Best Savings Accounts

What is a Savings Account?

A savings account is an interest-bearing deposit account with the flexibility of withdrawing money. You can deposit your money at a bank or financial institution while they provide principal security and interest rates in return. 

How do savings accounts work?

Savings accounts provide depositors with interests because these respective financial institutions that hold your funds, are utilising them for things like investments or loans. Hence, you reap rewards, in the form of bonus interest, from funding your account.

There are mainly 2 ways which Savings Accounts can earn you Interest Rates:

1. “Stash-and-park”: Gives you high-interest rates when you increase your account balance, whether by salary crediting or other depositing methods, while keeping withdrawals to a minimum.
2. Spend and save: Gives you bonus interest rates when you credit your salary and spend from the same account. Engaging in certain categories of transactions like bill payment, investments or insurance will give you extra bonus interest rates.

How to choose the best Savings Account with the highest interest rates?

The best savings account for one depends mainly on meeting criteria set by the banks. Fulfilling these criteria will offer you tiers of interest rates for your account balances.

These variables can be mainly broken down into:

Basics

• Bank account balance
• Minimum average daily or monthly balance
• Amount of monthly salary credit into the savings account
• Monthly credit card spend

Bills Spending

• Monthly bill amount
• Number of bills per month

Investments

• Annual lump sum with the bank
• Monthly investment with the bank

Loans

• Monthly installment of certain loans specified by the bank, usually home loans.

Insurance

• Annual insurance spend with the bank

Overview of the Best Savings Account in Singapore with the Highest Interest Rates 2020

Other Notable Savings Accounts include:

POSB SAYE

• Earns up to 2.25% p.a.
• POSB Save As You Earn account is ideal for those do not utilise this account to withdraw funds for at least 24 months straight, AND Can commit to saving at least S$50/month

Maybank iSAVvy Savings Plus

• Base Interest Rate of 0.30%p.a. and
• 1.56% Bonus interest when you have Monthly deposit + no withdrawals for 6 months
• Great for people who can commit to growing their account without making withdrawals for 6 months
  

The Pros and Cons of Savings Accounts

Advantages of Savings Accounts

There are a few benefits to parking your excess cash in a savings account:

• It is a low-maintenance method to helping you save.
• Money in a savings account gives better interest as compared to that of a checking account.
• Money in a savings account can be easily accessible and gives one more liquidity as compared to fixed deposits, stocks, bonds or other possible financial products.
• Conveniently, some of them are also linked to your debit cards or credit cards.

Disadvantages of Savings Accounts

• Increased liquidity of savings accounts can discourage one from saving since the money is readily available for one to spend.
• Interest rates of savings accounts are usually lower than most of the other financial products available.
• Savings accounts that provide high interest rates in Singapore usually come with certain strict terms and conditions.
• Some savings accounts also have fall-below fee that charges you a certain amount if you are unable to maintain a set minimum balance.

How to choose the Best Savings Account?

Which bank has the best savings account? Which accounts have the highest interest rates? Are savings accounts any good? And how much do actually earn? To help you answer these questions, here are some tools to help you figure them out:

1. Cheat Sheet: Best Savings Accounts For Working Adults
2. Savings Account Calculator to help you decide on the best savings account.

If there are still questions after reading Real User Reviews on the savings account, feel free to ask away at Seedly Community.

How to apply for a Savings Account?

If you are an existing customer with a bank, most banks allow you to open your Savings Account through their online iBanking system.

New customers can do so online by filling up an online application or simply heading down to any of the bank's branch to do so.

Documents required to apply for a Savings Account are:

• The initial deposit in form of cash or cheque
  (Assuming the savings account requires a minimum deposit)
• NRIC
  (For Singaporeans)
• Passport/ Employment Pass/ S Pass/ company letter/ proof of residential address
  (For foreigners)

Depending on the bank, an application for a savings account can be done within a week.