How to Overcome These Common Hurdles When Growing Our Savings

RHB High Yield Savings Account Plus

This post was written in collaboration with RHB Singapore. While we are financially compensated by them, we nonetheless strive to maintain our editorial integrity and review products with the same objective lens. We are committed to providing the best information in order for you to make personal financial decisions with confidence. You can view our Editorial Guidelines here.


High interest savings accounts offer a great way to get your cash savings to work harder for you — with all promising that they are the easiest way to get the highest interest rates in the market.

However, many of these accounts can be annoyingly complicated and high-effort — it’s also troublesome to have to dissect the product’s terms and conditions, interest-earning mechanics and so on, to really suss out how much you could eventually get out of the account.

Some issues we encountered spanned the gamut of bonus interest being offered in a multitude of confusing tiers, to demands that you fulfil a litany of criteria in order to bump up your interest rate, trying to understand the mechanisms of these accounts can make you pull out your hair.

Realistically speaking, ordinary users like you and I would not be able to earn more than 1+% interest from most accounts, especially in this low interest rate environment. This is usually a far cry from the maximum interest rates that banks boast about when promoting their savings accounts.

As you can see, we’ve got quite a lot of gripes when it comes to growing our cash savings. But we’re problem solvers and have found a solution to these woes.

 

#1: Signing up is a chore

Signing up for a savings account could require you to fill in stacks of paperwork and make trips to the bank where you face long waiting times. Not sure about you, but standing in line at the bank is one of my least preferred ways to spend my free time.

The RHB High Yield Savings Plus Account is one such account that offers a painless account opening process. You can instantly open an account online and start transacting immediately with the RHB Mobile Banking SG app, filling in your details in a snap via MyInfo.

In the time it takes you to finish reading this article, you could complete an application for your very own RHB High Yield Savings Plus Account, even if it’s 2am and you’re lying in bed.

 

#2: Ugh, those fall-below fees

Fall-below fees are a bank account holder’s biggest nightmare, and oh so cruel — you’re being punished for not having enough money when you’re trying your utmost to save up!

These fees get charged when your account balance falls below a certain amount. Not only do you lose money when you’re already low on cash, but the fees can also cancel out a big chunk of the interest you’ve painstakingly been collecting over the months and years.

To avoid incurring fall-below fees, you need to keep an eagle eye on your bank balance and avoid making withdrawals beyond a certain point.

Or you could just opt for a bank account without fall-below fees, like the RHB High Yield Savings Plus Account.

Thanks to the absence of fall-below fees, no matter how much or how little you stash in the account, every cent of interest your money earns is yours to keep.

 

#3: Multiple tiers, multiple tasks

So many savings accounts practically require a PhD to figure out as they demand that you complete certain tasks and fulfil multiple criteria to qualify for bonus interest — not including the various terms and conditions or exclusions you need to take note of. Some savings accounts divide their bonus interest into multiple tiers, and you clear each stage to climb up the ladder.

Such tasks can include crediting your salary every month (and there’s a minimum amount), investing with the bank, buying certain insurance products with the bank, spending a minimum amount on a particular credit card, or maintaining/increasing a minimum amount of savings or deposits with the bank.

These convoluted mechanisms are a nightmare for users looking for a simple and fuss-free banking experience. Life is stressful enough without having to complicate it further.

Once again, the RHB High Yield Savings Plus Account cuts through all of the confusion to offer a straightforward, easy-to-understand interest structure. Best of all, there’s no need to jump through multiple hoops, and customers aren’t left scrambling to fulfil unattainable expectations.

Don’t miss out!

From now till 31 December 2021, RHB High Yield Savings Plus Account holders receive 1% bonus interest* on increases in their bank balance. That’s an additional 1% p.a. on top of the prevailing interest rates.

Here are the prevailing interest rates for the RHB High Yield Savings Plus Account, as of November 2021:

RHB High Yield Savings Account Plus prevailing interest rates

Source: RHB

The 1% p.a. bonus interest will be calculated based on your incremental account deposit balance (ADB) when you top up your account with fresh funds from now till 31 Dec 2021. This is based on the aggregation of your account balances at the close of each calendar day for the particular month, divided by the number of days in that month.

Here’s an illustration to show how the 1% p.a. bonus interest is calculated:

Date (2021) End Day Balance ADB for the Month Incremental ADB against previous month Interest Earned (S$)
01 Oct – 31 Oct S$0 S$0 N/A S$0
Total interest earned for month of Oct S$0
01 Nov – 10 Nov S$70,000 S$50,000 S$50,000 Prevailing interest: {(S$50k x 0.3%)+ (S$20k x 0.4%)}/ 365 days x 10days = S$6.30
11 Nov – 30 Nov S$40,000 Prevailing interest: S$40k x 0.3% / 365 days x 20 days =  S$6.58
Bonus interest: S$50,000 x 1% / 365 days x 30days =  S$41.10
Total interest earned for month of November S$53.98
01 Dec – 31 Dec S$50,000 S$50,000 N/A. No incremental fresh funds Prevailing interest: (S$50k x 0.3%) / 365 days x 31days = S$12.74
Bonus interest: S$0
Total interest earned for month of December S$12.74
  • Overall total interest earned from 1 Nov to 31 Dec = S$66.72
  • Total prevailing interest earned from 1 Nov to 31 Dec = S$25.62
  • Total bonus interest earned from 1 Nov to 31 Dec = S$41.10

To take advantage of the promotion, there are no complicated eligibility terms to follow, and there is no minimum amount required either — just top up your account with fresh funds during the promotional period and you’ll automatically earn bonus interest. No lock-in is imposed on your money, so you can be assured that your savings will remain liquid.

The offer is also open to both new and existing customers. Simply transfer funds to your account via mobile banking from the comfort of home.

 

It’s now easier to reach your financial goals

1% p.a. bonus interest can go a long way. This passive interest can boost the growth of your emergency savings, travel fund, children’s education fund and so on, helping you achieve your goals faster.

As the year draws to a close, it’s time for all of us to do a that yearly audit, take a fresh look at our saving habits and decide whether we need a new account

Chances are, you’ll find that you do have fresh funds that can be deposited into the RHB High Yield Savings Plus Account to earn that sweet 1% p.a. bonus interest.

For instance, perhaps you’ve recently changed jobs and have been spending less during the probationary period at your new job, and would like to earn a better interest rate on your savings. Or perhaps you’ve been saving up over the past months for an upcoming overseas trip via the VTL, your next big purchase on Black Friday or even red packets for CNY 2022 and could really benefit from RHB’s 1% p.a. bonus interest to grow that sum a little faster.

Whatever your situation, there’s no better time than the present to have a look at your finances and see how you can make your money work harder for you with the help of the RHB High Yield Savings Plus Account.

The RHB High Yield Savings Plus Account offers attractive interest rates with no fall below fees nor lock-in, while remaining refreshingly straightforward and easy to use.

Find out more and sign up for an account.

 

*Full Terms and Conditions apply for the RHB High-Yield Savings Plus Account Campaign – Q4 2021. Visit https://rhbgroup.com.sg/rhb/personal/hysa for details.

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.