When I first come across StashAway Simple, I immediately cast my doubts because the deal seems too good to be true. For comparison, I will be using fixed deposit rates from DBS and OCBC Bonus plus as benchmark. Below is the comparison table for all three options.
Rates of High interest Savings Account of DBS and OCBC and StashAway
| StashAway Simple | DBS Fixed Deposit | OCBC Bonus Plus | |
| Minimum term to hit maximum rates | No min term | 12 Months | 1 month |
| Rates as advertised | 1.90% per annum | 1.40% per annum | 1.45% per annum |
| Interest accrued | Daily | Yearly* | Monthly |
| Other conditions | No other conditions | No withdrawals | No withdrawal + $500 deposit |
Looking at the table above, essentially, I would rank StashAway Simple as the best option simply because of its perks of flexibility and highest rates. Furthermore, the StashAway account allows for any number or withdrawals anytime using their website or app.
Who should use StashAway Simple?
Investors
- Have an excess of $50k (DBS Multiplier) or $70k (OCBC 360)
- Requires liquidity for other investments in Shares or Bonds
Personally, as a frequent trader and investor, I will always be looking out for investment or trading opportunities. Check out the trading ideas page for more details. Whenever there is a potential purchase, I will need to withdraw from one of my bank accounts. Therefore, it will be important for me to be able to access my capital. Using StashAway Simple, I will be able access my funds fairly quickly and at the same time, earn interest as well.
Students and Self-employed
Students and self-employed adults are not entitled to the benefits such as OCBC 360 and DBS Multiplier. As such, they will usually put their money in either banks or fixed deposit accounts. Since StashAway is a better option with no lock down period. I would seriously recommend this over my previous recommendation using the OCBC Bonus + Account.
Potential Downside of StashAway Simple
- Rates might change over time unlike bank rates which are largely fixed (StashAway is not a bank)
- Takes 1-3 working days to deposit and withdraw funds from your StashAway Simple
- Expense charges of 0.33% before rebates
- “99% chance of not losing more than 1.7% of your funds” (StashAway customer service)
Closing Thoughts
I will be trying out this StashAway account myself to see if there are really no asterisks at all. Right now I have noticed that there is a expense charge and rebate. Will be finding out more from StashAway to ensure that there is really no charges at all for the account. Thanks everyone for reading and I hope this method of saving will provide one additional option for your financial management needs.
