Alternative bank choice

[sellbuyboy]

RHB High Yield savings is currently better than CIMB Fastsaver and SIF GoSavers for those with no requirements saving accounts

Bestest huh... Nothing better?

 

[testingabc]

That’s a good one. HSBC has also started offering a zero minimum balance savings account: eFlexi.

thanks for informing bro, but need to credit a monthly salary of minimum SGD2,000 from your employer into your eFlexi account through GIRO which some may not meet this to get the 0.8%

 

[testingabc]

Bestest huh... Nothing better?

bank account wise, I think RHB High Yield currently is the best one for those bank accounts that don't want any requirements. Of course I also got Singlife but that is not considered under bank, but still quite good rates

 

[revhappy]

I closed my relationships with most banks now. They were made during the hay days when bank accounts used to pay high interest. Now I have only DBS My account and ICBC account. I closed CIMB, HSBC, SCB recently.

 

[demoforce1]

I closed my relationships with most banks now. They were made during the hay days when bank accounts used to pay high interest. Now I have only DBS My account and ICBC account. I closed CIMB, HSBC, SCB recently.

Agree DBS is getting better

 

[BBCWatcher]

thanks for informing bro, but need to credit a monthly salary of minimum SGD2,000 from your employer into your eFlexi account through GIRO which some may not meet this to get the 0.8%

Sure, but whether you credit your monthly salary to HSBC's eFlexi account or not, it also has no minimum balance requirement. Some people might be interested in a zero minimum balance HSBC savings account (and associated debit card) if they want more ATMs and merchant discounts than RHB and CIMB offer. (DBS has the biggest ATM network in Singapore. It looks like RHB has no more than 7 ATM locations in Singapore, and CIMB has 2. HSBC has its own ATM locations plus "ATM5" locations.)

Another possible factor is that you might need a HSBC account if you decide to get a HSBC home loan. HSBC is a pretty competitive mortgage lender in Singapore, or can be. Thus a zero minimum balance HSBC savings account might be attractive for that reason alone.

It's all in what you want, really, but since all four of these banks offer zero minimum balance accounts there's no harm (no cost) in having more than one of them if you wish.

 

[demoforce1]

Sure, but whether you credit your monthly salary to HSBC's eFlexi account or not, it also has no minimum balance requirement. Some people might be interested in a zero minimum balance HSBC savings account (and associated debit card) if they want more ATMs and merchant discounts than RHB and CIMB offer. (DBS has the biggest ATM network in Singapore. It looks like RHB has no more than 7 ATM locations in Singapore, and CIMB has 2. HSBC has its own ATM locations plus "ATM5" locations.)

Another possible factor is that you might need a HSBC account if you decide to get a HSBC home loan. HSBC is a pretty competitive mortgage lender in Singapore, or can be. Thus a zero minimum balance HSBC savings account might be attractive for that reason alone.

It's all in what you want, really, but since all four of these banks offer zero minimum balance accounts there's no harm (no cost) in having more than one of them if you wish.

yes HSBC pretty competitive mortgage lender in SG

 

[BBCWatcher]

Here are some more differences between these four banks' zero minimum balance accounts:

1. DBS/POSB provides a full range of popular local services such as access to Singapore Government Securities (including Singapore Savings Bonds) and Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) accounts. Consequently their zero minimum balance "My Account" may be attractive if you might need a full range of services.

2. CIMB is the only bank among these four offering a zero minimum balance current account (CIMB StarSaver). That means you'll get free paper checks with that account. Occasionally paper checks are still useful, although in the coming years they're likely to be phased out in Singapore. There's a minimum amount required to open a StarSaver account, but after that there's no minimum.

3. RHB and CIMB do not currently provide PayNow services and cannot currently be linked to Singapore CDP accounts (to receive cash dividends and interest).

4. There are more merchant promotions connected to DBS/POSB (#1 ranking in this dimension) and HSBC (#2 ranking) than with the other two banks. So if you care about getting 10% off your restaurant bill (for example), then having a DBS/POSB and/or HSBC debit card can be useful.

5. The debit cards that DBS/POSB and HSBC issue are compatible with at least some mobile payment systems, such as Apple Pay. RHB and CIMB are more limited in this way.

6. DBS/POSB offers a nice free PAssion debit Mastercard which is useful for accumulating Tap for More points, for example at Dairy Farm-related stores (e.g. Giant and Cold Storage supermarkets).

7. As far as I know DBS/POSB is the only bank among these four that issues a free debit UnionPay card. A UnionPay card might be useful in mainland China, in particular. (It's not a great card elsewhere.) You can have more than one free debit card linked to your DBS/POSB "My Account."

8. I believe CIMB (and possibly also RHB) won't facilitate transactions in/with anybody in Israel.

9. In my limited experience RHB is the only bank among these four that is openly hostile to U.S. persons. If you move to or otherwise have any U.S. indicia -- you go attend a U.S. university, for example -- then it's at least possible if not likely RHB will close your account or refuse to open it in the first place. Not cool, RHB.

I expect we'll see both the Singtel-Grab and Shopee digital banks offering zero minimum balance accounts starting in 2022. However, for now, there's already a great range of choices in this particular segment of Singapore's banking market. It's nice to see the improvements, and let's hope they continue.

 

[revhappy]

Agree DBS is getting better

I look at it as bit of spring cleaning. Now we have insurance products that are bank account like; Singlife, Dash Easyearn, Tiq etc. I have opened these 3 accounts. Then I have a few brokerage accounts also. Too many stuff and then I will lose control of them. Better to close things that are not used and will not be used in the near future.

 

[BBCWatcher]

To my knowledge there's still a "backdoor" way to get a zero minimum balance OCBC savings account if you want one of those. It works like this:

1. Apply (and be approved) for an OCBC Plus! credit card with accompanying Plus! savings account. It must be the credit card, not the debit card.

2. Enjoy the OCBC Plus! credit card during the fee waiver year, or longer if you wish.

3. Close the credit card account, but leave the savings account open.

You won't have an ATM/debit card linked to this residual OCBC savings account, but you can access it via Internet/mobile banking.

 

[DevilPlate]

UOB One acct still the best?

One card 3.33% rebate every quarterly still very attractive coupled with EIR 1% up to 75k in One acct.

 

[ikilledbarbie]

DBS/POSB easiest to find ATMs.

Never had any issues finding a uob/ocbc atm. You can even use either.

 

[reddevil0728]

Never had any issues finding a uob/ocbc atm. You can even use either.

With a cap unless u willing to pay

 

[iduncheckmail]

Never had any issues finding a uob/ocbc atm. You can even use either.

Shhhh. Don’t later uob queues get longer.
Yes yes , posb is best , safest , most atms.

 

[ikilledbarbie]

With a cap unless u willing to pay

https://www.uob.com.sg/personal/eservices/atms/features.page

Says fee waiver for all cash withdrawals though

 

[ikilledbarbie]

Shhhh. Don’t later uob queues get longer.
Yes yes , posb is best , safest , most atms.

I always laugh when I see the posb atm queue and the ocbc/uob atm with no queue hahahaha

 

[moonlighter_sg]

why nobody mentions Maybank? Really so jialuck?