UPDATE 1 Oct 2020: From 1 Nov 2020, you will receive 2% interest on your first $10,000. This is a drop from the initial 2.5% but still one of the most rewarding and safe ways to park $10,000.
UPDATE 22 Jan 2021: From 29 Jan 2021, you will receive 1.5% interest on your first $10,000.
Over the past few months, banks in Singapore have been slashing interest rates on savings accounts to less than 1%. While the returns are generally halved, the cumbersome requirements remain. Depending on which bank you have a savings account with, you may need to meet rules like salary credit, giro payments, credit card spend, insurance and investments to get as close as possible to earning 1% per annum.
Enter Singlife. It is an Insurance Savings Plan with up to 2.5% returns per annum on your first $10k with barely any rules.
Important points to note
Here are the important points to note about the Singlife Account.
Capital guaranteed by SDIC up to $100k.
Earn 2.5% on your first $10k and 1% on your next $90k. Returns are not guaranteed.
No lock-in period. Withdraw any time.
No fees.
Very liquid. Withdraw within minutes.
Earnings credited to account every month.
Minimum of $500 to activate Singlife account.
Minimum of $100 to maintain Singlife account and enjoy benefits.
Universal life insurance provides death or terminal illness benefit of up to 105% of account value.
Debit card with no foreign exchange fees that can be used worldwide.
My experience after 30 days
Setting up the account is extremely quick and easy. To fund my account, I was given a DBS bank account number to transfer to. As this bank account is unique to me, it only took about 5 minutes for the money to appear in my Singlife account! I have deposited and withdrawn multiple times (even on a weekend) to test the transfer speed. All of those transactions took less than 5 minutes, although the app stated that it may take up to 3 hours.
Interest credited after 1 month
The total amount earned during the month is updated daily and shown in the app. This seems to happen at around 1 a.m. every morning. I accumulated a total of $20.28 in interest after 30 days. This works out to around 2.47% per annum. Not exactly 2.5% but close enough!
Singlife Visa Debit card
I have not used my Singlife debit card and have always kept it “locked” in the app (and in my drawer). While the card is good to have, there are no additional benefits when compared to other debit cards like YouTrip. Click here to browse the best credit cards in Singapore right now for better options.
Get a $10 referral bonus
By applying for a Singlife account through my referral link, you will receive a $10 bonus in your account. To receive this bonus, you will have to activate the debit card when you receive it. Remember to keep it locked in the app when you are not using it!
Singlife Account
2.5% on your first $10k
Capital guaranteed
No lock-in period
Fast withdrawal
Other great savings plans with no lock-in period
Besides Singlife, I am also using Dash EasyEarn and StashAway Simple for the next $20k and beyond. These are great places to park some cash when I am in between investments.
| Account | Capital Guaranteed? | Returns | Account Minimum | Withdrawal Time | Withdrawal Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singlife | Yes | 2.5% (Up to $10k) | $100 | 3 hours | Free |
| Dash EasyEarn | Yes | 2%* (Up to $20k) | $2,000 | 1 business day | $0.70 |
| StashAway Simple | No | 1.9% | – | 3 business days | Free |
*2% only for first year. 1.5% afterwards.
Conclusion
There are no other capital guaranteed savings plan that offers you more than 2.5% with barely any rules, albeit only for your first $10k. For amounts more than that, consider Dash EasyEarn and StashAway Simple.
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Hi there, useful article. Just curious, this isn’t a sponsored post right?
Hi Adam, this is not a sponsored post. 🙂
Ok, good to know. Thank you! Keep churning out the articles 🙂