Best savings accounts for working adults in Singapore (2021 edition)

This article was first published on July 3, 2017 and updated on Jan 5, 2021 to reflect the latest interest rates.

When you start working, choosing the best savings account is one of the first financial decisions that you should make. A good savings account should help you earn high interest with minimal inconvenience.

Wait… Why do I need to choose a best savings accounts? Don’t we all already have one?

Chances are that you already have at least one savings account under your name. So why do you need another one?

For the most part, those who have yet to start work are likely to be using a basic account that doesn’t provide many benefits.

As a working adult, you now have the opportunity to choose a much better savings account that gives you higher interest rates. But which would be the best savings accounts for you as a working adult?

Do note that some of these accounts mentioned below have a higher minimum average balance required, after which, a monthly fall-below fee ($2 or more) may be charged.

Let’s compare some of the best savings accounts in Singapore that you should be considering.

OCBC 360, OCBC

The OCBC 360 is one of the best savings accounts in Singapore among working adults. That’s because it has been around for a long time and gives a decent interest rate to its customers.

However, the past couple of years have seen OCBC revised the interest rates of its widely popular OCBC 360 savings account multiple times. However, you can still earn decent interest up to the first $75,000. Here’s how it currently works.

• Monthly crediting of salary (min $2,000) through GIRO – 0.4 per cent p.a (first $25,000), 0.8 per cent p.a (next $25,000), 1.2 per cent p.a (next $25,000)
• Increase your account balance by at least $500 compared to previous month – 0.1 per cent p.a (first $25,000), 0.2 per cent p.a (next $25,000), 0.4 per cent p.a. (next $25,000)
• Insure with OCBC – 0.4 per cent p.a (first $25,000), 0.8 per cent p.a (next $25,000, 1.2 per cent p.a (next $25,000)
• Invest with OCBC – 0.4 per cent p.a (first $25,000), 0.8 per cent p.a (next $25,000, 1.2 per cent p.a (next $25,000)
• Grow : Maintain at least $200,000 of the average daily balance in your account and earn 0.4 per cent p.a. on your first $75,000.

Put simply, if you have savings of up to $25,000, the effective interest rate that you earn would be lesser as compared to if you have $50,000. You will have higher interest rates if you have savings of up to $75,000.

Realistic interest rate ($25,000 or less): 0.5 per cent (Maximum interest rate: 1.30 per cent)

Realistic interest rate ($75,000): 1.03 per cent (Maximum interest rate: 2.63 per cent)

We put the realistic interest rate at 0.5 per cent for those who have savings of up to $25,000 (and a realistic interest rate of 1.03 per cent for those who have savings of $75,000) because we don’t think it makes sense for a person to buy an insurance or investment product, just to earn an extra 0.4per cent to 1.2 per cent interest for a period of 12 months.

If you have $75,000, the effective interest rate for the OCBC 360 is decent at 1.03 per cent, even if you do not invest or insure through OCBC.

One thing that we like about the OCBC 360 Account is that bonus interest in each area can be earned independently . This means you do not need to complete any particular area in order to be eligible for the bonus interests in other areas.

Who should apply: Young working adults who just received their first paycheque can consider getting an OCBC 360 account and to credit their salary into it. By doing so, they immediately enjoy a 0.4 per cent p.a. interest on their savings.

If you have savings of between $35,000 to $70,000, the OCBC 360 account gives you a higher effective interest rate.

Editor’s Note: With effect from Feb 1, 2021, OCBC will be reducing the interest rate for its 360 Account. This means the current figures stated above will be reduced soon.

One Account, UOB

For the past few years, the UOB One Account has been the main competitor to the OCBC 360 as one of the best savings accounts in Singapore. The interest rates are somewhat similar though the UOB One Account works in a slightly different way. We will let the table below do the explaining.

An individual with savings of $75,000, and who is able to meet both criteria (minimum spending of $500 plus three GIRO payments or crediting of salary), stands to earn an effective interest rate (EIR) of 1.00 per cent.

Firstly, to qualify for bonus interest, you have to achieve a minimum spend of at least $500 on your UOB One Card ( which by itself, is a great card to own anyway based on the reviews from our readers ) and/or other selected UOB cards. Once you have done that, you would have met the first criteria for bonus interest.

In order to earn the second tranche of bonus interest, you have two options.

Option A: Pay three bills monthly via GIRO

or

Option B: Credit your salary (minimum $2,000) via GIRO

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Realistic Interest Rate: 1.00 per cent (based on $75,000 savings)

It’s important to note that though UOB advertises that you get up to 2.50 per cent p.a. interest from the account, this is not really the case.

That’s because the 2.50 per cent interest rate only applies to savings that are from $60,000 to $75,000. In other words, in order to get this 2.50 per cent, you first have to accept the lower interest rates the account gives you on your first $60,000.

This step-up interest rate structure means that the effective interest rates that the UOB One Account gives differ, depending on the balance in your savings account.

Who should apply: Assuming you have $75,000, the UOB One account gives an effective interest rate of 1.00 per cent.

In return, you only need to spend $500 on the UOB One card and either credit your salary or pay three bills online.  This is fewer actions required compared to the OCBC 360 and yet you earn a higher interest.

The catch here is that you MUST spend $500 on the UOB One Card for you to qualify for any bonus interest. Otherwise, you don’t get any interest even if you fulfill the other requirements. Also, you want to have about $75,000 in savings.

For instance, if you only have $15,000 in savings, then you would only be earning an effective interest rate of 0.50 per cent.

BOC SmartSaver, Bank Of China

We once said the BOC SmartSaver had the best savings account in Singapore and got punk’d by them on the very same week when their criteria were changed. How do they fare now? Here are some of their perks. Here is the bonus interest you can earn on the first $80,000 of your savings.

• Crediting of salary (min: $2,000) – 0.3 per cent p.a. If salary credited is $6,000 or more, interest rate is 0.5 per cent p.a.
• Credit card spend (min: $500) – 0.3per cent p.a. If credit card spend is $1,500 or more, interest rate is 0.5per cent
• Pay 3 bill payment (min $30 each) – 0.30 per cent
• Bonus Interest – If you fulfilled at least one of the requirements above, you will receive 0.4 per cent p.a. on funds above $80,000, subject to a maximum of $1,000,000.

Realistic interest rate: 0.9 per cent is what most people can expect based on the usual criteria being met (e.g. crediting of salary, spending $500 on credit cards, GIRO bill payments).

For higher earners with a take-home salary of $6,000 or more, and who can spend at least $1,500 on their BOC credit cards, an interest rate of 1.30 per cent is achievable.

Who should apply: If you are a young working adult starting at an average salary, the BOC SmartSaver will work out to be quite similar to the OCBC 360 (BOC: 0.90 per cent, OCBC: 0.5-1.03 per cent). However, if you are a high-income earner with a take-home salary of $6,000 or more plus you spend $1,500 per month on your credit card, then the BOC SmartSaver is an attractive savings account to consider.

Bonus$aver Account, Standard Chartered

Another savings account that cannot be ignored when discussing the best savings accounts for working adults in Singapore is the Standard Chartered Bonus$aver Account.

On paper, the Standard Chartered Bonus$aver Account gives the highest effective interest rate in Singapore at a very impressive 2.60 per cent p.a. This is currently unmatched.

* The 0.63 per cent interest rate shown on card spend from the screenshot above includes the prevailing interest rate, which is 0.03 per cent p.a on all your entire balance.

# 1 Card spend (up to 0.63 per cent – inclusive of prevailing interest)

You will earn bonus interest on the first $80,000 of your deposit balance if you meet the minimum card spend.

If you have $80,000 and charge a minimum of $500 each month on your Bonus$saver card linked to a Bonus$saver account on qualifying retail transactions, you can earn an interest of 0.25 per cent p.a . This increases up to 0.60 per cent p.a. if you charge a minimum spend of $2,000 each month.

# 2 Salary credit (0.1 per cent)

By crediting a monthly take-home salary of $3,000 into your Bonus$aver account, you will earn a bonus interest rate of 0.1 per cent p.a .

# 3 Invest & insure (0.9 per cent each, total of 1.8 per cent)

If you have invested in an eligible unit trust (minimum subscription sum: S$30,000) or purchased an eligible insurance policy (minimum annual premium: $12,000) through Standard Chartered, you will earn an additional interest rate of 0.9 per cent p.a. each.

This means you can potentially earn up to 1.8 per cent if you invest and insure with Standard Chartered.

# 4 Bill payment (0.07 per cent)

By paying three eligible bills, of at least $50 each, from your Bonus$Saver account via GIRO or online banking, you can earn an additional 0.07 per cent p.a.

In total, you can earn card spend (up to 0.60 per cent) + salary credit (0.1 per cent) + Invest (0.9 per cent) + Insure (0.9 per cent) + Bill payment (0.07 per cent) + Prevailing interest rate (0.03 per cent) = 2.60 per cent p.a. from the Bonus$aver account.

Do note that the bonus interest above applies to your first $80,000 deposit balances.

ALSO READ: Your savings account sucks, here are some that don't - 2020 edition

Realistic interest rate: If you spend a minimum of $500 on your Bonus$aver card, credit your monthly salary (minimum $3,000), and make three eligible bill payments each month, you will earn a basic interest of 0.45 per cent, which is obviously not very impressive compared to the other high-interest savings accounts above.

However, if you are able to spend $2,000 per month on your Bonus$saver card, your interest rate will increase to 0.80 per cent p.a.

We don’t think it makes sense to invest or insure in a product just to earn the additional 1.8 per cent per annum.

Who should apply: The main thing for the Bonus$Saver account is that your salary credit needs to be a minimum of $3,000 per month. You can apply here if you wish to enjoy attractive perks.

DBS Multiplier Account, DBS

The DBS Multiplier account could be considered as one of the best savings accounts but it works in a different way compared to the other savings accounts that have been mentioned in this article.

Rather than give account holders bonus interest based on each of the requirements that they meet, bonus interest is given based on the total eligible transactions completed each month. Bonus interests can be earned on the first $100,000 of savings.

However, unlike the other savings account, you must make a salary credit and complete at least one other requirement first . Otherwise, you do not receive any bonus interest.

In other words, you need to use the Multiplier account for monthly crediting of salary (no minimum amount required) and at least one of the following:

– Credit card spend with DBS/POSB
– Home loan instalment with DBS/POSB
– Insurance with DBS/POSB
– Investments with DBS/POSB

There are no minimums for each category, but to receive bonus interest, your total monthly eligible transactions need to add up to $2,000 or more.

ALSO READ: OCBC cuts interest rates for 360 savings account again

The DBS Multiplier account gives you an interest rate based on two factors. 1) The volume of your total eligible transactions each month and 2) the number of categories where you make an eligible transaction each month

For example, an individual with a take-home salary of $2,000 who spends $400 on his DBS/POSB credit card will earn an effective interest of 0.40 per cent per annum. But if the person adds in an investment or insurance at $100 per month, his/her interest increases to 0.60 per cent.

Who should apply: Those who can’t meet the minimum salary or credit card spending requirement for other savings accounts can consider using the DBS Multiplier account since it does not impose any minimum requirement in each of these areas.

Alternate Track For DBS Multiplier Users: PayLah! Retail Spend

The above outlines the most common (and advertised) way to earn bonus interest using DBS Multiplier. An alternate track based on PayLah! retail spending has been added, presumably for those without a credit card, insurance, home loan, or investment with DBS. Here’s how it works:

Simply clock up retail spend using PayLah! of $500 in a month, and for customers above the age of 29, fulfill the Income criteria (Salary Credit/Dividends) in order to earn bonus interest of up to 0.5 per cent on the first $10,000 in your DBS Multiplier Account.

 An interesting thing to note for those under 29 is that you can earn 0.3 per cent in interest by virtually doing nothing, which is a clever perk to entice a new generation of customers.

This article was first published in Dollars and Sense.