I came to learn about CIMB Fastsaver account recently when a friend shared an article on Facebook on the best savings accounts in Singapore with no conditions.
CIMB is a Malaysian bank but, of course, up to $50,000 in savings accounts with its Singapore branch is insured by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation. And there really is no reason to put in more than $50,000 because you only get 1% p.a. interest for the first $50,000. Anything more than that and your interest rate drops to 0.6%.
Interest rate is calculated by the day and paid out every month, so if you’ve got $50,000 to spare, that will be $500 every year instead of just $25 from regular banks. Just make sure to transfer out the interest every month so that you get your full 1% instead of just 0.6%.
That said, Japan’s banks are shit. In Singapore, standard savings account interest rates are at 0.05%. In Japan, it’s 50 times less at a measly 0.001%. That means, for every $10,000, you get 10 cents a year. Very generous, thank you very much. Even online banks that give better interest rates only offer up to 0.02%, which is not even half of what normal banks in Singapore offer.
With the major banks of DBS, UOB, and OCBC, there are also various plans with higher interest rates that can go beyond 3% per annum as long as you jump through some hoops like crediting your salary to the account and make a minimum amount of transactions. Otherwise, you can always go with foreign banks like CIMB and RHB that give slightly lower interest rates with no conditions. OCBC also has plans that give you 0.8% p.a. with the condition of a minimum deposit of $10,000 and that you don’t withdraw from it. The breakdown of this is the standard 0.05% base interest + additional 0.75% for months that you do not withdraw from the account.
I’ve been trying to find something close in Japan that gives me decent interest rates with the same amount of liquidity but to no avail. Even the best of the best of fixed deposits here only gives a pathetic 0.18%, which is by Orix bank.
If you know some decent banks in Japan giving interest rates not pitiable, please share with me.
I wonder if it’s viable to change your yen to SGD and leave it in singapore banks then? Or maybe you can do the voluntary CPF top up thingy, eventually if u coming back SG to retire, or giving up SG citizenship you can get back the CPF anyway (the 2-3% interest also buay pai ma haha).
That’s an idea. I’ve thought about topping up my CPF a number of times now since the interest is good and I can get it compounded. But I’m a little apprehensive about locking my money in till I turn 65 (that’s if the draw-down age doesn’t increase). And nobody is sure I can live till then. I’m not even sure I feel comfortable locking my money in for 5-6 years, what more 30. But it is indeed worth considering.
Honestly though, just me, but imo, after coming back and slowly picking up about investing and finance related shit, singapore is actually a damn good place to grow your wealth… not so much to live though. 😮
I agree, Singapore has a very conducive environment to grow your wealth. Not just because there are many easy-to-understand, easy-to-participate investment vehicles but also several regulations in place to protect people from their investments. Plus the various measures to make sure people without proper evaluation are not allowed to participate in high-risk investments, I really see why foreigners are flocking there.
You don’t even have to participate in any form of investment and you can get up to 3.5% p.a. just by putting your savings in the right bank and meeting the conditions (although 3.5% really is for the richer people). But DBS Multiplier gives 1.55% or 1.85% just by crediting your salary + credit card spend as long as the total of both exceeds $2,000 or $2,500 respectively. So basically, if your salary is more than $2,500, you really just have to charge $0.01 to your credit card to get 1.85%. This is something you can’t find in Japan. Although there is one strength Japanese banks have over Singapore banks, which is that up to 10 million yen (about SGD$120,000) of your deposit is insured as opposed to Singapore’s $50,000.
you could consider buying singapore savings bonds. gives up to 2+% p.a. if you leave it in there for 10 years.
but gotta change your JPY to SGD