What is a DBS Multiplier Account?

DBS Multiplier Account is a high savings interest account offered by DBS. High savings interest accounts are very popular in Singapore, and it is often compared to high savings interest accounts offered by other banks such as OCBC 360 Account and UOB One Account.

DBS Multiplier Account underwent many rate adjustments and the latest adjustments were made during Nov 2022 to reflect the higher interest environment.

How does DBS Multiplier Account work?

Like most other high savings interest accounts, if you want to get the higher interest offered, you would have to fulfill certain criteria. In this case, DBS Multiplier Account has 2 criteria to fulfill before you can start earning the higher interest.

Criteria 1 – Credit income

To qualify for the higher interest in DBS Multiplier Account, the first and most basic criteria is that you would need to credit your income to the DBS Multiplier Account.

“Income” does not mean “salary” based on DBS’s definition. DBS Multiplier Account has a broad definition of “income”, and “salary” is considered one of the many types of “income” that is recognized under this category.

If you credit your salary to DBS Multiplier Account, as long as they have a transaction code “SAL” or “PAY” or transaction description “SALARY” or “PAYROLL” or “COMMISSION” or “BONUS” and is credited via GIRO / FAST / PayNow, you would have met this criteria.

If you own shares and receive dividends, it is also recognized as “income” under the DBS Multiplier Account. You can choose to credit your dividends to your DBS Multiplier Account to fulfill this criteria. Alternatively, if you buy SSB, you can create an SSB ladder and credit the dividend to your DBS Multiplier Account to perpetually receive “income” for the next 10 years to qualify for the “income” criteria. An easier way to manage them is to connect your SGFinDex to DBS NAV Planner.

If you have retired, you also have an “income”. CPF payouts or SRS withdrawals also qualify as “income” if they are credited to your DBS Multiplier Account via GIRO/FAST/PayNow with transaction code or transaction description “CPF” or “SRS”.

There is no minimum “income” requirement for this criteria.

Criteria 2 – Make transactions in either spendings, home loan, insurance, or investment

Once you fulfill the basic requirement of crediting “income” to your DBS Multiplier Account, you will need to have transactions in at least one of the following categories:

• spendings
• home loan
• insurance
• investment

There is no minimum requirement on how much you need to spend on each category, Rather DBS bank totals the transactions you make across all categories to decide the amount of interest to credit to you. At a minimum, the total transactions (including “income”) need to be at least $500 per month and you need to transact from at least one category.

DBS Bank also has an interest calculator on their website, so you can have an estimation of how much you can earn based on your expected transactions.

What is the highest interest you can receive with DBS Multiplier Account?

As of writing, the highest interest you can receive with DBS Multiplier Account is 4.1%. You will earn this interest if you credit your income and fulfill 3 categories that add up to $30k and above per month. Once you meet this criteria, you will earn 4.1% for that particular month for the first $100k balance in your DBS Multiplier Account. Any excess balance above $50k or $100k will receive 0.05%.

If you did not fulfill the criteria for that particular month, you will still receive the base interest of 0.05% on your account balance.

Who can apply for DBS Multiplier Account?

As long as you are above 18 years old, you can apply for DBS Multiplier Account. This includes Singaporeans, Permanent Residents (PR), and non-residents.

How to apply for DBS Multiplier Account

It is relatively fuss-free to apply for DBS Multiplier account. You can apply for a DBS Multiplier Account online by using your Singpass.

Who should apply for DBS Multiplier Account?

If you are 29 years old and below

If you are 29 years old and below, you can consider using the DBS Multiplier Account. DBS Multiplier Account is attractive to the younger people in Singapore as they do not require any crediting of their “income”.

You will get to earn a flat interest rate of 1.5% on your first $50,000 balance as long as you make any credit card or PayLah! spending. This makes it very straightforward and many people use them like a cashback account where you can get 1.5% off their purchases.

No minimum spending is required to earn the flat interest rate of 1.5%. You can just spend $1 to earn 1.5% for the first $50k on your balance!

If you have your salary credited to other banks

Most banks in Singapore have a fixed definition of “income” and usually only consider “salary” credited as “income”. If you have already credited your salary to other banks and are looking for other high interest saving accounts to maximize your passive interest earnings, you can consider DBS Multiplier Account.

You can meet the “income” requirement by building an “SSB ladder“ or crediting your dividend from your shares to your DBS Multiplier Account.

If you do not spend a lot

Many high interest saving accounts out there require you to spend at least $500 in credit cards to qualify for the high interest. This could be difficult if you tend to spend more using PayNow or cash or simply do not spend that much.

DBS Multiplier Account does not have any minimum spending requirement for their “spending” criteria. They will simply total up your transactions across all categories, count the number of categories you transact, and calculate your interest. As long as the total transactions are at least $500, you will be eligible to earn 1.8% minimally.

If you have a home loan with DBS

DBS Bank is one of the few banks that offer to include home loan installments as transactions under their high-saving account criteria. This makes it very popular amongst homeowners to both sign up for home loans and transact under them to maximize their interest

DBS Multiplier Account Hack

This hack works for people who can create a joint account with their loved ones to join forces to get more interest. This is how it works.

• Create a joint account with another account holder
• Create individual DBS Multiplier Account for each of you
• Credit “income” to the joint account. It can be salary, dividend, or CPF payouts
• Spen, invest, or transact using any DBS products

The interest calculated is based on your balance in your DBS Multiplier Account rather than the joint account. So make sure that your DBS Multiplier Account is funded to properly enjoy the higher interest.

FAQs

How do you check your eligible transactions in DBS Multiplier Account for that month?

Under the “Bank & Earn Summary”, you can find the amount of bonus interest you have earned and the current bonus interest rate you are eligible for.

What is the minimum salary to credit into DBS Multiplier Account?

Unlike many high-interest saving accounts, DBS Multiplier Account does not have any requirement for a minimum salary.

What is the minimum balance to maintain in DBS Multiplier Account?

DBS Multiplier Account has a minimum balance of $3000. If your balance falls below $3000, there will be a service charge of $5. This service charge is waived if you are 29 years old or below or if DBS Multiplier is your first DBS/POSB account (online applications only).

Are there any fees for DBS Multiplier Account?

Apart from the service charge of $5 if your balance falls below $3000, there is an early account closure fee of $30 if you close your account within 6 months.

What if I did not hit any of the criteria for DBS Multiplier Account?

DBS Multiplier Account has a base interest of 0.05%. If you fail to meet any of the criteria set by DBS Bank, you will still earn a base interest of 0.05%.

Last Updated: 06 Feb 2024