Information is accurate as of 2 June 2020

Tired of the meagre standard interest rates you have been receiving in the bank account your parents set up for you when you were a kid? Wondering which bank offers the best interest rates for your savings? Look no further as we break down the banks which give you the most lucrative savings plans so you can get the most out of your pay check! 

Taking the average fresh graduate as a basis, we have compiled the best banks you should deposit your salary into. To compute the interest rates offered, we are assuming that an individual has a S$20,000 account balance, less than S$5,000 monthly income and a minimum of S$500 monthly credit card expenditure. 

1. Standard Chartered Bank Jumpstart Account

The Standard Chartered Bank Jumpstart account offers the highest interest rate on our list, with one small caveat – you have to be under 26 years old. The account features are simple, with a 2% interest rate applicable to the first S$20,000 in your account balance. Beyond which, your savings are only subjected to a mere 0.1% interest rate. 

Although the bonus interest cap for this account is pretty low at S$20,000 as compared to most savings accounts, it is still ideal for fresh graduates looking for a high interest yield. Our suggestion would be for you to move anything above the S$20,000 cap into another savings account so as to maximise the interest rates offered. 

If you would like to apply for an SC JumpStart account, click here. 

Edit: With effect from 1 July 2020, Standard Chartered Bank has revised their interest rate to 1% for the first S$20,000 in your account balance. Beyond which, you will be subjected to the same interest rate of 0.1%.

For more information, please refer to their website here.

2. Bank of China SmartSaver Account

Fresh graduates who are able to earn at least S$6,000 in monthly income should definitely consider applying for the Bank of China SmartSaver account as they offer one of the highest interest rates in Singapore. There are also few requirements that need to be met for you to enjoy the bonus interest offered. For those earning less than S$6,000, fret not as you can still enjoy a 1.95% interest rate, the second highest on our list! 

However, do note that it may be inconvenient to open a Bank of China account as compared to other banks as they do not have an existing online application process. Furthermore, although they have over 200 ATMs scattered around the country, it is more challenging to find a Bank of China ATM as compared to other banks. Also, the prevailing interest rates for Bank of China accounts are rather low at 0.35% assuming you have a minimum S$20,000 balance in your account but fail to meet any of the bonus interest requirements. 

If you would like to apply for a Bank of China SmartSaver account, simply visit any BOC branch. Alternatively, you can click here for more information. 

3. DBS Multiplier Account

The DBS Multiplier account is one of the best savings accounts for fresh graduates as bonus interest is awarded based on the total eligible transactions per month. This is unlike most savings accounts where you have to fulfil various requirements to obtain bonus interest.  

However, it is compulsory for you to credit your salary (no minimum) and complete at least one of the four categories provided for you to get bonus interest. With that said, these transactions only need to total S$2,000 or more for you to be eligible, making it an easy requirement for fresh graduates to fulfil. Furthermore, the account offers generous bonus interest rates if you are able to fulfil transactions in more categories. 

If you would like to apply for a DBS Multiplier account, click here. 

4. OCBC 360 Account

As a fresh graduate, crediting your salary (at least S$1,800 per month) into an OCBC 360 account will allow you to enjoy a 1.2% p.a. interest rate. Additionally, if you are able to spend at least S$500 on your credit card monthly and/or ensure that the account balance grows by at least S$500 per month, you will also earn an additional 0.2% per annum for each item. 

Furthermore, a strong selling point of this savings account is the fact that each bonus interest you can earn is independent of each other. This would imply that you do not need to fulfil any particular area for you to enjoy the bonus interest in other areas. In this aspect, even if you fail to hit the S$500 requirement for monthly credit card expenditure, you will still obtain a decent interest rate of 1.2% on your savings by depositing your monthly salary. However, if you fail to meet any of the requirements above in obtaining bonus interest, you will only receive a prevailing interest rate of 0.05%. 

If you would like to apply for an OCBC 360 account, click here. 

Edit: With effect from 1 July 2020, OCBC has halved their salary credit bonus interest to 0.6% for balances up to S$35,000 and 1.2% for balances between S$35,000 and S$70,000 for customers with an OCBC 360 account. They will also stop offering the credit card spend bonus interest of 0.2% and 0.4%. Nevertheless, there will be no change to the Save or Wealth bonus categories.

For more information, please refer to their website here.

5. Standard Chartered Bank Bonus$aver Account

The Bonus$aver account by Standard Chartered Bank gives up to 3.88% p.a., making it the highest effective interest rate offered by a bank in Singapore. Given our assumption above, a fresh graduate will be able to earn 1.6% p.a. by depositing his/her salary of at least S$3,000, spending a minimum of S$500 in credit card expenses as well as making 3 bill payments online (at least S$50 each). This will increase to 2.6% p.a. if the account holder is able to spend over S$2,000 on his/her credit card monthly.  

As such, the Bonus$aver account is ideal for fresh graduates as they provide an attractive base bonus interest rate while allowing the account holder to enjoy higher bonus interest rates if they are able to fulfil greater requirements. However, this account is best suited for fresh graduates who are able to earn at least S$3,000. Otherwise, you may be better off looking at other savings accounts in this list that can give you higher interest rates. You should also note that the prevailing interest rate for this account is 0.05% if you fail to meet any of the bonus interest requirements. 

If you would like to apply for a Standard Chartered Bonus$aver account, click here. 

Edit: With effect from 1 July 2020, Standard Chartered Bank has amended their bonus interest rates. As such, instead of the 1.6% interest rate you can receive, you will now only receive 0.8% (0.3% + 0.4% + 0.1%).

For more information, please refer to their website here.

Maximize your savings with CardsPal 

Beyond setting up a bank account with favourable interest rates, you should also leverage on deals and promotions offered by your credit cards so as to further maximise your savings. CardsPal is the one stop app where we show you the best deals in town so you never have to miss a deal again! Get to know us here. Download the app on the App Store or Google Play Store now and get the latest deals, tailored according to the cards you own.

If you are interested to find out which credit cards you should apply for as a fresh graduate, do check out our earlier post here!