Opening your child’s first bank account is one of those small milestones that sneaks up on you — usually right around when the ang baos start piling up, or a new school asks for a card to link to the canteen. Every major bank in Singapore has a kids’ savings account built for exactly this, and opening one alongside your own account usually takes just a few minutes.

The interest rates look impressive on paper, with many banks advertising “up to” figures well over 1% a year. In practice, most of that only kicks in for larger balances and does not seem practical for a kids’ savings account. As such, what you’ll actually earn in these kids’ accounts often sits much closer to the base rate. We checked every kids saving accounts offered by banks in Singapore. Here’s the quick summary.

Compare at a Glance

Account	Potential Interest Rate	Min. Deposit	Age Limit	Remarks
POSB My Account	0.05% p.a. flat	None	Below 16	Simplest structure, also the lowest
OCBC Mighty Savers®	Up to 0.30% p.a.	None	Below 16	Full rate needs a recurring $50/month deposit and an OCBC CDA
UOB Junior Savers	0.05% p.a. flat	S$500	Below 16	Insurance coverage is tiered — only 100% at S$50,000+
CIMB Junior Saver	Up to 1.58% p.a.	S$1,000	Below 16	Highest rate applies to a portion of the balance, not all of it
Maybank Youngstarz	0.05%–0.90% p.a.	S$10	Below 17	0.90% only applies above S$50,000; first S$20,000 earns 0.05%
SC e$aver Kids	0.05% p.a. base	None	Below 18	Requires $50/month GIRO
ICBC Elite Kids	Up to 0.20% p.a.	S$500	Below 16	Bonus needs balance to grow $500 that specific month

POSB My Account

Features

• Interest: 0.05% p.a. flat on the entire balance
• No minimum initial deposit
• No minimum balance to maintain
• S$1 welcome gift when the account is opened
• No coin deposit fees at POSB coin deposit machines
• Interest calculated daily, credited at the end of the month
• Links to Smart Buddy (the tap-to-pay watch/card used in schools) and PayLah!
• Child can apply for a DBS/POSB ATM card at 12
• Full digibank access and a DBS Visa Debit Card (with cashback) at 16
• No account fee with eStatements; S$2/month for paper statements, waived while the child is 16 or under
• Eligibility: child below 16, joint account with a parent 18 or above

POSB isn’t trying to win on yield — it’s playing a longer game. For many Singaporean families, POSB My Account is the default first bank account for their kids, similar to how a POSB passbook was for their own parents. POSB My Account is built around the entire ecosystem that grows with your kids.

POSB has a coin deposit perk where coins deposited at a coin deposit machine do not have a coin deposit fee. However, if you deposit over-the-counter, you will be charged S$1.80 per 100 pieces.

Smart Buddy and PayLah! are the other reasons to pick this account over a competitor. Smart Buddy is the tap-to-pay watch or card used across primary and secondary schools for canteen and bookshop purchases. If you link it to POSB My Account, you can top up your child’s spending money remotely and see exactly where it went. PayLah! extends the same idea outside school once your child is old enough to use it.

When your child hits different age milestones, they gradually unlock other perks. They can apply for a DBS/POSB ATM card when they turn 12 years old, and at 16 years old, the account graduates into full digibank access along with a DBS Visa Debit Card that earns cashback. No added requirements to open a new account for each milestone.

OCBC Mighty Savers®

Features

• Base interest: 0.05% p.a.
• +0.05% p.a. bonus interest for depositing S$50+ in a month with no withdrawals
• +0.20% p.a. CDA Advantage Bonus Interest if the child also holds an OCBC Child Development Account
• Up to 0.30% p.a. combined
• No minimum initial deposit
• No minimum balance to maintain
• Free coin deposits at OCBC’s newer ATMs
• e-Statements only
• Eligibility: child below 16, joint account with a parent or legal guardian, both residing in Singapore

OCBC built the Mighty Savers bonus structure the same way it built OCBC 360, its flagship adult account: a base rate everyone gets, plus extra tiers unlocked by a specific monthly behaviour. Here, that behaviour is depositing at least $50 and not withdrawing anything in the same calendar month. If it is not achieved, you would only receive the 0.05% base for that month.

Similarly to POSB, they also have a coin deposit perk, where it is free to deposit coins, but only at OCBC’s newer coin deposit ATMs. If you were to deposit over the counter, the fee is S$2 per 100 coins.

UOB Junior Savers Account

Features

• Interest: 0.05% p.a. flat on the entire balance
• Free life insurance coverage on the deposit balance, tiered by balance (see table below)
• Maximum insurance claim: S$150,000 per parent
• S$500 initial deposit
• S$500 average balance to avoid a S$2 fall-below fee
• Withdrawals only at a branch — no phone or internet banking withdrawals
• Converts to a regular savings account at 15; ATM card eligible at 15
• Eligibility: child 16 and below, joint account with parent or legal guardian

Average Daily Balance	Coverage
S$3,000 – S$9,999.99	50%
S$10,000 – S$49,999.99	70%
S$50,000 and above	100%

To qualify for any life insurance coverage, the average daily balance must be maintained at S$3,000 or more for the past six months, or since account opening if shorter. Coverage runs until the parent turns 65 or the child turns 17, whichever comes first.

UOB built this less as a transaction account and more as a forced-savings vehicle with insurance attached. There’s no phone or internet banking withdrawal option at all — every withdrawal means a branch visit, which is either the account’s biggest drawback or its best feature, depending on whether you want a child’s savings easy to touch or deliberately hard to.

As such, this account is great for parents who commit to savings for their kids early and keep contributing, rather than ones who park occasional ang bao money and forget about it.

CIMB Junior Saver Account

Features

• Interest: up to 1.58% p.a., tiered by balance
• S$1,000 initial deposit, funded via FAST transfer or from an existing CIMB Malaysia account
• No minimum balance to maintain
• No fall-below fee
• Interest accrued daily, credited monthly
• Apply online with an instant account number
• Managed via the CIMB Clicks Singapore app
• Eligibility: child 16 and below

CIMB has kept the Junior Saver Account close to a no-frills product: no insurance bundle, no coin deposit perks, nothing beyond the interest rate and the account itself. If the goal is purely the highest interest rates, CIMB consistently has one of the most competitive kids’ accounts among Singapore banks.

Refer to below for the interest offered by CIMB for the Junior Saver Account.

Maybank Youngstarz

Features

• Interest: 0.05% p.a. on the first S$20,000, 0.30% p.a. on the next S$30,000, 0.90% p.a. above S$50,000
• S$10 minimum initial deposit
• S$10 minimum balance to maintain
• Free Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease Hospitalisation and Outpatient Insurance
• Free Personal Accident Insurance for both parent and child
• No early account closure fee
• Withdrawals only at a branch
• Converts to a SaveUp Account at 17
• Eligibility: child below 17

Youngstarz used to be one of the kids’ savings accounts with relatively high interest. However, they had a revision on their interest rates in Jul 2026, and it now requires a much higher balance to earn the higher interest.

For a typical child, it may not be realistic to clear the higher balances to get the higher interest, and at the end of the day, you may only be receiving the base 0.05% interest for the first S$20,000.

One thing that stands out for Maybank Youngstarz is the insurance perk for Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease Hospitalisation and Outpatient Insurance. As with UOB, withdrawals require a branch visit, which makes this gear towards a savings account rather than a spending one.

Standard Chartered e$aver Kids

Features

• Interest: 0.05% p.a. prevailing rate, plus eligibility for e$aver’s recurring bonus interest promotions (currently up to 1.60% p.a. through September 2026 on fresh funds, no lock-in)
• No minimum initial deposit
• No minimum balance to maintain
• No lock-in period — withdraw anytime
• No monthly fees
• No early closure fee
• Requires a GIRO or Standing Instruction of at least $50/month, from the trustee’s own bank account
• Structured as a trust account — the parent is trustee, the child is beneficiary, not a joint owner
• Eligibility: trustee 21+, child below 18 — the widest age range on this list

Standard Chartered e$aver Kids use a trust structure where you, the parent, are the trustee, not a joint account holder, and your child is the beneficiary. This does mean the account is explicitly held for the child’s benefit from the outset, which some parents may prefer for exactly this reason.

There is a requirement for the trustee to complete a GIRO or Standing Instruction form for monthly deposits of at least $50 into the account. Once it’s running, there’s nothing else to maintain: no minimum balance, no lock-in, no monthly fee, no penalty for closing early.

ICBC Elite Kids Account

Features

• Interest: 0.10% p.a. normal rate, +0.10% p.a. bonus if the average daily balance grows by S$500+ versus the previous month (up to 0.20% p.a. combined)
• S$500 initial deposit
• No minimum balance to maintain thereafter
• Available to existing ICBC customers
• Eligibility: child below 16

This is the most straightforward option on the list if you’re already an ICBC customer. The account itself is deliberately simple with no insurance bundle, no linked payment app and no fee waivers to chase. You get a base rate with a monthly top-up incentive.

Note that the bonus resets every month. A month with no top-up (or a smaller one) earns only the 0.10% base, even with a large existing balance. Unlike OCBC’s Mighty Savers, which asks for a flat $50 deposit to unlock its bonus, ICBC’s threshold scales with the account — you need to add $500 more than last month’s average balance, every month, to keep earning the bonus tier.

What S$3,000 Actually Earns, One Year

Most of these accounts hold a few thousand dollars. Here’s the annual interest on a flat S$3,000 balance, at each account’s base rate:

Account	Rate Applied	Interest on S$3,000/year
POSB My Account	0.05%	$1.50
UOB Junior Savers	0.05%	$1.50
Maybank Youngstarz	0.05% (first-tier)	$1.50
SC e$aver Kids	0.05% base	$1.50
OCBC Mighty Savers (base only)	0.05%	$1.50
OCBC Mighty Savers (with $50/mo habit)	0.10%	$3.00
OCBC Mighty Savers (+ OCBC CDA)	0.30%	$9.00
ICBC Elite Kids (bonus met)	0.20%	$6.00
CIMB Junior Saver	1.28% (first-tier)	$38.40

FAQ

Which kids savings account in Singapore has the highest interest rate?

CIMB Junior Saver Account currently has the highest rate of up to 1.58% p.a.

Do kids savings accounts in Singapore charge fees?

Most don’t have any fess, provided you stay above the minimum balance if applicable. UOB Junior Savers charges S$2 if the average balance falls below S$500. CIMB Junior Saver and Standard Chartered e$aver Kids does not charge fall-below fee.

What’s the difference between a kids savings account and a Child Development Account (CDA)?

A CDA is the government Baby Bonus scheme account, with dollar-for-dollar government matching up to a cap and spending restricted to approved education and healthcare merchants. A kids savings account (like the ones above) is a regular deposit account with no spending restriction and no government matching.

Can a joint kids account be opened with a foreigner parent?

Yes, at every bank on this list — Singaporeans, PRs and foreigners residing in Singapore can all open these accounts, though foreigners typically need to provide a valid pass (Employment Pass, S Pass, Dependent Pass, etc.) alongside the child’s documents.

Is interest from a kids’ savings account taxable?

No. Interest from deposits with banks approved in Singapore is tax-exempt for individuals, which covers all the accounts listed here.

Should I prioritise interest rate when choosing a kids account?

Given the numbers above, generally no — not until the balance is substantial. Prioritise how the account will actually be used: Smart Buddy or school payment integration, insurance coverage, withdrawal flexibility, and whether you’re likely to hit any bonus-interest conditions consistently.

This article is for general educational purposes and does not constitute financial advice. TheBoringCFO is not a licensed financial adviser.