Comparison of Banks’ Savings Interest Rates
The big news today is that the DBS ATM all went kaput in the morning from 8.30am till 10.30am. My colleague wanted to withdraw from his DBS account in the afternoon for lunchtime but couldn’t. So it is likely some of the ATMs were down for a longer time.
Moral of the story? Get another bank account from another bank as a backup so you never have to worry about being unable to withdraw your money.
We’d look at some of the banks interest rates:
| Savings Account | Special Savings Account | Remarks | |
| DBS Bank | 0.1% for first $50,000 0.25% for next $50,000 and above | 0.1 for first $3000 0.125% for next $47,000 0.25% for next $50,000 0.325% for balance above $100,000 | |
| POSB | 0.125% for first $50,000 0.25% for next $50,000 and above | 0.125% for $50 to $290 0.4% for $300 and above (amount is monthly fixed savings) | |
| UOB Bank | 0.1% for first $15,000 0.175% for next $85,000 0.325% for next $200,000 and above | Special account for juniors is even worse than normal savings, go figure. | |
| Maybank | 0.1875% for first $3,000 0.25% for balance above $50,000 | 0.1875% for daily balance below $5,000 0.25% for daily balance of $5,000 to below $50,000 0.4% for daily balance of $50,000 and above 6% interest-on-interest every 6 months | |
| OCBC Bank | 0.125% for first $10,000 0.25% for balance from $50,000 to $250,000 0.275% above $250,000 | I am just confused from their site | Rates of MOI account are the same as basic savings |
| Standard Chartered | Not stated on website | 0.2% for less than $50,000 (e$aver) 0.3% for $50,000 to $199,999 0.4% for $200,000 and above | SCB interest rates for savings account is not stated on the website, and its e$aver account has not atm card or passbook. |
| ANZ | Not stated | 0.05% for first $50,000 0.1% for $50,000 to less than $200,000 0.125% for $200,000 and above | ANZ rates have bonus rates which are tiered and you can refer to the source below if you are interested to know more |
From about 40 minutes looking at it and gathering data and trying to figure it out, one thing is clear.
The banks need to get their act together. Seriously. Why are there so many different accounts with different names offering the same interest rates?
The bank needs to only offer three at most, savings, current and a special savings account with some sort of limitations like no ATM card or or not passbook.
Also, a clear winner from $1 to the first $50,000 is Maybank, after which the banks all just happen to offer the same rates of 0.25% till the first $100,000. UOB takes all winners from $100,000 onwards.
So there you have it, the best savings interest rates you can get.
If you have the time read this article on how $1 saved a day can yield you $67,815 in 30 years at 10% annual return. Quite an optimistic return, but the article is worth reading.
I save at OCBC and POSB, while my wife saves part of her money at Maybank. Maybe I should ask my wife to manage the money? :)
Sources:
July 6, 2010 at 10:58 PM
Hi Lemizeraq,
Believe it or not, when I first opened my account with May Bank in 2007, the interest offered on iSavvy account was 1.88%. Yes 1.88% with 6% interest on interest!!
Till about Feb-Mar 2010, it was still 0.58% for >$50,000; and today it's a miserable 0.4% per annum.
No wonder I keep deploying money into equities. It makes no sense letting your money rot away in banks....
Cheers,
Musicwhiz
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