2021 was a pretty tough year on our finances. Not only did many of us suffer pay cuts and income losses, most of the high interest savings accounts in Singapore also got royally nerfed! Talk about adding insult to injury. You might’ve thought the end of the year meant the end to the misery…well, you thought!

2022 is shaping up to take quite the hit on our wallets. Inflation, an impending recession, yadah yadah yadah, when does the misery end?

It’s times like these when saving your money is more important than ever. While you’re at it, you want to make sure you’re earning the best interest rates.

For your convenience, we’ve compiled the best savings accounts in Singapore with the highest interest rates, updated for 2022. 

1. Best savings accounts in Singapore with highest interest rates

Noticed I wrote “realistic” interest rates? That’s ’cause not all of us have $1 million in savings to qualify us for the highest tier of interest.

So to keep things real, I’ve projected these savings accounts interest rates for $10,000 to $25,000 in savings, without requiring you to jump through too many hoops.

2. CIMB FastSaver savings account interest rates

CIMB comes through again by offering arguably the highest realistic interest rates for a savings account – the CIMB FastSaver at 1.2 per cent p.a. – provided you also sign up with the CIMB Visa Signature credit card and spend a minimum of $300 per month.

If you just want the FastSaver account only (because you may have too many credit cards already), the interest rate will only be 0.5 per cent. This is still higher than any of the banks listed below for simply depositing your money into the account.

This account will be perfect for most young adults starting out their career, because of the very low “minimum” balance of $1,000, no fall below fee.

It’s also the least headache-inducing of all the savings accounts to have because the only requirement is maintain at least $1,000 balance for you to earn the advertised interest rates. You can do the least with CIMB FastSaver’s account and still reap the benefits of its rather generous interest rates.

Minimum balance: $1,000

Fall below fee: None!

Bonus interest cap: $75,000

3. DBS Multiplier savings account interest rates

While the DBS Multiplier account‘s interest rates have finally gone back up since getting slashed on Jan 1, 2021. The bunnies have started multiplying again!

The mechanics of the DBS Multiplier account remains the same. First, you need to draw a monthly income (salary credit or investment dividends) or update your financial information on SGFinDex to qualify. Then, transact in one or more from the following categories:

• Credit card 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 & structured products)

If you have a DBS home loan — worth considering since bank loan interest rates tend to be lower than HDB home loans — you can quite easily unlock a higher tier of interest. This also increases your bonus interest cap from $25,000 to $50,000.

Don’t worry if you can’t hit the minimum $2,000 in monthly transactions to qualify for 0.9 per cent or more interest; you can earn 0.55 per cent p.a. (capped at first $10,000) if your income + DBS Paylah retail spending add up to at least $500. If you’re below 29 years old, you will qualify for 0.4 per cent p.a. even if you spend lesser than $500.

Minimum balance: $3,000

Fall below fee: $5. Waived for first-time customers & those up to age 29.

Bonus interest cap: $100,000

4. UOB One savings account interest rates

The easy-to-use UOB One account is one of the few higher interest savings accounts with no salary credit requirement.

Pick this account if you’re allergic to maths, because the only requirement is spending at least $500 a month on a UOB credit or debit card. The cards eligible are:

• UOB One Card
• UOB Lady’s Card
• UOB EVOL Card
• UOB One Debit Visa Card
• UOB One Debit Mastercard
• UOB Lady’s Debit Card
• UOB Mighty FX Debit Card

To further boost your interest, you can either credit your monthly salary or pay three bills by GIRO. This is great for those without a regular paycheck such as freelancers, retirees or homemakers.

The interest rate rises with every additional $15,000 in your UOB One account, capped at $75,000.

There’s also an ongoing promo where you can earn up to 3 per cent p.a. interest and $50 in cash credit when you credit your salary (min. $1,600) into a UOB One Account.

On top of that, you’ll also have to spend a minimum of $500 monthly on your UOB One Card. 3 per cent p.a. in interest sounds like an attractive offer but if you look into the terms and conditions, you can only hit the 3 per cent p.a. interest rate if you have between $75,000 to $100,000 in your account. If you’re not one of them, you don’t have much to gain from the promo. 

The promotion ends on Dec 31, 2022.  

Minimum balance: $1,000

Fall below fee: $5

Bonus interest cap: $75,000

5. OCBC 360 savings account interest rates

Like DBS, the OCBC 360 account interest rates were also slashed last year. While DBS has increased its interest rate since, nothing has changed at OCBC.

The OCBC 360 is more complicated than the UOB One, but also more flexible in that there is no one mandatory requirement. This account makes sense if you’re earning just enough to meet the $1,800 minimum, and don’t want to jump through any further hoops. You’ll earn a bonus 0.3% for not doing much else than crediting your salary to the OCBC 360 account.

You get a bonus 0.1 per cent every month that your account balance increases by $500 or more, so that might encourage you to save more.

Minimum balance: $1,000

Fall below fee: $2. Waived for first year

Bonus interest cap: $75,000

6. Maybank Save Up Programme interest rates

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

• GIRO payment (min. $300) OR salary credit (min. $2,000)
• Credit card spending (min. $500)
• 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)

If you hit two transactions, e.g. salary credit + credit card, you can get almost 1 per cent interest, which is one of the highest on the market.

And if you happen to be in the market for a home loan, reno loan or car loan, then you’d probably want to consider Maybank as the 3rd tier can give you almost 3 per cent p.a. — a princely sum indeed.

Minimum balance: $1,000

Fall below fee: $2. Waived for up to age 25.

Bonus interest cap: $50,000

7. Standard Chartered Bonus Saver account interest rates

 After getting nerfed, the Standard Chartered BonusSaver savings account isn’t so great for regular folks, but it does occupy a niche: It gives you pretty high interest just for spending tons of money.

Pay three bills and spend $2,000 on your SCB Bonus$aver World credit or debit card and you’ll already get 0.48 per cent p.a. bonus interust on your savings. Not bad if your main function is to pay for your kids tuition fees, dental checkups, condo MCST fees and what-not. On top of that if you credit your salary

If you’re thinking of opening up a Standard Chartered Bonus Saver account, do it before Aug 31, 2022 for a sign-up bonus of up to 1 per cent. However, you’ll also have to sign up for the Bonus$aver World Mastercard credit card and deposit fresh funds of $50,000.

Minimum balance: $3,000

Fall below fee: $5

Bonus interest cap: $80,000

8. Bank of China Smart Saver account interest rates

If you’re OK with the inconvenience of banking with Bank of China, their SmartSaver account is a decent 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 1.4 per cent p.a. without having to jump through too many hoops, assuming a credit card bill more than $1,500 is no problem for you.

Bank of China SmartSaver account also awards a wealth bonus of 1.5 per cent per annum for 12 consecutive months. However, to qualify, you’ll have to be put down a pretty hefty sum on their insurance products. We’re talking a minimum of $12,000 in annual premiums with 10-year premium term. 

Minimum balance: $1,500

Fall below fee: $3

Bonus interest cap: $80,000

9. POSB SAYE savings account interest rates

Back in the day, many of us nerds liked to open a second savings account. For example, the CIMB FastSaver and UOB Stash accounts gave us up to 1 per cent p.a. for simply stashing spare money away and forgetting all about it. (Ah 2019, we miss you so.)

Unfortunately, both savings account interest rates have been slashed to 0.3 per cent. So the best zero-effort contender right now 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 2 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.

This article was first published in MoneySmart.