My Honest Take on Ozon Bank's Savings Account

I've been around the block a few times when it comes to saving and growing my money. For years, I stuck with my old card and kept my deposits in one place, but when the interest rates hit rock bottom, I decided to bail on my 'green' monopolist.

When I started looking for a new option, I landed on Ozon Bank. And when the marketplace started offering banking services, different from the usual virtual card in the app, I was intrigued.

Why Ozon Bank?

I hadn't opened a new account in ages, but after reviewing the terms, I decided I needed a physical card for cashback, and then I took the plunge and opened a Savings Account.

I'm sharing my experience with saving money so you won't be caught off guard by the nuances of opening a deposit on Ozon.

The ad for the account was always popping up in my card section, but don't rush into it, or you might lose your interest.

Sure, it looked simple: 'just top up your account and earn income'. But many depositors, especially those who've dealt with other banks and 'transparent' terms, got hooked. Not so fast, though.

Savings Account in Ozon BankCalculation Date.Let's get to the good stuff. The calculation period is the main 'twist' in Ozon Bank's Savings Account.

Now that I've moved my money to another bank, I realize that conditions often aren't entirely transparent.

Savings Account in Ozon BankThe detailed conditions for the Savings Account provide explanations in the fine print at the end. And, honestly, it's not pretty.

What's even more annoying is that these detailed conditions are only revealed after you've opened the account.

For example:

It wasn't until I read the explanations that I came across the term 'calculation period'. And that was in the fine print, at the very end of the document.

For a regular person, 'calculation period' would mean the time frame during which interest is accrued. In our case, it's a month, since it's mentioned that the period is from the 20th to the 20th. We'd think we open the account today, and exactly a month later, we'd get interest for 30 days.

However, it's not that simple: each user has their own calculation date. And, pay attention:

You can view your calculation date on the Savings Account page after it's been opened.

Why after it's been opened? Why not mention it upfront?

The calculation date coincides with the cashback payout date.

Thanks for the clarification, but what if someone doesn't receive it? The cashback system only works if you pay outside of Ozon, but most people have a virtual card for discounts on the marketplace, and they wouldn't know about the associated date.

I followed the instructions and opened my account on the wrong date, losing days and my interest in the process. If my calculation date was the 15th, but I opened it on the 27th, for example, the interest accrual would start from the 27th to the 15th, and the first month of high interest would already be spent. The second month would be from the 15th to the 15th, as it should be.

I'm lucky that I was able to find out my date in the chat with the bank, but where would someone new to this, not reading reviews beforehand, know about this?

As someone who worked at the country's most well-known bank for 7 years and set up hundreds and thousands of accounts, the fact that these details are being hidden really gets my goat.

Even in the chat, there's an automated bot response about this date, so why not display it prominently in the profile?

Next, I realized that there's another thing I fell for – I thought the only trap was the calculation date – the increase in my account level.

Account level.

When I tried to transfer the amount to my Ozon card, the bank sender rejected the operation, citing an incorrect phone number, and the bank receiver showed that, on the next login, my account level was insufficient for opening a savings product.

To find out about this, you either have to experience it like I did or find the detailed conditions for the account, which are nowhere to be found in the brief info.

Or you have to log in to your profile and go to the tariffs tab, but why would you do that, when you're mostly not interested in anything else?

Savings account in Ozon Bank Savings account in Ozon BankHowever, I had to register at a pickup point or order a meeting with a bank representative.

Since my calculation date was already on the calendar, and I needed the account today, I chose the first option. Luckily, the nearest pickup point was nearby, and I didn't have to travel far.

Identification and increasing account level at Ozon.

Identification is done by a regular employee of the pickup point through the phone and computer. I had to take a photo of my passport and myself with the employee, who explained that the photo had to be uploaded, apparently there were precedents where clients had questions.

Then we waited for the photos to be accepted, which took no more than two minutes, and I received a link to confirm my identity.

Everything went smoothly and correctly, and I didn't have any questions about the employee's work. But, as I understood, they're not aware of the conditions for the products. At least, I didn't hear any scripts or advice on opening an account.

When I got home, I tried to open the account again, and this time everything worked out – I had the maximum account level and all the products were available.

Ozon Bank Savings AccountThings to Consider.I ran into an issue where I deposited money at the wrong time, which would've been ideal later on because I grabbed the end of the shortest month of the year and the billing period was only 27 days.

At first, I panicked and even reached out to support about the interest calculation, but then I realized it was just my mistake.

Apparently, I just forgot that February is a short month, started looking for a scam in the interest rates, and it turned out it was all about the number of days. But I do want to highlight the great work from support – they got in touch with me and explained everything.

So, for the first billing period, I got 10 208.22, and for the second, 11 720.55, considering that the interest was already calculated on 610 208.22, not 600 000.The money arrived exactly on the billing date both times, but the first sum came late in the evening, and the second one arrived in the morning.

Ozon Bank Savings AccountI deliberately didn't add any new funds to this account for both months to take out the money, add any potential new accumulations, and then switch to another bank.

By the way, I chose Ozon because they offered a high-interest rate for exactly two months, so I wouldn't miss out if it increased further, but it could also decrease.

Interest on the Minimum Balance.

By the way, regarding interest and withdrawals from the account, it's not all that straightforward, but it's a common scheme among many banks.

Interest is calculated on the minimum balance in the account on the billing date. This means that if you had 600,000 rubles in the account and added 400,000 rubles during the billing period, the interest is only calculated on the initial 600,000 rubles.

If you had 600,000 rubles in the account and withdrew 500,000 rubles, then put it back a day or two, the interest is only calculated on 100,000 rubles.

And if you withdraw or transfer all 600,000 rubles between your accounts and back during the billing period, you won't get any interest.

So, if you want to maximize your earnings, keep the amount that you won't need during the billing period separate, and don't transfer all your funds to the account to avoid any confusion later on.

Total.

In the end, I ended up in the black, got the maximum out of these two months, and transferred the money to VTB, which also offered 23%. However, there were some underhanded things there that made me nervous, and I ended up losing in interest, which I'll discuss later.

Ozun Bank gave me 21 928.77 rubles. Is that a lot or a little? Of course, you always want more, but 23% is a pretty good interest rate for today's standards.

What I Liked:

This bank is reliable, and your money up to 1.4 million is insured by the Central Bank of Russia.The interest rate is super competitive.The best part is, there's no fee to open and maintain the account.I love that they give you a rough estimate of your earnings before you even start saving.The app is super user-friendly, making it easy to manage your account on the go.The customer support team is responsive and helpful, always available to answer any questions you may have in the chat.What I didn't like:

The fine print is a bit too small to read.

I'm glad to say that the account is still active, and I can continue saving on it. However, to keep the maximum interest rate, you need to meet certain conditions. To be honest, 23% is no longer the best deal. I decided to open accounts in a few banks to collect the welcome bonuses first, and then I'll choose where to keep my money long-term.

If you're considering opening an account with this bank, I'd say go for it, but do your research and make sure you understand all the terms and conditions to avoid losing out on the interest.

Thanks for reading!