UOB One Vs OCBC 360

Can't decide on which savings account is best for maximizing your interests ?

This calculator will help you to decide whether the OCBC360 account or UOB One account (including credit card rebates) is better for you.

Fill in the following questions and press "Calculate!" to see the results.

QUESTIONS
--------------
Q1. Are you able to credit at least $2,000 of your salary to the bank account?
Yes No

Q2. Are you able to pay 3 bills thru GIRO (or online payment) every month?
Yes No
Total GIRO Amount: SGD

Q3. How much do you spend on your credit card every month?
- Online Spending: SGD
- Any Other Spending: SGD

Q4. How much are you able to invest or insure ?
Nil SGD20,000 SGD40,000

Q5. How much money do you keep in the bank account?
SGD




CONCLUSION
----------------

	OCBC360		UOB One
Savings Interest	SGD		SGD
Credit Card Rebate	SGD		SGD
Total Interest & Rebate	SGD		SGD
Effective Interest Rate %
Credit Card Rebate %

The better account for you is
Additional annual interest & rebate is SGD

REFERENCES
----------------
For more info on each of the accounts, use the links below:

OCBC360

• 360 Account: http://www.ocbc.com.sg/personal-banking/accounts/360-account.html
• OCBC 365 Card: https://www.ocbc.com/personal-banking/cards/365card.html/

UOB One

• One Account: http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/deposits/chequeing/one_account.html
• One Card: http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/cards/credit/uob_one_card.html

The information is accurate as at 28-Feb-2018.

Highest Interest Rates Savings Accounts Comparison

For less than S$50-60k,

3.55% pa, BOC Smartsaver
Pros: Highest Interest Rate (Spend $500, Giro salary and Pay 3 bills)
Cons: Bank's web interface is dated

3.25% pa, OCBC 360 (Varies 2.25-3.25%)
Pros: Best for people who spend on dining (365 Card). High Interest Rate (Spend $500, Giro salary and Pay 3 bills)
Cons: Need to invest to get the additional 1%, otherwise interest rate will be 2.25%

3.06% pa, Maybank SaveUp
Pros: Highest Interest Rate  (Spend $500 on Card, Giro salary, Giro $300 payments)
Cons: Credit card not one of the best in terms of rewards

2.43% pa, UOB One
Pros: Highest Interest Rate among Local banks (Spend $500 and Giro salary/3 Giro payments)
Cons: Need to spend consistently using the One Card every 3 months additional yearly rebates up to $200

2.5% pa, Citibank Interest Plus (Not recommended - Due to investment components)
Pros: Highest Interest Rate (Insure, Invest and Spend)
Cons: Need to buy a Citi Insurance, Need to invest in Regular Savings Plan and Spend $25 per month on Credit Card.

Alternatives

2.08% pa, DBS Multiplier
Pros: Best if high income ($20k and above) and do not want the hassle of credit card spends.
Cons: Difficult to reach $20k (Combination of salary, investing and credit card spends per month).

1.55% pa, SCB eSaver
Pros: Best for people with No cc, no Giro, No salary crediting, No min sum, No need for withdrawals.
Cons: Applicable only to Fresh funds / Incremental Balances. ~

1.15% pa, Maybank iSsavy
Pros: Promotional rate of 1.15% for first S$50k
Cons: Applicable only to Fresh funds / Incremental Balances. ~

1.00% pa, CIMB FastSaver
Pros: No gimmicks, flat 1% on first S$50k.
Cons: Not many ATMs, Web interface is dated.

0.88% pa, UOB Uniplus
Pros: Local Bank, Promotional rate of 0.78% for first S$50k
Cons: Applicable only to Fresh funds / Incremental Balances. ~

~ Moving balances between banks once every 2 months, will constitute the monies as fresh funds, enabling you to qualify for the 'Promotional' interest rates.

For any other amounts above S$50-60k*,

1.98% pa, Bank of East Asia (BEA) - Best 1 Year Fixed Deposit
1.80% pa, Maybank iSsavy Time Deposit - Fixed Deposit
1.75% pa, Singapore Savings Bond (May 2016) - Singapore Government Bond
1.70% pa, SCB eSaver - Amounts up to S$200k
1.60% pa, UOB High Yield Account - Amounts up to S$350k
1.40% pa, Maybank iSsavy Savings - Amounts above S$200k
1.28% pa, UOB Uniplus - Amounts from S$100k - 1Mil
1.00% pa, CIMB FastSaver - Savings Account

Realistically, it would not be difficult to get between 1-2.25% on your Savings. Why leave your money idling, in a bank that gives 0.0275% interest p.a, when you can make it work! Hopefully the list above can help you make a choice on some of the best interest rate savings account available in the market today.

Read more on the Best Savings Accounts in 2016.

*Do note that the interest rates promotions may change with time. So do refer to the date that this page is updated.

Last Update: 05-Aug-2016

- Added Maybank SaveUp

The Best Child Development Account (CDA) in Singapore

Hey! If you are here because you are thinking of which bank to open a Child Development Account (CDA), then congratulations! You will soon be welcoming your bundle of joy to this world!

First off, let me explain what the CDA is all about. The Baby Bonus Child Development Account (CDA) is a co-savings scheme, where savings deposited by parents into the CDA are matched dollar-for-dollar by the Government, up to a specified ceiling, depending on the child's birth order. The CDA monies can be used at Approved Institutions (AI), such as Child Care Centres, kindergartens, Hospitals, Clinics, Pharmacies  and Optical shops. 

Yes! You can even use the money for your Pediatrician visits and for Vaccinations.

This article will compare the CDA from each of the 3 local banks and help you make the best choice, to give your child a head-start he/she deserves!

CDA First Step Grant (NEW!)

If your child is born on or after 24 March 2016, he/she is eligible for the CDA First Step grant of S$3,000 (announced on Budget Day 2016). To receive the grant, parents must wait until 1 July 2016 before saving in the child’s CDA. Since the CDA First Step Grant is a government initiative, the benefit is the same across all 3 banks!

1. POSB (Smiley CDA)

Interest Rate: 2% (Up to a max. of S$12,000 for 1st & 2nd Child)

Remaining balance: 0.05%p.a

Others: 
- 2% interest is guaranteed for 5 years
- Baby Bonus NETS Card ( Discounts on various online, retail and dining merchants).

2. OCBC (CDA)

Interest Rate: 2% (Up to a max. of S$36,000)

Remaining balance: 0.05%p.a

Others: 
- 3% Cashback on medical spend, on top of existing benefits with OCBC 365 Credit Card. 
- Discounts with the OCBC Baby Bonus Card at bookstores, optical shops, enrichment courses and other merchants like MindChamps and Kinderland.

3. UOB (CDA)

Interest Rate: 2% (With no deposit cap on all balances)

Remaining balance: N.A

Others:
- Kungfu Panda gift set promotion*

Summary

Regardless of your choice, the CDA is a must to give your child a head-start in life. Whether you intend to use the money for enrichment, education and heathcare (at approved institutions), the government will provide a dollar-for-dollar matching up until the cap, based on the order of your child.

Hopefully this article has helped you in your parenting journey!

Notes:
*Singaporean parents do not need to make a trip to the bank to open a CDA.
*The funds in the CDA cannot be withdrawn in cash.
*All banks will issue a Baby Bonus NETS card to the parents.
Credits: Babybonus

Best Savings Accounts in 2016

The New Year has arrived! With all the gloom and negativity about the global economy, rising interests rates and potential financial crisis, i thought it would be a good time to share some of the best savings account in Singapore. So that you can stretch your interest income without experiencing the risks and volatility of other financial products like stocks or REITs.

I have shared my technique on earning that additional 1.0% on my savings. In essence, i move my spare savings around different banks, thereby qualifying it as 'fresh funds', to enjoy the promotional interest rates - which definitely beats leaving it in a traditional savings account.

Since i have benefited from this, i would also highly encourage you to leverage on the current fresh savings deposit promotions in the coming new year and enjoy the promotional interests on your savings now!

1. e$aver Account (Standard Chartered Bank)

The Standard Chartered Bank's eSaver account gives the best interest rates for deposits of fresh funds less than $200,000. Enjoy a 1.5% p.a interest for fresh deposits during the promotion period. 

2. Uniplus Account (UOB)

The 2016 Chinese New Year promotion for Uniplus features a bonus interest rate of 1.0% to 1.4%, depending on the amount of fresh funds deposited and held in the account for the period till 29-FEB-16.

In addition to the bonus interest, you can also enjoy (while stocks lasts) a 24K gold-plated RISIS Bountiful Monkey Figurine* (worth S$238) when you deposit Fresh Funds of S$108,000.

3. iSAVvy Savings Account (Maybank)

For people who are disciplined savers, Maybank iSAVvy Savings Plus Account is a step up savings account that will reward you for consistancy. With this savings account, you will not only earn an interest of 0.30%-0.38% a year but you will also be rewarded with additional interest on interest as high as 6%, credited at the end of the 6th month. 

The current CNY promotion also includes an additional 1% interest on fresh funds. *Do note that the promotion ends on the 31-JAN-16.

4. 360 Account (OCBC)

For those who still haven't opened a 360 Account, 2016 is the time to do so. It is by far the best savings account (Especially if you are an OCBC credit card user) for up to $60,000.

You can refer to our article on the Best Interest Rates products here!.

A Quick Comparison

	SCB		UOB		Maybank		OCBC *
<S$50,000	1.45%	<S$50,000	1.10%	<S$50,000	1.30%	Up to $60k	Up to 3.35%
S$50,000 to <S$200,000	1.50%	S$50,000 to <S$100,000	1.30%	S$50,000 to <S$200,000	1.38%
≥S$200,000	1.60%	≥S$100,000	1.40%	≥S$200,000	1.50%		*With conditions

UOB One Card, Changes You Need To Know

So here's the deal, UOB One Card will be revising their rebate structure from the 1st October 2015. Before we get into the details, lets take a look at what the UOB One Card rebates used to be, before the impending changes.

The UOB One card would give you tiered rebates based on the minimum spending over 3 months. The rebates are listed as S$30, S$80 and S$150, earned quarterly. What this means is that to hit each of the rebate tiers, one must spend at least S$300, S$800 and S$1,500 consistently over 3 months. 

In my opinion, this card is decent for those who consistently charge a fixed amount to their card each month. The penalty for failing to hit the minimum spend on any of the 3 months would cause you to fall to a lower rebate tier or in the worse case, not earn any rebate at all.

So if you had trouble trying to hit any of the 3 tiers, then the bad news is that from 1st October, it is going to be even harder!

However, if you are able to meet the requirement consistently, you will be rewarded with a nice 3.33% cash back. At 3.33%, this is one of the best cash back cards available on the market at the moment. 

Let's take a look at the revised rebate structure for the UOB One Card:

The Changes

From the 1st October, the minimum tiers are increased to S$500, S$1000 and S$2000 respectively. The payout amount is tweaked slightly at S$50, S$100 and S$300 - effectively rewarding those who spend upwards of S$2000 for each month.

Also, one additional point to note, the 2% overseas cash rebate promotion will no longer apply from October. 

Summary

With the new requirements, those who have no trouble spending S$2000 per month on their One Card will be rewarded with a generous 5% rebate. However if you are like me, finding it hard to hit the S$500 monthly spending tier, it would be an even more uphill task trying to monitor your monthly spending to ensure you qualify for the rebate.

Although the One Card gives one of the highest cash backs in the market, there are still many options available from other banks that have easier requirements and give relatively decent rebates. 

Some food for thought: From a consumer standpoint, making it harder to achieve the rebate amounts simply discourages use of the credit card. 

You can read more about the UOB One Card changes here.

OCBC360 - It Just Got Better

Did the OCBC360 Account "Just Got Better" or are there really better savings account alternatives out there to maximise your interest returns. Lets take a look at whats new, come 1st May.

The current OCBC360 terms:

Lets take a look at the new criterias come 01-MAY-2015:

Lets discuss the criterias from the left-to-right. To prevent confusion, we will number them 1 to 5.

New Terms

1) 1.2% Per Year 

Credit your salary of at least S$2,000 through GIRO

How to earn the bonus interest:

- Credit your salary of at least S$2,000 per month.

- You will receive this bonus interest by the 7th business day (exclude Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday) of the following month.

- Only salary credit with the transaction description "GIRO-SALARY" will qualify for this bonus.

Our take:

Previously: 1.0% Per Year

There was an upward revision of the interest by 0.2% per year. This is great news for everyone, as this criteria is probably the easiest to meet.

2) 0.5% Per Year

Pay any 3 bills online or through GIRO

How to earn the bonus interest:

- Make 3 unique bill payments from this account with OCBC Online Banking using Pay Any Bill and Pay Any Card services or through GIRO.

- Multiple payments to the same bill within the calendar month will be considered as a single payment.

- You will receive this bonus interest by the 7th business day (excluding Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday) of the following month.

Our take:

Previously: 1.0% Per Year

This criteria has seen its interest amount reduced from 1% to 0.5%. 

An additional option of Giro payments, has been added to make it easier to qualify for this bonus interest. However, the huge reduction will significantly affect the final bonus interest amount.

3) 0.5% Per Year

Spend at least S$500 on OCBC Credit Cards

How to earn the bonus interest:

- Spend at least S$500 in total across your personal OCBC Credit Cards such as 365, Titanium, Platinum, FRANK, Robinsons, Plus! and Best Denki.

- You will receive this bonus interest by the 7th business day (exclude Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday) of the following month.

Our take:

Previously: 1.0% Per Year

Similar to criteria 2, the bonus interest amount is reduced from 1% to 0.5%. 

Also, it is worthwhile to note that the minimum spend criteria has been increased from SGD$400 to SGD$500, making it slightly more difficult to reach this criteria - especially for account holders who rarely use OCBC credit cards.

4) 1% per year

Insure or invest and get this bonus for 12 months

How to earn the bonus interest: 

- Purchase any eligible financial product of at least the minimum amount, such as Endowment of at least S$8,000 in annual premium, or investment products such as Unit Trust or Structured Deposits of at least S$40,000.

- If you make multiple purchases of eligible financial products within the same month, we will only combine purchases of the same product type which have passed 14 days after the product’s effective date. Effective date refers to the inception date of the insurance plan, trade date of unit trust, deposit start date of structured deposit and transaction date for other investment products.

- This bonus interest is paid for 12 months after the free cancellation period or 14 days, whichever is longer.

Our take:

This is a new component of the OCBC360.

We feel that this additional 1% would not be easy to achieve unless the account holder is interested to purchase a financial product from OCBC. Moreover, do note the minimum amount of the investment required to qualify for this bonus interest.

5) 1% per year

Increase your account balance from the previous month’s balance

How to earn the bonus interest:

- Incremental account balance is the difference between current and previous month’s account balance.

- This bonus interest will be paid on incremental account balance of up to S$1,000,000.

- You will receive this bonus interest by the 7th business day (excluding Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday) of the following month.

Our take:

This is a brand new component of the OCBC360. Allowing account holders to earn an additional 1% on incremental balances. This means that the additional 1% will be credited on your incremental balance. (Eg: $5000 x 1/100 x 31/365)

Illustration below:

Month	Balance	Incremental Balance	Bonus Interest earned on eligible Incremental Balance
Nov-14	S$60,000		S$0.00
Dec-14	S$65,000	S$5000	S$4.25

This works similar in effect to the OCBC Bonus+ Savings Account. 

We feel that the additional 1% is great only if one has a consistent stream of additional income or savings. Otherwise, the 1% bonus on the month-on-month incremental balances would not give substantial return.

We do see an opportunity of moving funds on alternate months to leverage on this additional 1% - similar to our Supercharge your savings article. But it remains to be seen if it will work with the OCBC360.

Unchanged Terms

Lastly, on top of the bonus interest, you will still continue to earn a base interest of 0.05% per year on your entire account balance.

Summary

The new OCBC 360 conditions sure gives us a lot to consider. Besides revising some bonus interest downwards, they have introduced two new components. and revised certain criterias.

All else equal, if you had managed to meet the previous criteria and achieved 3.05%, you will now only qualify for an effective interest of 2.25%. If you manage to meet criteria 4 (Insure or Invest) and criteria 5 (Incremental Balance). 

You will probably enjoy more interest returns from the latest changes to the OCBC360 Savings Account - to the tune of > 3.25% in EIR. This is pretty good considering that the CPF (Supposedly Risk Free) returns is at 2.5% for your ordinary account.

However, if you are like me, unable to meet some of these criterias, why not take a look at the latest UOB One Account - which provides an EIR of 2.43%. Not too shabby for a savings account.

UOB One Account - A Worthy Replacement of OCBC360

If you are looking to maximize your savings and worried about the impending changes to your OCBC 360 account (Which may effectively reduce its return to about 2.05%), perhaps you can consider the newly launched "UOB One Account". Lets take a look at the requirements to enjoy the interest rates as advertised by UOB.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

The Deal

To qualify for the high savings interest for the UOB One Account, you would be required to meet the basic criterias listed below:

1. Usage of Credit Cards
- A minimum charge of $500 to the UOB One Card or UOB Direct Visa Debit Card.
2. Salary or Giro
- To credit your salary (min. of $2000) per month
OR
- Perform 3 GIRO debit transactions

The Savings Interest Rates on meeting the above criterias are as follows:

Account Balance in your UOB One Account	Meet Card Spend of S$500	Meet Card Spend of S$500 and Credit Salary / make 3 GIRO debit transactions
First S$10,000	1.00%	1.50%
Next S$20,000	1.50%	2.00%
Next S$20,000	2.00%	3.33%
Above S$50,000	0.05%	0.05%

^ Maximum effective interest rate (EIR) on the One Account is 2.43% p.a. at S$50,000 deposit, provided customers meet both criterias of S$500 Card Spend and S$2,000 Salary credit or 3 GIRO debits per month.

Summary

Whilst the criteria set by UOB is simple enough to achieve, especially for existing holders of the One Card, the actual Effective Interest Rate (EIR) actually falls short of the headlined 3.33%. In fact, the total EIR comes up to 2.43% on your $50,000. Although it is not be as attractive as the 3.05% that OCBC 360 used to promise, it certainly will be; come 1st May, when OCBC revises that figure.

You can read more about the impending changes to OCBC360 here: Other Alternatives to the OCBC 360

3 Savings Account Alternatives to OCBC 360

Come 1st May, there will be a deluge of changes to the OCBC 360 account that would affect your interest returns. Simply put, it will be harder to hit the criteria for the bonus interest rates. Also, several interest rate categories have been revised downwards, potentially reducing the final rate to about 2.05%. 

Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do about this change (Afterall, the bank has the full rights to adjust or amend its promotion). However, there are some really decent alternatives to the OCBC 360, check out our listing of some of the Savings account promotions from various banks that give pretty decent rates.

Probably not 3.05% Come 1st May

Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered eSaver

Min sum: Nil
Min rate: 1.25% pa
Max rate: 1.40% pa (> 200K Deposit)
Promotion Period: On-going till 31-MAY-15
Caveats: Fresh funds are needed to qualify. Transfers between SCB account are not considered fresh funds.

*Fees & Charges*
No minimum balance or fall below fee.

Maybank

Maybank iSavvy

Min sum: 20K
Min rate: 1.20% pa
Max rate: 1.40% pa (> 200K Deposit)
Promotion Period: On-going till 30-JUN-15
Caveats: Fresh funds are needed to qualify. Transfers between Maybank accounts are not considered fresh funds.

*Fees & Charges*
S$2 monthly service fee; waived with a minimum average daily balance of S$500
S$30 early account closure fee, if the account is closed within 6 months of opening

UOB

UOB Uniplus Account

Min sum: 15K
Min rate: 0.95% pa
Max rate: 1.35% pa (> 100K Deposit)
Promotion Period: On-going till 30-APR-15
Caveats: Fresh funds are needed to qualify. Transfers between UOB accounts are not considered fresh funds.

*Fees & Charges*
S$2 minimum balance fee will be charged if your average daily balance for the month falls below S$500

The changes

Our thoughts...

Despite the impending downward revision of interest rates, the OCBC 360 account is still a relatively competitive savings account - especially when compared to its peers (DBS Multiplier). Having said that we never know when there will be further adjustments or caveats to the interest rates. It is always good to have a list of other savings accounts for comparisons, to make better informed decisions!

Find out how you can supercharge your savings here !

POSB 1.88% CNY Promotion

POSB has come up with an extremely attractive, albeit creative, plan to attract new deposits. The 1.88% Chinese New Year Savings/Current Account deposit promotion, behaves like a fixed deposit but works for all savings and current account holders. Essentially, one would have to register for this promotion and transfer the funds into the said account. After the funds have been ear-marked, they will be unavailable for withdrawal and will qualify for the 1.88% "cash gift"(interest) at the end of the promotion on 31-JAN-2016.

1.88% 

The Promotion

All you need to do to qualify for this promotion:

1) Register your interest (via the POSB Link)

Upon successful registration, you will be prompted with the following message.

2) Transfer the fresh funds *

*Fresh Funds Deposit means funds transferred from non-DBS/POSB accounts, through cheque(s), cashier’s order(s), demand draft(s), cash deposits (CDM Counts here), FAST credit (Fresh Funds Deposit that is more than SGD 10,000 via FAST, more than one (1) FAST credit is allowed) and MEPS receipt. These exclude any funds from any DBS/POSB account and funds deposited via any DBS/POSB cheque(s), DBS/POSB cashier’s order(s), or DBS/POSB demand draft(s).

3) Do not touch the funds (It will be ear-marked* anyway) for the full period (From Deposit to 31JAN16)

As of this post, the additional 88$ Cash Gift has been fully redeemed by the first 10,000 customers. 

Illustration (Provided by POSB):

Customer A registers via online through DBS website during the Promotion Period and successfully top-up a lump-sum of SGD 1,000,000 to a CASA* Account by 28 February 2015. 

Cash Gift earned by Customer A under the Promotion as follow: SGD 1,000,000 * 1.88%p.a. * 365/365 days = SGD 18,800.00 

Note: 12 months period is from 1 February 2015 to 31 January 2016 = 365 days 

* CASA := Current Account / Savings Account

The earmarking by DBS will start between 1 February 2015 and 31 March 2015, and the Fresh Funds Deposit will be earmarked by DBS for the period ending on 31 January 2016 (“the Earmarked Period”). The Fresh Funds Deposit will not be available for withdrawal during the Earmarked Period.

Terms and Conditions

http://www.posb.com.sg/personal/promotion/savings-promo

FAQ

1) What does fresh fund mean ?
- Any form of funds that are not already in a POSB or DBS account. These can be in the form of FAST Transfers, Cheque/Cash Deposits, Demand Draft, etc.

2) If i transfer from another Bank using FAST over 5 times for 50,000$. Does it constitute as 1 lump sum and qualify for the promotion ?
- Yes it does. As long as all the transfers reach POSB before the 28-FEB. They will constitute as a lump sum.

3) What happens to my Ear Marked funds?
- When your funds are ear marked, they will not be available for withdrawal. However, should there be a need to withdraw, you can proceed with the following steps: 

1. You may contact the Bank to request for lifting of the Earmark.
2. It will take up to 3 working days to release the funds.
3. No additional penalties. However, you will forfeit the full interest (To be paid on 31-JAN-16).

4) When will my funds be ear marked ?  *Updated 03-MAR
- POSB will proceed to ear mark funds from 01-FEB to 31-MAR. I have no clue regarding the selection of accounts for ear marking (whether it is done on a first-come-first-serve basis, etc), but i assume that as long as you have successfully registered and transferred the amount into your account (meeting the criteria mentioned above), you will be eligible for this promotion.

Summary

In essence, this promotion is akin to a fixed deposit without the penalty for early withdrawal. It is also designed to reduce the additional trouble involved in creating a fixed deposit account, yet appeal to the group of people who are interested in similar yielding products. 

If you have spare cash sitting around in other bank accounts, there is absolutely no harm utilizing this promotion. Aside from the 1 year ear marked period, the 1.88% beats the regular eSaver and UOB Uniplus promotional rates.


If a 1 year 'lock-in' period is too long, you can read more about my article on Maximizing your savings


PS: I have no affiliation with POSB.

Supercharge Your Savings Account

Let’s face it, the interest we get from leaving our savings in the bank is hardly enough to cover inflation, much less grow our retirement funds.

In this guide, i will show you how we can stretch our savings with a simple click every other month.

Now lets see...

Interest Rates for Savings Accounts of the popular banks:

1) POSB / DBS	: 0.05%
2) UOB	: 0.10%
3) OCBC	: 0.05%
4) SCB	: 0.10%

For illustration purposes (and simplicity’s sake), we will avoid the compounding int. calculation and assume we have a small sum of $10,000.

10,000 X 0.05 = 5$ Per Year.

That’s roughly 45 Cents per month. To put it into perspective, 50 cents cannot even buy you a cup of coffee from ToastBox!.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the on-going promotions for interest rates on savings accounts.

SCB eSaver

https://www.sc.com/sg/promotion/esaver/

UOB Uniplus 

http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/promotions/deposits/2014/index.html

What is “Bonus on Eligible Incremental Amount” ?

Well, this basically means ‘fresh funds’ with respect to the average daily balance of the month before the promotion.

For example: If, in October, we have 500$ on average in our savings account. To be eligible for the promotional rates,  we will need to transfer ‘fresh’ funds into the account.

By depositing 10,000$ on the 1st Nov, that 10,000$ will qualify for the additional 1.10% Interest.

500 X 0.10 % = 0.5$

10,000 X 1.10 % = 110$

Total Interest Earn for the Promotion (2 Months) = 110.5$ x (2 / 12)  =  18.4$

So What happens after the promotion period?

Well, the banks are smart too, these promotional rates will only last for the promotion period (usually 2 months). After which, it will automatically revert back to the crappy old rate (0.1%, for the example of SCB).

Let me share my tip in Supercharging my Savings.

Illustration below:

   SCB      UOB SCB .. UOB
Jan-Feb  Mar-April May-June .. Nov-Dec

When the promotion period ends (example Jan-Feb), we will move these new funds back into another account (UOB) that runs a similar promotion!.

The funds will then sit inside the UOB account from March to April and begin to qualify for the promotional interest. By continually moving our funds to utilize the awesome interest rates promotions, we are growing our savings!

This is too much hassle!

Some of my friends have mentioned that this is too much hassle!. 

In all honesty, all it takes is a click of the button. With iBanking, a fund transfer is just a few clicks away. There is no reason to be lazy when money can be made!.

Your future self will thank you for this!.

Still not convinced ?

Let me give you an example of someone who does absolutely nothing in comparison to someone who makes use of the on-going interest rates promotions (as mentioned in this guide).

Adam (Transfers his Savings to utilize the promotional rates)

500 X 0.1 % = 0.50$

10,000 X 1.10 % = 110$

Total Interest Earn for the Promotion (12 Months) = 110.50$

Eve (Does nothing to her savings)

10,500 X 0.1 % = 10.50$

Total Interest Earn without Promotion (12 Months) = 10.50$

Adam literally earns 10x more interest than Eve over the course of 1 year!!!

The interests paid by Banks are accrued annually, but credited to your account on a monthly basis.

Hope this guide helps you make the best use of the money that is sitting freely in your Savings accounts.

Check out this site (money lobang) for some Interest Rates comparisons & promotions among the Banks in Singapore!

There are some really good deals out there, like the OCBC 360 Account.