When you think of putting your life savings in a bank, chances are DBS Multiplier, OCBC 360, or UOB One savings accounts would come to mind first. You’re familiar with the banks, probably already have an existing account, and trust that your savings would be safe with them. It’s also the most accessible.
However, when you take a step out of your comfort zone, you’d see that foreign banks in Singapore might actually be worth your attention. Bank of China’s SmartSaver savings account is one such example. If you can get past the inconvenience, its interest rates are rather rewarding.
While there might not be that many Bank of China outlets sprawled across town as there are the more popular banks, the hassle might be worth it after all. Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to do before you decide if you’re willing to go the extra mile or nah.
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1. Bank of China savings account interest rate
Once upon a time, Bank of China’s SmartSaver savings account offered the best interest rate in all of the land. We’re talking a whopping 3.15%! Those were the good old days.
Today, the maximum interest rate you can hit with the Bank of China SmartSaver account might still be a generous 3% p.a. but there’s a catch. It’s not nearly as easy to hit the 3% p.a. interest rate as it once was.
As with most banks, the Bank of China SmartSaver savings account now requires you to jump through multiple hoops to earn a higher bonus interest rate. Here’s the breakdown of the transactions and the respective interest rate you can earn:
| Bank of China Savings Account | Interest Rate |
| None (base interest) | 0.1% |
| Salary credit |
|
| Credit card spending |
|
| 3 x bill payments (min. $30) | +0.3% |
| Extra savings (above $80,000) | +0.4% |
| Insure with BOC (min $12,000) | +1.5% |
As you can see from the table above, the Bank of China SmartSaver account rewards those who have money to spend.
If you’re a regular Sally, earning less than $6,000, cannot afford monthly credit card spend of $1,500, don’t have savings above $80,000, nor extra cash to spend $12,000 on insurance, you won’t be able to make the most out of the Bank of China SmartSaver account.
So, realistically, if you deposit your salary of anywhere between $2,000 to $6,000 every month, hit $500 credit card spend, and pay 3 bills of at least $30, you’d only be able to earn a total of 0.3% + 0.3% + 0.3% + 0.1% in interest. That’s realistically 1% altogether including the base interest rate.
Compared to other savings account, Bank of China’s SmartSaver account’s realistic bonus interest rate of 1% is still higher than the 0.05% to 0.5% interest that most other banks offer. However, you have to work quite hard for it.
2. Who is the Bank of China SmartSaver account for?
Bank of China’s SmartSaver account is most suitable for high earners and spenders. Especially, if you have enough cash to buy insurance products from the Bank of China, you’d earn an additional 1.5% bonus interest for 12 consecutive months.
When you qualify for the other bonus interest categories, you can earn up to a whopping 3% in interest on your first $80,000. Given all the interest rate cuts that have happened in the last 2 years, 3% is about as generous as it gets.
If you’re neither a high earner or a lavish spender and qualify for the 1% p.a. interest rate at best, you are better off looking elsewhere that does not require you to jump through multiple hoops to earn a comparable interest rate. Let’s compare against the more popular local banks to see if the inconvenience is really worth it:
3. Bank of China SmartSaver account vs POSB SAYE Savings Account
POSB needs no introduction. If you’re a Singaporean, you probably already have an account with POSB. Should you then open a separate account with the Bank of China?
The POSB SAYE savings account is great if you already have a DBS/POSB account you’re crediting your monthly salary to. Every month, POSB SAYE automatically deducts a stipulated amount of anywhere between $50 to $3,000.
| Bank of China SmartSaver | POSB SAYE | |
| Interest Rate | 0.1% – 3% | 2% p.a. (after 2 years) |
| Salary Crediting | $2,000 upwards | No |
| Credit Card Spend | $500 upwards | No |
| Bill Payments | 3 bills (minimum $30) | No |
| Extra Savings | $80,000 above | No |
| Insurance | $12,000 upwards | No |
| Monthly Deposit | No | $50 – $3,000 |
If you don’t make any withdrawals for 2 years, you’d earn a cash gift interest of 2% p.a. without lifting a finger. Plus, there’s no minimum salary amount that you need to hit unlike BOC which requires a salary credit of at least $2,000. Needless to say, there are no other hoops you have to jump through either.
As long as you’re able to carefully decide how much in savings you can set aside each month and forget about it for 2 years, the 2% p.a. is very easily attainable. With a higher interest rate and no hoops than the realistic interest rate you can earn with BOC’s SmartSaver account and no hoops to jump through at all, it’s definitely one to consider.
4. Bank of China SmartSaver account vs DBS Multiplier account
Like BOC’s SmartSaver account, you can earn a maximum interest rate of 3% with the DBS Multiplier account if you jump through all the hoops. The DBS Multiplier account demands a compulsory income credit of at least $2,000 in the form of salary or dividends. On top of that you have to do all the following to qualify for the maximum interest rate:
| Bank of China SmartSaver | DBS Multiplier | |
| Interest Rate | 0.1% – 3% | 2% p.a. (after 2 years) |
| Salary Crediting | $2,000 upwards | $2,000 upwards |
| Credit Card Spend | $500 upwards | Yes |
| PayLah! Spend | No | Yes |
| Home Loan | No | Yes |
| Bill Payments | 3 bills (minimum $30) | No |
| Extra Savings | $80,000 above | No |
| Insurance | $12,000 upwards | Yes, yearly |
| Invest | No | Yes, yearly |
It’s even more of a hassle than BOC’s SmartSaver savings account given that you have to get a home loan, invest and insure with DBS. Most of us don’t have that kind of money to spend. However, if you’re looking to get a home loan, the DBS Multiplier account would make sense as you’d be able to hit at least 2 of the additional categories on top of salary crediting.
If not, you’ll only be able to earn a realistic 0.4% for income credit and meeting the requirements of one of the 4 listed categories. So, to conclude, skippity hop onto Bank of China’s SmartSaver account!
- Base Interest Rate p.a.
- 0.05%
- Max. Interest Rate p.a.
- 3.8%
- Min. Balance
- S$3,000
5. Bank of China SmartSaver account vs OCBC 360 account
The OCBC 360 account, like the DBS Multiplier account is made for the LeBron James of the world. By that, I mean you need to be able to get through multiple hoops to earn the highest interest rate possible. With the OCBC 360 account, you can earn bonus interest of up to 1.2% on the first $75,000 of your account balance if you do any or all of these:
| Bank of China SmartSaver | OCBC 360 | |
| Interest Rate | 0.1% – 3% | 2% p.a. (after 2 years) |
| Salary Crediting | $2,000 upwards | $1,800 upwards |
| Credit Card Spend | $500 upwards | No |
| Bill Payments | 3 bills (minimum $30) | No |
| Extra Savings | $80,000 above | $500 more than previous month/ $200,000 balance |
| Insurance | $12,000 upwards | Yes |
| Invest | No | Yes |
That’s the dream but welcome to the real world where most of us regular folks can at best only credit our salary of at least $1,800. If that’s you, you can earn up to 0.3% in bonus interest with the OCBC 360 account which is on par with BOC SmartSaver account’s 0.3% for salary crediting. However, the latter demands a minimum salary credit of $2,000. The former might be an option for you if you don’t meet BOC SmartSaver’s minimum salary credit requirements.
However, if you do meet the minimum and have at least 3 bills of at least $30 to pay, you would earn better interest rate over at BOC’s SmartSaver account. BOC’s base interest is also twice that of OCBC’s measly 0.05%.
- Base Interest Rate p.a.
- 0.05%
- Max. Interest Rate p.a.
- 4.40%
- Min. Balance
- S$3,000
By now, you should have your mind almost made up about whether the BOC SmartSaver account is worth jumping onto. Here are some final details you should know before you sign up for an account.
6. Bank of China SmartSaver account minimum balance (and other things to know)
Before you open any savings account, you MUST take note of a few things: minimum deposit, minimum balance, the fall below fee, and any account closure fees. Bank of China’s SmartSaver savings account has a very reasonable and affordable initial minimum deposit of $1,500 that you need to fork out when you open your savings account with them.
Afterwards, do take note that you must always have at least $1,500 in your account at any given time. Anytime you decide to buy an expensive Playstation 5, end up with only $1,000 in your BOC savings account, you’ll be charged $3 for that month. Ok la, $3 per month sounds negligible right?
- Minimum age: 18 years old
- Nationality: Singaporeans, PRs, foreigners
- Initial deposit: $1,500
- Minimum balance (monthly): $1,500
- Fall-below fee (monthly): $3
- Early account closure fee: Not applicable
- Bonus interest cap: Maximum of 3% p.a. on the first $80,000 in account
Looking for the best savings account to save up for your future? Read more here!