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With savings rates at an all-time low, one may ask if it pays to put your savings in the bank now? If you have accumulated hard-earned savings, how do you get the best returns on your deposits? With most primary transactional accounts either having a myriad of conditions to fulfil or paying record low interest rates, seeking out the best rates can be daunting, but here’s where we have made it easy for you.
Alternative Savings Account
RHB’s High Yield Savings Plus account is a great alternate savings account for individuals looking for a better interest rate as they grow their savings.
To illustrate these benefits, let’s say that you are starting with spare savings of about S$30,000 now and you deposited it into an RHB’s High Yield Savings Plus Account . You will start to earn an interest rate of 0.30% p.a. from the 1st dollar. RHB’s High Yield Savings Plus Account is a no-fuss savings account with no conditions on the number of transactions, no fall below fees, and a high starting base interest rate of 0.30% p.a. which increases up to 0.50% p.a. when your balances meet higher balance tiers. Now, a high starting base interest rate is important because it allows you to make the most of your savings. Imagine the difference between earning only 0.05% p.a. and earning 0.30% p.a. on your first S$50,000.
| RHB High Yield Savings Plus Account | |
| Deposit Balance Amount by tiers | Prevailing Interest rates |
| First S$50,000 | 0.30% p.a. |
| Next S$25,000 | 0.40% p.a. |
| Next S$25,000 | 0.50% p.a. |
| Above S$100,000 | 0.20% p.a. |
What’s more, if you open a High Yield Savings Plus Account between 1 July 2021 and 30 September 2021, you will get to earn a Bonus Interest of 1% p.a.# on top of the prevailing interest rates that you already enjoy. To make things easier, the RHB Mobile SG app, available on the App Store and Google Play Store, allows you to sign up for the account via MyInfo without having to visit any of the branches!
Added Bonus Interest on RHB High Yield Savings Plus account
| Month | Jul ’21 | Aug ’21 |
| Average Deposit Balance in the month | S$30,000 | S$80,000 |
| Effective Interest rates calculated based on interest rate tiers below: 1st S$50,000 – 0.30% p.a.Next S$25,000 – 0.40% p.a.Next S$25,000 – 0.50% p.a. |
0.30% p.a. | 0.34% p.a. |
| Bonus applied to the incremental average deposit balance | 1% p.a.# on S$30,000 | 1% p.a.# on S$50,000 |
# Bonuses are paid within 90 working days after the incremental deposits are computed at the end of the calendar month. Terms & conditions apply.
Example above assumed zero balance in month of Jun’21
If your savings grow past S$200,000, you may want to put your savings into an RHB Premier Plus Current Account to enjoy the privileges of a Premier relationship. Unlike other types of current accounts, RHB Premier Plus Current Account lets you enjoy a return of 0.468% p.a. from your first dollar, which is one of the best in the market.
| RHB Premier Plus Account* | |
| Deposit Balance Amount | Interest Rates as of 1 Jul 2021 |
| Below S$200,000 | 0.08% p.a. |
| S$200,000 – S$3,000,000 | 0.468% p.a.on the entire balance from the first dollar |
| Amount in excess of S$3,000,000 | 0.08% p.a. |
* Please refer to RHB Singapore’s website for more details as well as the terms and conditions.
Retirement Savings
If you have been saving for your retirement and have a diversified portfolio comprising of investments and deposits, getting a decent return on your cash holdings in fixed deposits now can be challenging as banks have been reducing their Fixed Deposit rates.
From a recent compilation of Fixed Deposit rates, we found that RHB Singapore offers the highest returns. And, it comes with an additional S$60 cash credit for every deposit placement of S$200,000 and above.
Fixed Deposit Rates as of 1 July 2021
Here’s how the local new Fixed Deposits rates rank currently for the popular 12-month tenure:
| Bank/financial institution | Min. deposit amount | Tenure | Interest rates^ |
| RHB | S$20,000 | 12 months | 0.68% p.a. for Premier Banking** 0.60% p.a. for Personal Banking** plus S$60 cash credit for every deposit placement of S$200,000 (up to S$360 cash credits)** |
| ICBC | S$500 | 12 months | 0.60% p.a. |
| CIMB | S$10,000 | 12 months | 0.55% p.a. |
| Standard Chartered | $25,000 | 12 months | 0.45% p.a. |
| DBS | S$20,000 | 12 months | 0.50% p.a. |
| Hong Leong Finance | S$20,000 | 12 months | 0.50% p.a. |
| OCBC | S$20,000 | 12 months | 0.40% p.a. |
| Maybank | S$1,000 | 12 months | 0.35% p.a. |
| UOB | S$5,000 | 12 months | 0.15% p.a. |
| HSBC | S$5,000 | 12 months | 0.15% p.a. |
^ Please refer to respective banks’ websites for more details as well as the terms and conditions.
If you place a Fixed Deposit of S$200,000 with RHB Singapore at 0.68% p.a.** you will receive S$1,360 in interest at the end of 12 months, plus a cash credit of S$60 making your total return S$1,420.
So if you are earning a Fixed Deposit rate of only 0.15% p.a or S$300, why not switch over to Premier Banking to earn S$1,420 now?
Find out more about RHB’s Fixed Deposit promotion and sign up here.
RHB Singapore has the best of both worlds. For those who need a simple savings account, RHB’s High Yield Savings Plus Account with the added 1% p.a. bonus rate or a RHB’s Premier Plus Account is ideal. For those looking for high Fixed Deposit rates, RHB’s 12-month Fixed Deposit account of up to 0.68% p.a.** with the added S$60 cash credit is the best.
Find out more by visiting any of their branches or check out their website today.
** RHB’s promotional rate for Fixed Deposit is for the period from 2 June to 31 August 2021. Refer to RHB Singapore’s website for the terms and conditions.
Disclaimers: This is a sponsored article. Any views or opinions expressed in this article are not of the sponsor. You should not rely on the contents of the article to make any financial decisions. The information provided are given to the best knowledge of MoneySmart. The sponsor shall not be held liable/accountable to verify the information given in this article and shall not be held responsible for any loss or damage whatsoever arising directly or indirectly howsoever in connection with or as a result of you acting on any information provided in this article.
Deposit Insurance Scheme
Singapore dollar deposits of non-bank depositors and monies and deposits denominated in Singapore dollars under the Supplementary Retirement Scheme are insured by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation, for up to S$75,000 in aggregate per depositor per Scheme member by law.