Savings accounts have a simple premise, but often come with complex mechanisms for you to earn bonus interest.

When you open a savings account with a bank, you deposit money into it and let that money earn interest. You'll enjoy higher interest rates on a savings account than you would on your normal account (called a checking account).

The issue is that not all savings accounts are made equal. Different banks offer different interest rates, have different minimum sums, and require you to hit different spend/transaction criteria (one of the savings accounts below has nine types of transactions you can choose from to fulfil!).

So to help you out with navigating savings accounts in Singapore, we've compiled the best savings accounts in Singapore with the highest interest rates in 2024 for different personal and financial needs.

Note: We update this article on a monthly basis with the latest rates. The rates below were updated on Sept 16, 2024.

1. At a glance: Best savings accounts in Singapore with highest interest rates (September 2024)

Most savings accounts require you to jump through a whole bunch of hoops to enjoy their best rates. But let's be realistic here. Most of us aren't going to be taking a home loan, buying insurance from the bank, and investing with the bank-and certainly not all at the same time.

What will you earn if you only fulfil two criteria, such as crediting your salary and spending on your credit card? Here's our realistic summary:

Note: The table above assumes you have a regular banking relationship. If you earn more, spend more, or are a premier or private banking client, you may enjoy better rates. Read the individual sections on each savings account below to find out more.

1. Citi Wealth First Account

The Citi Wealth First Account has a simple mechanic for calculating its total interest rate: base interest (0.01 per cent) + bonus interest (up to 7.50 per cent).

Its base interest starts at 0.01 per cent for everyone, whether you're a Citibanking, Citi Priority, Citigold, or Citigold Private Client customer. That's the lowest base interest rate out of all the savings accounts on this list.

Next, beef up that measly 0.01 per cent up with bonus interest rates. You get different bonus rates depending on which of the following categories you fulfil:

• Spend (+1.5%): Spend at least $250/month on your Citibank Debit Mastercard.
• Invest (+1.5%): Purchase one or more new single lump sum investments totalling at least $50,000/month. Investments can include Unit Trust, Structured Notes and Bonds.
• Insure (+1.5%): Purchase one or more new single premium policies totalling at least $50,000/month. This excludes policies purchased using Central Provident Fund Savings or Supplementary Retirement Schemes.
• Borrow (+1.5%): Take up a new home loan of at least $500,000. 
• Save (+1.5%): Deposit more money into your account, increasing your account’s average daily balance by at least $3,000 from the previous month’s.

If you fulfil all of the transaction categories above, the maximum interest rate you can get with the Citi Wealth First Account is a generous 7.51 per cent. That's one of the highest rates among the savings accounts this month.

Plus, it applies to the first $50,000 to $150,000 in your account, and not just the first $25,000 after the first $100,000 or something like that (looking at you, UOB One). That means 7.51 per cent p.a. is the effective interest rate!

Realistically speaking, most of us can only deposit our salaries in the account, i.e. "Save", and "Spend". If you only fulfil these two criteria, you'll earn 3.01 per cent p.a. interest on the Citi Wealth First Account. That's $1,505 earned per year from your first $50,000.

The only advantage to starting a Citigold or Citigold Private Client banking relationship is that the bonus interest rates can apply to a larger sum of money.

For Citibanking and Citi Priority customers, bonus interest rates are applied to only the first $50,000, according to the Citi Wealth First T&Cs (Clause 7). This increases to $250,000 for Citigold and $500,000 for Citigold Private Client.  

However, you'll need to maintain $250,000 in your account for Citigold, and $1,500,000 for Citigold Private Client. If you fall below these thresholds, the bonus 7.51 per cent will only apply to the first $50,000 just like for everyone else.

Citi Wealth First Account 

• Minimum balance: $15,000
• Fall below fee: $15
• Bonus interest cap: $50,000 – $150,000

2. Standard Chartered BonusSaver account interest rates

The Standard Chartered BonusSaver savings account used to offer the highest maximum interest rate on a savings account — 7.88 per cent p.a. This maximum rate got reduced to 7.68 per cent p.a. on May 1, 2024, following UOB's own rate cut on their flagship savings account.

Here's a breakdown of the changes that took effect on May 1, 2024:

You'll notice that interest rates for investing or buying insurance with Standard Chartered went up, while the rates for salary credit, credit card spending, and GIRO components fell.

Unfortunately, the latter are the lowest hanging fruit. This makes it harder for you to get bonus interest with a Standard Chartered BonusSaver account.

So while 7.68 per cent p.a. is still pretty high, it isn't easy to hit this maximum interest rate on the Standard Chartered BonusSaver. You'd need to fulfil all five requirements: credit your salary, spend on your credit card, pay three bills, invest, and buy insurance. 

On the plus side, 7.68 per cent p.a. is applied to the entire sum of $100,000, whereas accounts like the UOB One savings account are only going to give the highest interest rate to a smaller sum based on a tiered system. (Check our review of the UOB One account to see the effective interest rates on the entire $100,000 sum.)

Moreover, the Standard Chartered Bonus Saver savings account occupies a niche: It gives you pretty high bonus interest just for spending tons of money:

1. Pay three bills online or via GIRO and you’ll get an additional 0.23% p.a. interest.
2. Spend at least $2,000 on your BonusSaver credit or debit card and you’ll already get 1.40% p.a. bonus interest on your savings.

This comes up to a total of 1.63 per cent p.a. bonus interest. Not bad if your card's main function is to pay for your kid's tuition fees, dental checkups, condo MCST fees and what-not. 

However, you'll get a higher rate of 2.25 per cent p.a. with UOB One on your first $100,000 just for spending $500 a month on your credit card and making 3 GIRO debit transactions.

If you're gunning for this and need a Standard Chartered credit card, my top pick is the Standard Chartered Simply Cash Credit Card-I'm a fan of fuss-free unlimited cashback cards with $0 minimum spend.

Crediting your salary will get you an additional 2.00 per cent interest. That's not too bad a rate, but you have to be earning at least $3,000 per month to qualify for the bonus interest.

If you earn less, I suggest the OCBC 360 savings account instead — it'll give you the same 2.00 per cent p.a. interest on your first $75,000 for crediting a minimum salary of $1,800.

Now let's talk realistically. Many of us may only credit our salary and meet the requirement to spend $500 a month on a Standard Chartered credit card. If you only do these two things, you'll enjoy an interest rate of 2.65 per cent p.a. on your first $100,000, inclusive of the base interest rate.

For meeting the same two requirements, the OCBC 360 account (4.05 per cent p.a. on first $100,000) UOB One (3.38 per cent p.a. on first $100,000 or 4.00 per cent p.a. on first $150,000) are going to be a lot more attractive.

Standard Chartered Bonus Saver

• Minimum balance: $3,000
• Fall below fee: $5
• Bonus interest cap: $100,000

3. UOB One savings account interest rates

Singapore’s highest interest savings account relinquished its throne on May 1, 2024. The UOB One Account did us all a great service from Dec 2022 to April 2024, offering a rate of up to 7.80% (EIR: 5.00% p.a.) for simply spending on a UOB credit card and crediting our salaries to the account.

That all changed on May 1, 2024, when UOB introduced two new interest tiers and reduced its maximum interest rate to 6.00% p.a. (EIR: 4.00% p.a.). Here are the current rates:

UOB One savings account interest rates

The UOB One savings account has taken a hit and no longer has the highest maximum interest rate for a savings account in Singapore, but it may still be worth it for you.

For our full breakdown of what these new rates mean for you, read our review of the UOB One savings account, where we talk effective interest rates, spending requirements and more.

For now, I'm happy to report that at least UOB isn't changing the mechanics of how to earn bonus interest on the UOB One. That means the winning quality of the UOB One account remains intact-its criteria to snag the highest interest rate is easy peasy. You only need to fulfil these two requirements:

• Credit your salary to the UOB One account via GIRO
• Spend at least $500 spend per month on an eligible UOB Card

The eligible cards you can hit the $500 spend on are:

• UOB One Card
• UOB Lady’s Card  (all card types)
• UOB EVOL Card
• Lazada-UOB Card
• UOB One Debit Visa Card
• UOB One Debit Mastercard
• UOB Lady’s Debit Card
• UOB Mighty FX Debit Card

Among these cards, the UOB One Card is one of the best cards to pair with the UOB One savings account. Find out why in our full review of the UOB One account.

If you prefer a card with $0 minimum spend, the recently revamped UOB Lady's Card is right up your alley. And yes, men can apply too!

Don't have a fixed monthly salary? You can still get up to 3.00 per cent p.a. on $50,000 after the first $75,000 with the UOB one account if you pay three bills by GIRO.

This is great for those without a regular pay check, such as freelancers, retirees or homemakers. If you go for this option, the interest rate rises with every additional $30,000 or $15,000 in your UOB One account, up to $75,000.

UOB One Account effective interest rates (EIR)

Everyone is enticed by the six per cent p.a. carrot that UOB dangles, but note that this is only applied on the $25,000 after your first $125,000 — unlike the Standard Chartered Bonus Saver, which applies 7.68 per cent p.a. on the full first $100,000 you bank with them.

What you need to look at is the effective interest rate-the true interest rate on the full amount you deposit in your UOB One Account. Here's how much you'll really earn with different account balances and with the fulfilment of different criteria:

Simply for crediting your salary and spending $500/month on your credit card, the UOB One Account's four per cent p.a. EIR (on first $150,000) is currently one of the highest out there-second only to OCBC 360's 4.05 per cent p.a..

Comparatively, Standard Chartered will give you 2.65 per cent p.a. to fulfil the same criteria, or 3.45 per cent p.a. if your credit card spending is at least $2,000/month.

UOB One savings account

• Minimum balance: $1,000
• Fall below fee: $5 (Waived for first six months for accounts opened online)
• Bonus interest cap: $100,000

4. OCBC 360 savings account interest rates

The OCBC 360 savings account is currently one of Singapore's highest interest savings accounts. It starts at a base interest of 0.05 per cent p.a., and gives you varying bonus rates for crediting your salary, spending on your credit card (minimum of $500/month), growing your balance, insuring and investing.

If you fulfil several of these requirements, this is what your maximum Effective Interest Rate (EIR) will be on your first $100,000:

• Salary + Save: 4.05% p.a.
• Salary + Save + Spend: 4.65% p.a.
• Salary + Save + Spend + Insure / Invest: 6.15% p.a.
• Salary + Save + Spend + Insure + Invest: 7.65% p.a.

To recap, the UOB One account gives you an EIR of up to 4.00 per cent on the first $150,000 or 3.38 per cent p.a. on the first $100,000.

While that's a lower maximum rate than OCBC 360, don't forget that the UOB One account rewards you with their maximum rates simply for crediting your salary and spending on your credit card.

The OCBC 360 is more complicated than the UOB One, but also more flexible in that there is no one mandatory requirement. This account is perfect for those who don't hit the $3,000 minimum salary requirement many other savings accounts have.

You'll get a bonus two per cent just for crediting your salary to the OCBC 360 account through GIRO, FAST, or PayNow. UOB only counts your salary credit if it's via GIRO.

You also get a bonus 1.2 per cent every month that your account balance increases by $500 or more, so that might encourage you to save more even if you don't hit the other criteria.

Do note that the $500 monthly spend category for a bonus 0.60 per cent p.a. interest applies only to selected OCBC credit cards:

• OCBC 365 Credit Card
• OCBC INFINITY Cashback Card
• OCBC NXT Credit Card
• OCBC 90°N (available in both Visa and Mastercard versions)
• OCBC Rewards Card

My top pick is the OCBC 365 Credit Card for its high cashback rates, subject to a minimum monthly spend of $800:

• 5% cashback on everyday dining (including local, overseas and online food delivery)
• 6% cashback on fuel spend at all petrol service stations locally and overseas
• 3% cashback on groceries, land transport, online travel, recurring telco and electricity bills

But if you’ve jumped through enough hoops for your savings account and just want a blanket 1.6% cashback rate from your credit card, the OCBC INFINITY Cashback Card is a better fit.

OCBC 360

• Minimum balance: $1,000
• Fall below fee: $2. Waived for first year.
• Bonus interest cap: $100,000

5. Bank of China SmartSaver account interest rates

Transactions	Interest rate
None (base interest)	0.4%
Insurance plan spending	+ 2.40% p.a. for 12 consecutive months
Salary credit	+ 1.90% (min. $2,000) OR 2.50% (min. $6,000)
Credit card spending	+ 0.50% (min. $500) OR 0.80% (min. $1,500)
3x bill payments of at least S$30 each (GIRO or internet/mobile banking)	+0.9% p.a.

The Bank of China SmartSaver account is a good choice for high earners. They offer probably the highest interest rates in Singapore for those who take home a monthly salary of at least $6,000.

You get a cool 2.5 per cent p.a. just for opening the account and crediting your salary to it. If raking up a bill of at least $1,500 on your Bank of China credit card is no problem for you, you'll get an additional 0.8 per cent bonus interest.

The Bank of China SmartSaver account also awards a wealth bonus of 2.4 per cent per annum for 12 consecutive months. However, to qualify, you'll have to put down a pretty hefty sum on their insurance products. We're talking a minimum of $12,000 in annual premiums with a 10-year premium term.

If you max out the bonus interest in all categories, you can enjoy a rate of up to 7.0 per cent p.a. on your first $100,000 saved with the Bank of China.

On the other hand, let's say you only credit your salary (which is below $6,000) and spend ($500 a month). Including the prevailing base interest, you'll earn an interest rate of 1.90 per cent + 0.50 per cent + 0.40 per cent = 2.80 per cent on your first $100,000.

Bank of China SmartSaver 

• Minimum balance: $200 (Maintain at least $1,500 to enjoy bonus interests)
• Fall below fee: $3
• Bonus interest cap: $100,000

6. Maybank Save Up Programme interest rates

The Maybank Save Up Programme lets you choose from 9 different Maybank products/services to get bonus interest:

• GIRO payment (min. $300) OR salary credit (min. $2,000)
• Credit card spending (min. $500) on Maybank Platinum Visa Card and/or Horizon Visa Signature Card
• Invest in structured deposit (min. $30,000)
• Invest in unit trust (min. $25,000)
• Buy insurance (min. $5,000 annually)
• Home loan (min. $200,000)
• Renovation loan (min. $10,000)
• Car loan (min. $35,000)
• Education loan (min. $10,000)

The Maybank Save Up Programme starts with a higher base interest rate than most other savings accounts. However, the bonus interest rates aren't competitive unless you fulfil 3 transactions. 

Assuming you hit 3 transactions and start with a bonus interest rate of 0.25 per cent, you'll get 4.3 per cent on your first $50,000 and 5.5 per cent p.a. on the next $25,000. For comparison, the OCBC 360 account will give you 4.65 per cent p.a. for hitting the 3 categories of crediting your salary, saving, and spending on your credit card.

Speaking of credit card spending, do note that Maybank only considers credit card spending on the Maybank Platinum Visa Card and Horizon Visa Signature Card. Spending on other Maybank credit cards doesn't count. On the plus side, these cards give you good cash rebates both locally and overseas.

Maybank Save Up Programme

• Minimum balance: $1,000
• Fall below fee: $2. Waived for individuals below age 25.
• Bonus interest cap: $50,000

7. DBS Multiplier savings account interest rates

The DBS Multiplier account’s interest rates are only competitive if you hit three categories across credit card spending, home loan, insurance, and investment.

The rates in the table above apply to you if you credit your salary/dividends/SGFinDex to any DBS or POSB account (yes, it doesn't need to be your DBS Multiplier account!).

You need to have at least $500 worth of transactions from one or more of the following categories:

• Credit card or PayLah spending (no minimum) 
• Home loan (cash + CPF components counted)
• Selected insurance policies (life insurance, critical illness, endowment plans and selected single premium policies)
• Selected investments (regular savings plan, unit trust, online equities trade, digiPortfolio or bonds, and structured products)

The more categories you hit, the higher bonus interest rates you get.

One thing I really like about the DBS Multiplier is that there is no minimum amount required for the credit card or DBS PayLah! spend. You can also choose either, although I would recommend the credit card route for extra cashback or miles.

You can earn up to 10 miles per dollar with the DBS Altitude Visa Signature Card on your travel spend at Expedia and Kaligo, and 2.2 miles per dollar on other overseas spend.

The DBS Vantage Visa Infinite Card comes with an even bigger welcome miles bonus, although it isn't the most accessible credit card due to its high minimum income requirement.

What if you don't have any DBS credit card, insurance, or investments? If you're 29 years old or below, you can still earn 1.5 per cent p.a. on the first $50,000.

You don't need to credit your salary to a DBS/POSB account, but DBS will still require you to at least use PayLah!. The good news is that there isn't a minimum amount for PayLah! spend. Just use it to pay for anything, even if it's a $1+ cup of kopi at your local coffeeshop. Easy!

Overall, the DBS Multiplier account makes it easy to earn bonus interest with its zero minimum spend transaction categories and the flexibility to credit your salary into any DBS account, not necessarily the DBS Multiplier. 

However, DBS Multiplier account interest rates start pretty low, especially if you don't credit your salary to a DBS/POSB account. Comparatively, CIMB FastSaver's interest rates start at 1.50 per cent p.a. for just opening the account and depositing a minimum of $1,000.

DBS Multiplier

• Minimum balance: $3,000
• Fall below fee: $5. Waived for first-time customers & those up to age 29.
• Bonus interest cap: $100,000

8. CIMB FastSaver savings account interest rates

The CIMB FastSaver account is the easiest savings account to earn money with this month. Open your account from now till Sept 30, 2024 and earn up to 5.30% p.a. on your first $25,000 till Nov 30, 2024!

Beyond the first $25,000, you'll still earn up to 3.50 per cent. That's without any conditions to hit a certain credit card spend, requirements to buy insurance, or other hoops to jump through to enjoy this rate.

Admittedly, 3.50 per cent p.a. interest is not a lot. But we have to give the CIMB FastSaver account credit where it's due-it's almost zero effort required. Their mechanic is as simple as it gets: deposit money, earn interest. The only requirement is to maintain at least $5,000 in your account for you to earn the advertised interest rates. To me, it's almost like a fixed deposit account.

The current 5.3 per cent p.a. promotion is running from now till Sept 30, 2024. However, you'll only get your bonus interest credited into your CIMB FastSaver account on Dec 31, 2024. Don't close your account before that, or you'll forfeit the bonus.

If we assume you hit the requirements to earn 5.3 per cent on your first $25,000, your effective interest rates are:

• First $25,000: 5.30% p.a.
• First $50,000: 4.30% p.a.
• First $75,000: 4.03% p.a.
• First $100,000: 3.85% p.a.

This account is also perfect for most young adults starting out their career, because of the very low minimum balance of $1,000 (note, however, that you need to maintain $5,000 for the current promotion) and no fall below fee.

CIMB FastSaver 

• Minimum balance: $1,000
• Fall below fee: None!
• Bonus interest cap: $75,000

9. POSB SAYE savings account interest rates

What if you want to open a savings account, but don't want to do anything but credit money into it? The best zero-effort contender is the POSB SAYE (Save As You Earn) account.

You need to set up a standing order to credit a fixed amount every month (anything from $50 to $3,000) into your SAYE account, then resist the urge to touch it for two years. As a reward for your restraint, you earn 3.5 per cent p.a..

Note that it's a whole lot less liquid than any other savings account, so for the love of God, please don't put your emergency stash in here.

10. HSBC Everyday Global Account

Our last savings account on this list is the most headache-inducing, but also has the highest effective interest rate at the moment due to their ongoing promotion.

The HSBC Everyday Global Account is a multi-currency account that also doubles up as a savings account…masquerading as an interest/cashback-earning hybrid. Yikes. Let me explain.

The HSBC Everyday Global Account lets you transact in 11 different currencies, but that's probably not the reason why you're reading this article. More importantly for our purposes today, it also functions as a savings account.

But unlike the others on this list, the HSBC Everyday Global Account doesn't stack bonus interest the more you spend/save/borrow/invest/insure.

Instead, the account works hand in hand with the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme to, overall between the account and the programme, earn you an extra one per cent bonus interest and one per cent cashback per year.

When you have an HSBC Everyday Global Account and also qualify for the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme, you can earn up to 4.40 per cent p.a. from now to Sept 30, 2024:

• 0.05% p.a. Everyday Global Account’s prevailing interest rate
• + Up to 3.35% p.a. Everyday Global Account Bonus Interest
• + 1.00% p.a. when you qualify for the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme

You only earn + 3.35% p.a. Bonus Interest if you have $2 million with OCBC. For amounts lower than that, your Bonus Interest from the HSBC Everyday Global Account is reduced to 3.25% p.a. Together with the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme, that brings your total interest to 4.3% p.a.

How do I qualify for the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme?

The third component above (1% additional interest) comes from qualifying for the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme. Here are the requirements:

1. Deposit at least $2,000 (for Personal Banking customers) or $5,000 (for Premier customers) into the account
2. Make 5 eligible transactions, with no minimum amount. These can be any combination of the following types:
   1. Transactions made with a HSBC personal credit card*
   2. Transactions made with a HSBC Everyday Global Debit Card
   3. GIRO bill payments
   4. Fund transfers to a non-HSBC account

What do I earn from the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme?

Qualifying for the Everyday+ Rewards Programme gets you:

• 1% bonus interest (as we talked about) on the money you top up into your account each month (capped at $300/month)
• 1% cashback on your HSBC Everyday Global Debit Card transactions and GIRO bill payments (capped at $300/month for Personal Banking customers, $500/month for HSBC Premier customers)

* Note that you can use an HSBC credit card to qualify for the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme, but credit card spending won't earn you cashback once you qualify the programme. I know, I'm not a fan of this either. This change was implemented by HSBC on May 2, 2024 and is also spelled out in their updated terms and conditions.

On the plus side, HSBC doesn't limit you to a select few credit cards for the credit card spending criteria, so take your pick of the HSBC credit cards available.

My personal pick is the new HSBC Live+ Credit Card. From now till the end of the year, earn eight per cent cashback on this card on your dining, shopping, and entertainment spending.

On top of the interest and cashback, HSBC will give you one-time cash bonuses of up to $150 (for Personal banking customers) / $300 (Premier customers) when you deposit at least $100,000 (Personal banking) / $200,000 (Premier Banking) and meets the eligibility criteria above for the first six months.

This article was first published in MoneySmart.