Best Saving Account - CIMB StarSaver Account
Savings accounts serve the purpose of regular savings and parking your money for later deployment. When the money gets to a sufficiently large amount, then you could either transfer it to fixed deposit or use it for other investments.
However, the interest rates for saving accounts are almost zero nowadays, most banks offer pathetic interest rates at 0.05% to 0.1% p.a. Even Standard Chartered's eSaver, which supposed to give higher interest rate than others because the bank does away with all non-essential services like passbook, cheque book and atm/debit cards, has dropped to 0.1% p.a. There is no longer motivation and incentive to keeping the money there.
After some looking around, I found that CIMB StarSaver Accounts offer the highest interest rates for savings accounts in the market, a massive 0.8% p.a. The interest rate of StarSaver Account is even higher than some banks' fixed deposit interest rates!
There are 2 types of StarSaver Accounts. One is a simple plain savings account and the other a checking and savings account. [For simplicity's sake, I will refer to them as savings account and checking account].
The initial deposit is $1,000 for the savings account and $5,000 for the checking account. To enjoy 0.8% p.a. interest rate, every month you need to deposit $100 or more for savings account and $500 or more for the checking account.
Even if you can't maintain the monthly incremental deposit, there is no penalty fee. Your interest rate for that month just drops to 0.5% p.a., which is already 10 times better than those banks offering 0.05% p.a.
For convenience's sake, you could also place periodic lump sum deposits that will be automatically converted by CIMB Bank into equal portions. For example, if you place a lump sum of $3,000 into the StarSaver checking account, it is equal to 6 months of incremental deposits.
I find this monthly incremental deposit a good thing, as it force you into a regular saving habit.
In addition to the 0.8% interest rate, other superior features of StarSaver checking account are the free cheque books and zero checking account maintenance fee. For comparison, some banks charge $2 a month for maintenance fee and also charge you for each new cheque book issued.
There is a $1 monthly account fee for StarSaver account. However, you could get it waived by opting for electronic statement. This save you some money and also is more environmental friendly.
There is one disadvantage with CIMB bank. CIMB has only 2 branches in Singapore as of today and the few ATM machines that they have are only available at the branches. So, it is not convenient to withdraw money and do face-to-face banking with them.
However, this disadvantage can also be considered advantage because your savings stay inside your bank account.
If really necessary, you could transfer your money out from CIMB through internet banking to your other bank accounts, which you can then conveniently access it. Moreover, the CIMB Orchard branch opens 7 days a week.
As such, I consider CIMB StarSaver Checking account the best for checking and savings purposes.
Do let me know if anyone knows of a better savings and checking account.
However, the interest rates for saving accounts are almost zero nowadays, most banks offer pathetic interest rates at 0.05% to 0.1% p.a. Even Standard Chartered's eSaver, which supposed to give higher interest rate than others because the bank does away with all non-essential services like passbook, cheque book and atm/debit cards, has dropped to 0.1% p.a. There is no longer motivation and incentive to keeping the money there.
After some looking around, I found that CIMB StarSaver Accounts offer the highest interest rates for savings accounts in the market, a massive 0.8% p.a. The interest rate of StarSaver Account is even higher than some banks' fixed deposit interest rates!
There are 2 types of StarSaver Accounts. One is a simple plain savings account and the other a checking and savings account. [For simplicity's sake, I will refer to them as savings account and checking account].
The initial deposit is $1,000 for the savings account and $5,000 for the checking account. To enjoy 0.8% p.a. interest rate, every month you need to deposit $100 or more for savings account and $500 or more for the checking account.
| Initial Deposit | StarSaver Checking | StarSaver Savings |
| S$5,000 | S$1,000 | |
| Interest Rate | Month-end incremental deposit | |
| StarSaver Checking | StarSaver Savings | |
| 0.8% p.a. | S$500 or more | S$100 or more |
| 0.5% p.a. | Less than S$500 | Less than S$100 |
Even if you can't maintain the monthly incremental deposit, there is no penalty fee. Your interest rate for that month just drops to 0.5% p.a., which is already 10 times better than those banks offering 0.05% p.a.
For convenience's sake, you could also place periodic lump sum deposits that will be automatically converted by CIMB Bank into equal portions. For example, if you place a lump sum of $3,000 into the StarSaver checking account, it is equal to 6 months of incremental deposits.
I find this monthly incremental deposit a good thing, as it force you into a regular saving habit.
In addition to the 0.8% interest rate, other superior features of StarSaver checking account are the free cheque books and zero checking account maintenance fee. For comparison, some banks charge $2 a month for maintenance fee and also charge you for each new cheque book issued.
There is a $1 monthly account fee for StarSaver account. However, you could get it waived by opting for electronic statement. This save you some money and also is more environmental friendly.
There is one disadvantage with CIMB bank. CIMB has only 2 branches in Singapore as of today and the few ATM machines that they have are only available at the branches. So, it is not convenient to withdraw money and do face-to-face banking with them.
However, this disadvantage can also be considered advantage because your savings stay inside your bank account.
If really necessary, you could transfer your money out from CIMB through internet banking to your other bank accounts, which you can then conveniently access it. Moreover, the CIMB Orchard branch opens 7 days a week.
As such, I consider CIMB StarSaver Checking account the best for checking and savings purposes.
Do let me know if anyone knows of a better savings and checking account.
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