Standard Chartered BonusSaver Account review: 1 of the higher interest rate bank accounts out there

Technically called the Standard Chartered Bonus$aver Account, not Bonus Saver, the account name says it all — a bonus for savers. In fact, this current account is one of the higher interest rate bank accounts out there — even higher than any fixed deposit rates and certainly offers the highest interest rate of all Standard Chartered savings accounts.

I admit, the $ just reminds me of American singer Ke$ha of TiK ToK fame (the song, not the app!) before she changed the dollar sign back to ‘s’ some years back.

For ease of readability, we’ll just call it BonusSaver. Let’s see how it measures up. 

How are Standard Chartered BonusSaver interest rates calculated? 

Thanks to everything bad that’s happened in the last two years (oh, the dark days!), thus affecting the economy, banks have been lowering their interest rates and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) is no different.  

One wouldn’t usually think of Standard Chartered for savings accounts — you’d usually go with one of the big three (DBS, UOB, OCBC) — but the BonusSaver is a good way to accumulate bonus interest too.

It works similarly to the OCBC 360 and DBS Multiplier accounts where you perform certain actions to earn higher bonus interest rates. 

In the last couple of years, the Standard Chartered BonusSaver account’s maximum interest rate has been shaved off multiple time. From 3 per cent to 2.88 per cent to its current 2.38 per cent. It’s a pity but you can still get back a pretty generous 2.38 per cent if you hit the various categories with your salary credit, spending, bill payments, and when you invest or insure with Standard Chartered.

Now, let’s look across the board to plot how you can get the most of your Standard Chartered BonusSaver account. Here’s a summary of the bonus interest rates: 

With the current interest rates, the total bonus interest rate that you can earn will be 2.38 per cent p.a.. As you can see, Standard Chartered the earn bonus interest for the ‘easy-to-earn’ category (salary credit) is significantly lower than what you’d earn in interest if you insure or invest through them. 

The interest rate for crediting a monthly salary (minimum $3,000), is 0.1 per cent p.a.. The base interest rate has also gradually decreased from 0.05 per cent p.a. to 0.03 per cent p.a. to its current 0.01 per cent. That means if you don’t do anything else, you’ll only earn a dismal 0.01 per cent.

Usually, this is so negligible that it doesn’t affect anything, but for the BonusSaver, the interest rate you get from card spend is tied to the base rate. Here’s how that works:

You’ll have to charge your retail spend to a Bonus$aver World credit or debit card to earn this bonus interest, as well as spend at least $2,000 to earn the 0.41 per cent p.a. interest, which is the second highest interest rate tier that you can earn. 

To earn the highest bonus interest of 0.9 per cent p.a., you’d have to do the following:

• Invest in an eligible unit trust (eg. ETF, regular savings plan) through SCB with a minimum investment amount of $30,000
• Insure: purchase a premium life insurance policy through SCB with at least an annual premium amount of $12,000 

Note that for both these categories, the interest will be paid for the first 12 months only.

Overall, your bonus interest rates will be capped at the first $80,000.

Who is the Standard Chartered BonusSaver account suitable for?

Looking at all the terms and conditions needed to earn all these bonus interest rates, you’d have to be a big spender who shops a lot every month, or you just have a large family to provide for. 

It’s definitely for the mid-career professional leading a comfortable lifestyle. To hit the total of 2.38 per cent p.a. interest rate, you’ll have to hit all the categories. Particularly, if you’re unable to invest or insure with Standard Chartered, and can only meet the requirements of the remaining categories, you’ll only earn 0.58% p.a.

You can do the math yourself over at Standard Chartered where you can calculate how much you can earn.

That said, if you have a minimum salary of $3,000, spend at least $2,000 each month, have bills to pay, and are looking to purchase a new insurance policy or make a new investment, the Bonus$aver is one where you can unlock the maximum bonus interest rates. 

Who is the Standard Chartered BonusSaver promotion

If you sign up for a BonusSaver Account and BonusSave World Mastercard and if you’re somehow able to deposit and maintain at least $50,000, you’ll receive a pair of Apple Airpods Pro. The promotion is valid until June 30, 2022.

Standard Chartered BonusSaver vs DBS Multiplier 

DBS Multiplier used to be one of the more popular savings accounts out there for its high interest rate — a mighty 3.8 per cent. However, that’s long been history. DBS Multiplier’s maximum interest rate is 3 per cent when you meet all the requirements.

The compulsory criteria that you have to fulfil is to credit some form of income (min. $2,000) to the account, which can be in the form of — Salary or Dividends. 

You can earn through one of the following ways: 

• Salary credit AND credit card spend, home loan, insurance and/or investments (add up to at least $2,000 a month)
• Salary credit AND spend via PayLah! on retail transactions that add up to at least $500
• Make PayLah! Transactions (no minimum spend) for those 29 years old and below with no eligible income

The SCB BonusSaver differs from DBS Multiplier as you don’t have to fulfil the $3,000 salary credit to earn bonus interest, so the DBS Multiplier is great for folks who have a regular income of at least $2,000 and are able to transact in one or more of the other categories. Particularly, if you’re looking to get a home loan, which is one of the categories which qualifies as a transaction.

Here’s more on how you can get the most out of your DBS Multiplier account. 

Standard Chartered BonusSaver vs OCBC 360 

The OCBC 360 savings account is also another contender where you’ve got to earn interest in a similar way. You can also earn an interest rate of up to 2.38 per cent with OCBC’s 360 Account. 

Earn bonus interest by taking the following steps: 

• Salary credit of at least $1,800 (0.3 per cent p.a. and up)
• Increase monthly balance by at least $500 (0.1 per cent p.a. and up)
• Buy insurance or invest with OCBC (0.3 per cent p.a. and up) 

What’s good about OCBC 360 is that it’s not mandatory to credit your salary and you can combine different actions to boost your base interest of 0.05 per cent p.a., similar to BonusSaver. To break it down:

You’ll accumulate a total interest rate of 0.45 per cent p.a. for the first $25,000 in your account if you credit your salary and save $500 more each month. 

It’s more worth it to use the OCBC if you have at least $50,001 to earn more interest on the first $75,000 in your account. Find out more about OCBC 360’s interest rate. 

SCB BonusSaver account minimum balance & other things to know

Minimum age: 18 years old

Nationality: Singaporeans, PRs, foreigners

Initial deposit: None

Minimum balance (monthly): $3,000

Fall-below fee: $5 

Early account closure fee: $30 (if account closed within six months)

Bonus interest cap: 2.38 per cent p.a. on the first $80,000 in account

Multi-currency account: Supports 13 foreign currencies – EUR, USD, GBP, AUD, CAD, NZD, JPY, HKD, CHF, NOK, DKK, SEK, ZAR

This article was first published is MoneySmart.