Much ado and publicity was generated on the launch of the iSAVvy account . a product championed by Maybank,one of our larger players in our local banking scene. With an interest rate of 2.38 % the first 3 months and 1.38% thereafter,the product promises to be a sweet deal. And this sweet deal is made even sweeter by the 6% interest on interest.
Sounds great?
On first sight , the product promises to be the one that will grow your savings. At 2.38 % , the product could pay even higher than a 3 month SGS bond. And the 1.38% interest is much greater than the 0.125% offered by the other banks.
It looks great on the surface. But when I went to open the account several days back,I realised certain catches.
1. Account closure fee is $30 for the first 6 months and $15 thereafter. So if you decide to take out your money and close the account after a while, the $15 will take a huge bite out of your interest that you received.
2. The account can only be operated using ATMs and internet banking plus phone banking. Branch transactions will incur high charges.
My advice?
Open it only if you want to keep your money in there long term. But it may not be the case ;with the SIBOR going up, banks will be inventing new products with better returns to attract deposits.
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