Developing financial literacy from a young age is important because it equips your kids with good money management habits and skills. Children with their own junior savings account are encouraged to form good saving habits and learn basic financial concepts.
Terminology
Below are some financial terminology that will guide you as you select the best junior savings account for your children:
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This refers to the minimum amount of money you have to deposit in order to open an account.
This is the amount of money in the savings account at a given time, considering all deposit and withdrawal activities.
A fall below fee is an administrative fee incurred when the deposit balance is less than a stipulated daily average minimum specified by the respective banks.
Children/teenagers below the specified age are eligible for the junior savings account. This age limit will vary among banks.
- Child Development Account (CDA)
A CDA account is a special savings account that is tied to your child. The Singapore government can provide funds for specific uses like education and medical expenses. These funds cannot be withdrawn from the account unless used for approved purposes. A CDA account can be opened at the following banks: POSB/DBS, OCBC or UOB.
A CDA only lasts until your child turns 13 years old, so all remaining money in a CDA account will be transferred to the Post-Secondary Education Account (PESA). There are limitations to such CDA accounts as you cannot withdraw money and it cannot be converted into a normal savings account when your child reaches the age limit of 12 years old. Hence, it would be a good idea to open another bank account to help grow your child’s savings well into the future.
Here are the top 6 savings accounts to give your children a financial head start!
[product-comparison-table title="Best Junior Savings Account"]
Available for all ages
The POSB My Account is the only account that grows with your child because it has no minimum initial deposit fee and no age limit. This junior savings account is perfect for kids who are starting to cultivate good saving habits.
Additionally, the personalization of account names can also appeal to children to make financial education more interesting. Next, Coin deposit fees are waived and your children receive a free POPULAR 1 year student membership.
Moreover, it has a unique POSB Smart Buddy feature which is a wearable device allowing children to pay at selected services (example: canteens in schools), which encourages contactless payment. Further, the device allows for easy tracking of spending and automatically saves their unused money.
Minimum Initial Deposit: Not Applicable
Fall Below Fee: N/A ($2 fee waived until 16 years old)
Age Limit: Not Applicable
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Balance
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Interest Rates
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First $10 000
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0.05%
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Next $90 000
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0.05%
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Next $250 000
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0.05%
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Next $650 000
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0.05%
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Remaining balance above $1 000 000
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0.05%
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This savings account does not include any insurance schemes.
Junior Savings Account with most competitive interest rates
CIMB offers competitive interest rates when you sign up for the CIMB Junior Saver Account. They have the best exchange rates from Singapore to Malaysian currency.
There is no fall below fee so you can maintain the junior saver accounts with no worries. You can also earn up to 0.40% interest per annum with a CIMB Junior Saver Account.
To streamline the application process, you can complete the set-up online without physically going down to the bank location. In conclusion, this means that your children can be on their way to grow their money within minutes!
Minimum Initial Deposit: $1000
Fall Below Fee: N/A
Age Limit: 12 years old
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Balance
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Interest rates
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First $200 000
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0.20%
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Next $800 000
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0.40%
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Above $1 000 000
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0.20%
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This savings account does not come with any insurance schemes.
Comes with CDA Benefits
You can get mighty returns with your savings when you sign up for an OCBC Mighty Savers Kids Savings Account.
Firstly, it has no minimum deposit and coin deposit fee so you can earn up to 0.20% interest per year on your entire account balance.
Secondly, there is also a bonus interest of 0.05% with at least $50 deposit per month and zero withdrawals.
Thirdly, CDA holders can get an additional 0.10% on top of base interest and bonus interest, making the maximum interest to be 0.20%.
Finally, you can get priority queue service on Sunday at all Sunday Banking Branches when you sign up for the Mighty Savers Kids Savings Account.
Minimum Initial Deposit: N/A
Fall Below Fee: N/A
Age Limit: 16 years old
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Balance
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Interest Rates
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Base Interest
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0.05%
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Bonus Interest when a minimum of $50 deposit per month with no withdrawal
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0.05%
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CDA Advantage Bonus Interest: CDA OCBC Holders only
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0.10%
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Total
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0.20%
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This savings account does not include any insurance schemes.
Best Insurance Deal
The UOB Junior Savings Account can be converted into a regular statement savings account when your child reaches 16 years old. You can transfer funds from your UOB account to your child’s account with ease.
Your child can also get a free UOB ATM card with NETS and PLUS facilities, allowing for easy fund transfers.
Minimum Initial Deposit: $500
Fall Below Fee: $2 if average daily balance for the month is less than $500
Age Limit: 16 years old
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Balance
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Interest Rates
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First $15 000
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0.05%
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Next $85 000
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0.05%
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Next $250 000
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0.05%
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Above $350 000
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0.05%
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Insurance Coverage
In addition, you can enjoy free insurance coverage of up to 100% when you open a UOB Junior Savings Account.
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Deposit Balance Tiers
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Coverage amount
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$3 000 - $9 999.99
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50%
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$10 000 - $49 999.99
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70%
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$50 000 and above
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100%
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Best joint account
With no minimum deposit, monthly fees, minimum balance and no lock-in period, Standard Chartered e$aver Kids Saving Account gives you the flexibility to manage finances on your child’s behalf before they are mature enough to take charge on their own.
The only condition is that a minimum of $50 (via GIRO or Standing Instruction) has to be deposited into the account in order to keep the money growing.
Minimum Initial Deposit: N/A
Fall Below Fee: Not Applicable
Age Limit: 18 years old
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Balance
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Interest rates
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First $50 000
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0.05%
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Next $150 000
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0.05%
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Above $200 000
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0.05%
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This savings account does not come with any insurance schemes.
Best junior savings account if parent has corresponding account
Teach your young ones the fundamentals of finance by creating a MayBank Youngstarz Savings Account. To begin with, you can start small with only $10 as a minimum initial deposit with no fall below fee.
If either one of the parents holds onto an iSaVvy Savings Account and transaction activities meet the criteria stated below, your children’s savings can be doubled or even tripled!
This easily makes it the best junior savings account for your kid if you have a corresponding account in the same bank.
Minimum Initial Deposit: $10
Fall Below Fee: N/A
Age Limit: 16 years old
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Balance
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Interest Rate
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First $3 000
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0.1875%
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Next $47 000
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0.25%
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Above $50 000
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0.375%
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MayBank Junior Savings Interest Criteria if Parent Has Corresponding Account
Your child’s account can get up to two times interest if you:
- Maintain an average daily balance of at least S$2,000 in your iSAVvy Savings Account
- Transfer at least S$200 to your child's Youngstarz Savings Account during the month
Meanwhile, your child’s account can get up to three times interest if you meet the following criteria:
- Maintain an average daily balance of at least S$2,000 in your iSAVvy Savings Account
- Transfer at least S$200 to your child's Youngstarz Savings Account during the month
- Spend at least S$800 on your Maybank Family & Friends Card during the month
Insurance Coverage
The MayBank Youngstarz Junior Savings Account comes with complimentary insurance to cover Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease as well as personal accidents worldwide.
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Insurance
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Prerequisite
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Coverage
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Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease (HFMD) Hospitalisation and Outpatient Insurance (for child)
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Daily hospitalisation cash benefit of $100 per day for maximum 25 days per year
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Minimum Deposit of $5000 in Youngstarz account
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Worldwide Personal Accident Insurance (for parent and child)
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Lump sum payout of 8X account balance or $400 000, whichever is lower
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Minimum Deposit of $5000 in Youngstarz account
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Junior Savings Account Comparison Chart
We have summarised the information on junior savings accounts in Singapore into a table for an easy comparison.
