Real Time Ratings^TM is a world-first rating system that ranks term deposits based on your balance over the fixed time period.

Unlike other term deposit rating systems that grade their products once or twice a year, Real Time Ratings^TM results are calculated as you use the site, making them as up to date as possible.

Real Time Ratings^TM gives each term deposit a score out of five stars, based on interest earned and flexibility. It factors in your deposit amount and the fixed time period of your deposit so you can find the best term deposit applicable to you.

Locking away your savings shouldn’t be a complicated process. Real Time Ratings^TM helps simplify choosing a term deposit by showing you the most up-to-date information and giving each deposit an easy-to-read star rating.

Each term deposit displayed on RateCity’s term deposit comparison table has been assessed using an algorithm that compares the interest earned and features of all term deposits considered relative to its peers.

The Real Time Rating of each term deposit  is calculated by adding the Interest Score and Flexibility Score of the product, or simply:

Real Time RatingTM = Interest Score + Flexibility Score

The Interest Score of each product is dynamically calculated using the average monthly interest earned by the term deposit (minus applicable account keeping fees). The average monthly interest earned is calculated with consideration to the following input fields from the RateCity term deposit comparison table:

• Term Deposit Amount

• Term

Only term deposits that meet the above user criteria are displayed on the table.

Different interest payment frequencies are accounted for in the average monthly interest calculation. It is assumed that payments over the term are paid into the term deposit and the interest is compounded over the term. The below table summaries how this is calculated:

*interest rate above has been rounded for illustrative purposes

Each time a user input filter impacting the assumptions of the average monthly interest calculation is changed, the Interest Score calculations are retriggered and new scores are calculated to reflect the inputs.

Calculating Interest Score from Average Monthly Interest

When calculating the Interest Score from the market of average monthly interest amounts calculated, the following steps are taken to convert this into a score relative to the market of all term deposits on the RateCity database:

• All term deposits are ranked based on their total monthly interest. This ranking is then changed into a percentile score. For example, the top 1% of accounts (those with the most flexibility points) are given a 99th percentile ranking.
• Each product is then given a score that fits a normal distribution. This score is based on where it sits within the distribution of all the products, considering that the 'average' product scores a 3 and with variability around that average.

Real Time Ratings™ uses discrete scoring (i.e. having a specific feature is worth a specific number of points) and the overall Flexibility Score is based on the aggregated total of all points scored across all features assessed.

For term deposits, all of the following positive features are scored equally:

• Ability to have a joint application for the term deposit (i.e. multiple account holders)
• If no withdrawal notice is required
• If an email alert is received prior to maturity of the term deposit
• If a phone alert is received prior to maturity of the term deposit
• If a term deposit automatically rolls over at maturity
• If interest can be paid to a different financial institution
• If there is no penalty for an early withdrawal

The flexibility points scored by a product is then converted into the Flexibility Score using the following steps:

• Adding up all the flexibility points for each term deposit being evaluated.
• All term deposits are ranked based on their total flexibility points. This ranking is then changed into a percentile score. For example, the top 1% of accounts (those with the most flexibility points) are given a 99th percentile ranking.
• Each product is then given a score that fits a normal distribution. This score is based on where it sits within the distribution of all the products, considering that the 'average' product scores a 3 and with variability around that average.

Applying Multiplier to Calculate Real Time Ratings™

Following the calculation of the Interest Score and the Flexibility Score, a Real Time Ratings™ is then calculated by multiplying the Cost Score and the Flexibility Score by a multiplier and adding these scores together to come up with the Real Time Ratings™ for the product.

This is done using the following multipliers with accompanying examples:

Any term deposit with a Real Time Rating™ that naturally calculates to above 5 will be adjusted down to 5 which is the highest possible rating.

Real Time Ratings™  are calculated on an hourly basis based on the information that is available in the RateCity database.

Does RateCity rate all products available in the market?

We endeavour to include the majority of product providers in the market and to compare the product features most relevant to consumers in our Real Time Ratings™. However, this process is not always possible and it may be that not every product in the market is included in the rating nor every feature compared that is relevant to you.