

Interest paid monthly

1 month

✅

2 months

✅

3 months

✅

4 months

✅

5 months

✅

6 months

✅

✅

✅

7 months

✅

8 months

✅

9 months

✅

10 months

✅

11 months

✅

12 months

✅

✅

✅

✅

✅

15 months

✅

24 months

✅

✅

✅

✅

✅

36 months

✅

✅

✅

✅

48 months

✅

✅

✅

✅

60 months

✅

✅

✅

✅

Deposit sizes

Bendigo splits its term deposit products by deposit size. All of the above products are available for deposits of $5,000 or less, but the interest rate is significantly reduced. Larger deposits can be up to $5,000,000, although customers who wish to deposit more than this can contact the bank.

Penalties for early withdrawal

Bendigo customers are able to access the amount in their term deposit before the term concludes, but are penalised for doing so. The interest rate that applies to the money withdrawn will be equivalent to the lowest rate available at Bendigo for three month term deposits, irrespective of account balance, minus a further 0.25%, stopping at 0% p.a.

The remaining balance then continues to accumulate the pre-agreed interest rate, unless the withdrawal means the balance reduces to another tier of product (say the withdrawal lowers the balance below $5,000). In this case, the rate of the equivalent product for the new deposit size applies.

In some cases, customers might have already received a portion of the interest they are denied due to early withdrawal. Even if the interest rate on the withdrawn amount is reduced to 0% p.a, the customer still might have been paid more than they are due.

For example, say a Bendigo customer deposits $10,000 into a one year term deposit account at 4% p.a, with interest paid at the end of term. After six months, they decide to withdraw $5,000. Instead of the $100 in interest that should have been accumulated on that $5,000, Bendigo will instead pay out an interest rate equivalent to the lowest interest rate available for three month term deposits, minus 0.25% p.a (lets say 1.25% p.a, so calculated at 1% p.a), so the customer will only receive $25. The remaining $5,000 will continue to earn 4% p.a.

Now lets say the customer was receiving monthly interest payments, and had already received $83.33 in interest payments over the first five months of the term. Bendigo would then deduct $58.33 from the $5,000 principal amount returned, so the customer ends up in the same position, the original deposit amount returned plus $25 in interest.