Singapore Expats

The wife got a job and as it's part time she won't have much income, so we either get her a new account at a different bank, or one with out a $3k minimum.

Alternately if there are banks that allow for separate accounts we might want to consider transferring to another bank.

Are there any with no minimum deposit (for all accounts)?

POSB? 500 but that was over two years ago.

I'm too lazy to check.

UOB 500$ minimum
there's also state bank of India if you are from India similar charges 500$ minimum balance.

nakatago wrote:POSB? 500 but that was over two years ago.

I'm too lazy to check.

POSB says A $2 fall-below fee will apply if your average daily balance for the month falls below $500. Enjoy a waiver of the $2 fall-below fee if you meet any of the following criteria

As yet another possible option, CIMB Singapore's StarSaver-i account requires $5,000 to open, so that may already be a problem. But if not, there is no low balance fee if the balance falls anywhere below that amount -- even down all the way to $0. I don't think there's any other current account in Singapore with a $0 balance minimum to avoid low balance fees. (Does that matter versus a $500 minimum? It's your choice.) The StarSaver-i account is Shariah-compliant (if that matters), and it has historically paid 0.5% Hibah (interest that's not technically interest) on balances below $500 and 0.8% on balances above -- quite excellent for a current account in Singapore. Checks are free, too. The only other major downside is that CIMB's branch and ATM network in Singapore is tiny, so it's a terrible choice if you need ATM access in Singapore and don't routinely wander near the very few CIMB ATMs. On the other hand, CIMB's ATM card is probably Singapore's lowest cost card to use at ATMs outside Singapore since it's CIMB fee free at CIMB ATMs and at all Plus network ATMs outside Singapore.

As a follow-up, if you want essentially the same terms and conditions but with:

(a) No paper checks;
(b) A $1,000 minimum to open;

then CIMB Singapore's StarSaver Savings Account is available. You also have to sign up for e-statements to avoid a $1 per month maintenance fee, but that shouldn't be a problem.

Yet another option is the Plus! Visa Debit Card issued by OCBC. This is primarily a savings account with zero minimum balance to open and zero minimum balance fees -- can't beat that. (If you want a book of paper checks you have to pay $10, so that's not recommended.) There's a $24 annual fee, but the fee is waived completely the first year and is also waived in subsequent years if you charge at least $1,200 per year in Visa transactions using your Plus! Debit Card. So if you expect to deposit, say, $1,800 per year ($150 per month) into the account and spend most of that as Visa charges (auto-top your EZ-Link card, FairPrice shopping, etc.) then that'll work fine. There's also currently (as I write this) a $50 promotional sign-up bonus paid if you sign up to start crediting your salary to your Plus! account, so that would effectively make the card and account free of annual fees for 3 years even if you miss the Visa spending requirement. You get LinkPoints on most Visa purchases, and you can spend down your LinkPoints when you shop at FairPrice in the form of cash discounts at the register. You can use the card at any OCBC and (with caveats) UOB ATMs to withdraw cash. Any merchant that advertises a discount for using an OCBC card should honor that discount with this particular card, too. It's not a good card to use overseas, though. (Singapore-issued cards generally aren't.)

BBCWatcher wrote:As a follow-up, if you want essentially the same terms and conditions but with:

(a) No paper checks;
(b) A $1,000 minimum to open;

then CIMB Singapore's StarSaver Savings Account is available. You also have to sign up for e-statements to avoid a $1 per month maintenance fee, but that shouldn't be a problem.

Yet another option is the Plus! Visa Debit Card issued by OCBC. This is primarily a savings account with zero minimum balance to open and zero minimum balance fees -- can't beat that. (If you want a book of paper checks you have to pay $10, so that's not recommended.) There's a $24 annual fee, but the fee is waived completely the first year and is also waived in subsequent years if you charge at least $1,200 per year in Visa transactions using your Plus! Debit Card. So if you expect to deposit, say, $1,800 per year ($150 per month) into the account and spend most of that as Visa charges (auto-top your EZ-Link card, FairPrice shopping, etc.) then that'll work fine. There's also currently (as I write this) a $50 promotional sign-up bonus paid if you sign up to start crediting your salary to your Plus! account, so that would effectively make the card and account free of annual fees for 3 years even if you miss the Visa spending requirement. You get LinkPoints on most Visa purchases, and you can spend down your LinkPoints when you shop at FairPrice in the form of cash discounts at the register. You can use the card at any OCBC and (with caveats) UOB ATMs to withdraw cash. Any merchant that advertises a discount for using an OCBC card should honor that discount with this particular card, too. It's not a good card to use overseas, though. (Singapore-issued cards generally aren't.)

Wow! You seem to have done quite a bit of research there. That Plus account sounds interesting.

I personally have the OCBC 360 Account. I get 1.2% interest for salary credited and 0.5% for paying 3 bills.

It has an initial deposit of $1k and min balance of 3k every month with a fall below fee of $2 which is waived for the 1st 1 year.

http://www.ocbc.com/personal-banking/ac ... count.html

Pretty happy with this account.

nakatago wrote:POSB? 500 but that was over two years ago.

I'm too lazy to check.

Still is. I have an almost dormant posb account with $500 in it. The only reason I have still kept it is because it I have a POSB passion card linked to it and I get $10 discount for my library card renewal with my passion card and another reason DBS/POSB card gets me some discount on GV tickets.

Wd40 wrote: Still is. I have an almost dormant posb account with $500 in it. The only reason I have still kept it is because it I have a POSB passion card linked to it and I get $10 discount for my library card renewal with my passion card and another reason DBS/POSB card gets me some discount on GV tickets.

You continue to earn my respect WD40

So you leave 500$ in posb so you can save 10$ plus plus and on movies???

Man, I wish I learn more from you.

Come a week after pay day my bank balance is in 3 digits ...