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If you are weighing CIMB FastSaver vs UOB Stash for a lump sum of S$100,000, the short answer is that UOB Stash pays roughly twice as much interest at this balance, as long as you do not let your monthly average balance slip. In this post, I walk through the interest tiers that both banks published for November 2026, run the numbers on a S$100,000 deposit, and explain the conditions that can quietly cut your returns.
A reader recently asked me a simple question: “I have S$100,000 sitting in a basic savings account. Where should I put it to earn higher interest without taking on investment risk?” It is a question I get often, and two accounts keep coming up in the conversation because neither requires you to buy insurance, invest, or juggle several spending categories. Let me compare them properly, because the CIMB FastSaver vs UOB Stash decision depends heavily on how much you deposit and how often you withdraw.
Why S$100,000 Is an Important Number for Singapore Savers
Before I get into the rates, it is worth pointing out why S$100,000 is a meaningful amount. The Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC) insures Singapore dollar deposits of up to S$100,000 per depositor per scheme member bank. You can read more on the SDIC website and on the UOB Deposit Insurance Scheme page. Both CIMB Singapore and UOB state on their product pages that their accounts fall under this protection.
This means a S$100,000 deposit placed entirely in one bank is covered right up to the limit. Any interest that pushes your balance above S$100,000 would sit outside the insurance cover. That is not a reason to panic, because both are well-capitalised banks regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (you can see how UOB is doing in my review of the UOB third quarter 2026 results), but it is a useful fact to keep in mind if you are someone who wants every dollar insured.
It also happens that both accounts in this comparison have interest tiers that stop paying meaningful bonus interest at around this level. So S$100,000 is a natural test case for a high interest savings account in Singapore. If you want to see how other banks compare, I keep a broader comparison guide to the best high interest savings accounts in Singapore.
CIMB FastSaver Interest Rate Explained
CIMB FastSaver has long been popular with people who want a simple, no-frills savings account. There are no fall-below fees, no lock-in period, and no monthly fees. You open it online with MyInfo, and the minimum initial deposit is S$1,000.
The prevailing interest rate on CIMB FastSaver is tiered as follows, based on what CIMB lists on its official product page for November 2026.
| Account balance | Prevailing rate per annum |
|---|---|
| First S$25,000 | 0.50% |
| Next S$25,000 | 1.08% |
| Next S$25,000 | 1.58% |
| Above S$75,000 | 0.50% |
On top of the prevailing rate, CIMB is running a bonus interest promotion for the period from 1 November to 30 November 2026. To qualify, you need to add at least S$10,000 of fresh funds compared with your balance at the end of October 2026. Fresh funds means money that does not come from another account you already hold with CIMB. Personal Banking customers earn a bonus of 1.20% per annum on the incremental balance, while Preferred Banking customers earn 1.30% per annum.
CIMB also advertises add-ons. You can earn an extra 0.50% per annum by crediting your salary or setting up recurring GIRO transfers of at least S$1,000 into the account. There is a further 1.00% per annum add-on if you spend at least S$800 per statement month on a CIMB Visa Signature credit card. Based on the layout of the rate table, these add-ons appear to apply to the first S$25,000 only. CIMB headlines an interest rate of up to 3.30% per annum on that first S$25,000, but the page does not spell out exactly how the components stack, so I would read the full terms and conditions before relying on that figure.
Interest accrues daily and is credited monthly, which I like because you can see your interest arriving every month.
UOB Stash Interest Rate Explained
UOB Stash works on a very different principle. Instead of rewarding you for salary crediting or card spending, it rewards you for one thing only: not reducing your balance. UOB revised the Stash rates with effect from 1 November 2026, and the current structure looks like this.
| Monthly average balance | Base rate | Bonus rate | Total rate per annum |
|---|---|---|---|
| First S$10,000 | 0.05% | 0.00% | 0.05% |
| Next S$30,000 | 0.05% | 1.45% | 1.50% |
| Next S$30,000 | 0.05% | 1.85% | 1.90% |
| Next S$30,000 | 0.05% | 2.95% | 3.00% |
| Above S$100,000 | 0.05% | 0.00% | 0.05% |
The only condition for bonus interest is that your monthly average balance for the current month must be equal to or higher than your monthly average balance for the previous month. The monthly average balance is the sum of your end-of-day balances divided by the number of days in that month.
The minimum initial deposit is S$1,000. There is a S$2 fall-below fee if your average daily balance drops below S$1,000, although this is waived for the first six months if you open the account online. There is also a S$30 early closure fee if you close the account within six months, which is worth knowing if you tend to hop between promotions.
UOB states that the maximum effective interest rate is 1.92% per annum for a S$100,000 deposit, which matches my own calculation below.
CIMB FastSaver vs UOB Stash: Interest Earned on S$100,000
Now for the part that matters most. I calculated the interest each account would pay on a steady S$100,000 balance for a full year, using the tiers listed on each bank’s official page.
For UOB Stash, the base rate of 0.05% on the full S$100,000 gives S$50. The bonus interest adds S$435 on the S$10,000 to S$40,000 tier, S$555 on the S$40,000 to S$70,000 tier, and S$885 on the S$70,000 to S$100,000 tier. That adds up to S$1,925 for the year, or an effective rate of about 1.93% per annum.
For CIMB FastSaver at the prevailing rate, the first S$25,000 earns S$125, the next S$25,000 earns S$270, the next S$25,000 earns S$395, and the final S$25,000 above S$75,000 earns S$125. That adds up to S$915 for the year, or an effective rate of about 0.92% per annum.
| Scenario on S$100,000 | CIMB FastSaver | UOB Stash |
|---|---|---|
| Interest per year (base and prevailing tiers) | S$915 | S$1,925 |
| Effective rate per annum | About 0.92% | About 1.93% |
| Main condition | None for prevailing rate | Do not let the monthly average balance fall |
| Fall-below fee | None | S$2 below S$1,000 average |
| Early closure fee | None stated | S$30 within six months |
What about the CIMB bonus and add-ons? If you moved S$100,000 of fresh funds into CIMB FastSaver at the start of November, the 1.20% bonus for Personal Banking customers would add about S$99 for the month. Because we are already past the first week of November, a deposit made today would earn closer to S$65 in bonus interest for the remaining days. That bonus ends on 30 November 2026.
If you also credited your salary and spent S$800 a month on the CIMB card, the add-ons on the first S$25,000 could contribute up to about S$375 a year. Even in that best case, CIMB FastSaver would pay roughly S$1,290 a year on S$100,000, which is still well short of the S$1,925 from UOB Stash. And you would need to commit to the credit card spending to get there.
I also tested whether splitting the money between the two accounts would help. It does not. Every dollar from S$70,000 to S$100,000 earns 3.00% per annum in UOB Stash, which beats the highest CIMB FastSaver prevailing tier of 1.58%. So at S$100,000, putting the full amount in UOB Stash gives the best result of the two.
The Catch with UOB Stash
UOB Stash looks like the clear winner, but I want to be honest about the condition, because it is easy to underestimate.
The bonus interest depends on your monthly average balance not dropping compared with the previous month. If you withdraw S$5,000 in the middle of a month for a holiday or a home renovation, your average balance for that month falls, and you can lose the bonus on the entire balance for that month, not just on the S$5,000. UOB does allow you to top up within the same month to make up the shortfall, and you can check the amount needed through UOB TMRW or Personal Internet Banking.
This makes UOB Stash best suited for money you genuinely do not plan to touch, such as a long-term emergency fund or savings earmarked for a goal several years away. If you know you will need to dip into the money regularly, the account becomes much less attractive.
The other thing to watch is that the bonus tiers stop at S$100,000. Any amount above that earns only 0.05% per annum, so it makes little sense to keep growing the balance in UOB Stash beyond this level.
The Catch with CIMB FastSaver
CIMB FastSaver has the opposite problem. Its conditions are lenient, but its prevailing rate at S$100,000 is modest. The best tier of 1.58% only applies to the slice between S$50,000 and S$75,000, and the rate drops back to 0.50% above S$75,000.
The November bonus is a short promotion lasting just one month, and it is based on fresh funds compared with your October balance. Promotions like this come and go, and I would not choose a savings account based on a single month of bonus interest.
Where CIMB FastSaver shines is simplicity and flexibility. There is no fall-below fee, no early closure fee mentioned, and no penalty for withdrawing money. If you want an account where you can move money in and out freely, it remains a sensible choice.
CIMB FastSaver vs UOB Stash: Who Should Choose Which Account
Based on my numbers, I would lean towards UOB Stash if you have a lump sum of around S$70,000 to S$100,000 that you are confident you will not withdraw for months at a time. The top tier of 3.00% per annum on the last S$30,000 is what makes the difference, and it is hard to find a comparable rate in a savings account with no salary, spending or investment requirements.
I would lean towards CIMB FastSaver if you need a flexible account for money that moves around, such as a buffer for monthly bills, or if your balance is closer to S$50,000 to S$75,000 and you want to avoid the monthly average balance condition. At a balance of S$40,000, for example, the two accounts are much closer than they are at S$100,000.
Some savers may also choose to use both. One practical approach is to keep a smaller, flexible amount in CIMB FastSaver for everyday needs and lock the larger, untouched portion in UOB Stash. This lets you withdraw from CIMB without breaking the UOB Stash bonus condition.
Other Places to Consider for S$100,000
Savings accounts are not the only option for a lump sum. Singapore Savings Bonds, Treasury bills and fixed deposits can sometimes offer competitive returns, and each comes with its own trade-offs in terms of liquidity, application timing and holding period. I cover the latest issue in my post on the December 2026 Singapore Savings Bond SBDEC26, explain how Treasury bills work in my complete guide to T-bills in Singapore, and track bank promotions in my roundup of the best fixed deposit rates for November 2026. Savings accounts like UOB Stash and CIMB FastSaver have the advantage of letting you access your money at any time, which matters for an emergency fund.
For money that I do not need for many years, I prefer to invest a portion in dividend stocks and REITs, which you can see in my stock portfolio. However, investments carry price risk and are not a replacement for a cash buffer. I always keep my emergency fund in cash or near-cash instruments first.
Things to Check Before You Move Your Money
Interest rates on savings accounts change frequently, and both banks revised or launched promotions in November 2026. Before you transfer S$100,000, I recommend checking the latest rates on the official CIMB FastSaver page and the official UOB Stash page, and reading the full terms and conditions of any bonus promotion.
It is also worth checking whether you qualify for any new-to-bank promotions. UOB currently lists online account opening rewards and a festive savings promotion for new funds, while CIMB has its own bundle promotion. These cash rewards can add a meaningful amount in the first year, but they usually come with holding periods and fresh-fund requirements.
Finally, remember that Singapore citizens and permanent residents can open both accounts online in minutes using MyInfo. Foreigners may need to visit a UOB branch in person to open a Stash account.
CIMB FastSaver vs UOB Stash for S$100,000
When I compare CIMB FastSaver vs UOB Stash for a S$100,000 deposit, UOB Stash comes out clearly ahead, paying about S$1,925 a year compared with about S$915 for CIMB FastSaver at its prevailing rate. Even with the CIMB salary and card add-ons, the gap remains several hundred dollars a year in favour of UOB.
The trade-off is discipline. UOB Stash only pays its bonus if your monthly average balance does not fall, so it works best for money you will leave untouched. CIMB FastSaver pays less but gives you freedom to withdraw without worrying about losing bonus interest.
If you have S$100,000 that you are sure you will not need for the foreseeable future, UOB Stash is the better home for it among these two. If flexibility matters more to you, CIMB FastSaver remains a reasonable, fuss-free choice. Whichever you pick, check the latest rates directly with the bank before moving your money, because the best savings account in Singapore today may not be the best one in three months. I update my best savings account in Singapore page regularly so you can see the latest options at a glance.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice. Interest rates and promotions are based on the official bank pages as of 11 November 2026 and may change at any time.