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A bank savings account is typically one of the first financial products we use. Most of us use this savings account to stockpile our money, make payments and transfers, and credit our salaries each month.
However, in today’s high-inflation environment, we need to expect more from our savings accounts. That’s why many of us also look for a high-interest rate savings account to maximise the interest we earn on our savings.
Highest interest rate savings account –With No Strings Attached
One of the newer entrants on the block is MAS-licensed MariBank. Its Mari Savings Account pays a promotional interest rate of 2.88%1 p.a. on our savings with no strings attached, unlike some high-interest savings accounts in the market.
There’s no salary crediting required – so, we don’t have to bug our HR or finance departments to change our salary crediting just to earn a higher interest rate.
There’s no minimum deposit required, and no fall-below fees – so we don’t need a lot of money to open or maintain a Mari Savings Account. There are no penalties if you fall below a certain deposit amount, giving you flexibility in deciding just how much to deposit into your account. The one caveat here is that we can currently only transfer up to $75,000 into our Mari Savings Account.
There’s also no minimum spending necessary, so we don’t need to fret over hitting arbitrary spending each month or transferring some expenses to our Mari Savings Account.
Interest is credited daily. One cool feature of the Mari Savings Account is that we get to see the interest rates that we earn credited into our account daily. The interest credited is based on your previous day’s balance divided by the number of calendar days in a year. With a S$75,000 deposit, we will see S$5.90 in interest returns credited daily. It’s as good as getting a free breakfast!
Holding a Digital Full Bank Licence in Singapore, MariBank is also a Deposit Insurance (DI) Scheme member. This means our money in the Mari Savings Account is protected by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC) and is insured up to $75,000 per depositor per DI Scheme member. This adds another layer of benefit as we get to diversify our risk across multiple banks – and have another $75,000 of our savings insured under SDIC.
Opening A Mari Savings Account: Fully Digital & Equally (If Not More) Convenient
Those looking to open the Mari Savings Account can do it digitally within a few minutes – in 3 simple steps:
Step 1: Download the MariBank app on the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, or Huawei AppGallery
Step 2: Register for a MariBank Account with a valid Singapore mobile number
Step 3: Open the Mari Savings Account digitally via Myinfo with Singpass
Once the account is opened, we can instantly see the interest rate on offer.
Similar to opening any other savings account, we will get a savings account number. We (and others) can transfer funds into our Mari Savings Account using this account number. We can also choose to register our PayNow with MariBank using our mobile number or NRIC.
While MariBank is a digital bank, we have 24/7 access to its customer service. We can either contact them via hotline (+65 6995 8688) or email (help@maribank.sg).
Even More Convenience With An Integrated Shopping Experience On Shopee
Another benefit of opening the Mari Savings Account is an integrated (and potentially attractive) shopping experience with Shopee – an e-commerce platform under the same parent company, Singapore tech giant, Sea Limited.
We no longer need to upload a PayNow QR code or hunt for our credit card each time we need to pay on Shopee. Instead, we can easily check out with Mari Savings Account or top-up our ShopeePay account without having to switch apps. The funds will be automatically deducted from the linked Mari Savings Account.
All that needs to be done is to perform a one-time linkage from our Mari Savings Account to our Shopee account. The link to the walkthrough can be found within the app (by clicking on the button circled in blue below).
Exclusive Vouchers on Shopee
As luck would have it, we’re at the tail end of 2023, which means shopping for Christmas or year-end gifts. Personally, both my wife and older son also have birthdays towards the end of the year. This, of course, means spending even more on presents.
Besides the integrated payment experience, currently, we stand to enjoy a 30% cashback voucher with no minimum spend, capped at 500 Shopee coins, when we pay via our Mari Savings Account on Shopee.
For new Mari Savings Account holders, the cashback voucher is upsized at 50% with no minimum spend, capped at 600 Shopee coins.
If you’re not yet a Mari Savings Account holder, here’s a referral code (Code: DOLLARS1) to get an additional $10 Shopee voucher with no minimum spend. Just fill in the code when you’re applying for a Mari Savings Account on the MariBank app. Code expires 31 Dec 2023!
Do ensure that your Shopee account is linked with your MariBank account to receive the Shopee voucher, and read the terms and conditions.
Finally, with a Mari Savings Account, we can also access other financial services under the MariBank umbrella. For example, we can invest our savings in Mari Invest and earn an even higher return without taking on very high investment risk.
For those who own a side hustle or business, we can open a Mari Business Account as well as take up its Mari Business Loan.
With all these perks and possibly more to come, there’s even less reason to wait to open a Mari Savings Account today.
Disclaimer
1Rates are accurate as at point of publishing. All rates are for information only and subject to change without prior notice. Promotional interest rate of 2.88% p.a. is effective till 31 March 2024. Prevailing base rate of 2.50% p.a. shall apply thereafter. Mari Savings Account has a maximum deposit capped at S$75k. T&Cs apply.
Deposit Insurance Scheme
Singapore dollar deposits of non-bank depositors are insured by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation, for up to S$75,000 in aggregate per depositor per Scheme member by law. Foreign currency deposits, dual currency investments, structured deposits and other investment products are not insured.
The post Guide To Using The Mari Savings Account – And How You Can Earn 2.88% Interest Without Salary Crediting Or Any Minimum Spending appeared first on DollarsAndSense.sg.
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