Where to park your cash for higher yield? T-bills vs Fixed Deposit vs SSB (Feb 2025)

Earlier this week, we saw the yield on the 6-month Singapore T-bill falling to 2.9%. 

I also noticed that banks have lowered their fixed deposit rates this month, with the best 3-month fixed deposit rate now at just 2.8%. 

This led to a lively discussion in the Beansprout community about the best places to park our cash for higher yield. 

Hence, I decided to compare a few alternatives with T-bills and fixed deposits to find out whether there still ways to earn an interest rate of close to 3%. 

In this article, I will share the following:

• Latest interest rates on fixed deposits, T-bills, SSBs and money market funds
• Advantages and disadvantages of putting your cash into these options
• What I would consider in deciding between fixed deposits, T-bills, SSBs and money market funds
• My strategy for parking my cash to earn a higher yield

Best 3-month fixed deposit rate in Singapore of 2.80% p.a.

Firstly, let's take a look at the best fixed deposit rates in Singapore in February. 

• The best 3-month fixed deposit rate is 2.80% p.a. offered by ICBC.
• The best 6-month fixed deposit rate is 2.75% p.a. offered by Bank of China.
• The best 12-month fixed deposit rate is 2.70% p.a. offered by Bank of China and RHB

To get the latest list of best fixed deposit rates this month, check out our guide to the best fixed deposit rates in Singapore.

Latest 6-month Singapore T-bill offers yield of 2.90%

The yield on the Singapore T-bill rose further in the most recent auction.

The cut-off yield on the 6-month T-bill in Singapore dropped to 2.90% in the recent auction on 13 February 2025 from 3.04% in the auction on 28 January 2025.

Even with the decrease in the T-bill yield, it is still above the best 3-month and 6-month fixed deposit rate.

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Best no-frills savings account in Singapore offers interest rate of up to 3% p.a.

If you are looking for a no-frills savings account to park your savings, the UOB Stash Account offers an effective interest rate of up to 3.0% p.a. 

You can also make use of the UOB Lunar New Year Pot of Gold Promotion to earn up to $688 guaranteed cash when you deposit fresh funds into your UOB Stash account. 

GXS is also offering a fuss-free interest rate of up to 2.98% p.a. for a 3-month tenure through its Boost Pocket. Learn more about the GXS Boost Pocket here. 

The HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA) is offering a promotional interest rate of up to 2.70% p.a. for deposits of below S$2 million. In addition, you can earn an additional 1% bonus interest rate on the incremental SGD average daily balances under the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme.

Learn more about the best savings account in Singapore here. 

Latest Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB) offer a 10-year average return of 2.97%

The March issuance of the SSB (SBMAR25 GX25030N) offers a 1-year interest rate of 2.83%, and a 10-year average return of 2.97%. 

This is higher than the 10-year average return of the previous SSB, which was 2.82%. 

I would consider the SSB mainly for the opportunity to lock in the yields for a period of up to 10 years.

As of 11 February 2025, the 10-year average return of the next SSB is projected to fall to 2.88%. 

To get the most updated projections, you can check out our latest interest rate projections for the next SSB here. 

What are the other options to earn a higher yield? 

Fixed deposits are seen as relatively safe options to park our cash as our savings will be insured to up to S$100,000 under the Singapore Deposit Insurance. 

At the same time T-bills and Singapore Savings Bonds are relatively low risk investment options as they are issued by the Singapore government. 

I have also seen a lot of discussion in the Beansprout community about other ways to earn a higher yield.

From the way I see it, I would group them into products that claim to offer guaranteed returns and those that do not. 

However, I would highlight that these are not capital guaranteed, even if they were to offer guaranteed returns. 

#1 - Cash Management Accounts that offer more liquidity 

Cash management accounts aim to provide higher potential returns compared to savings accounts, and greater flexibility compared to fixed deposits.

Some examples of cash management accounts include Moomoo Cash Plus, Tiger Vault, Webull Moneybull, Endowus Cash Smart, Mari Invest and Phillip Smart Park 

By putting your money in a cash management account, you will be investing in money market funds or bond funds. 

These professionally managed funds will put your cash in instruments such as bank deposits or short-term debt to earn higher interest rates.

The indicative 7-day annualised yield of the Fullerton SGD Cash Fund was around 2.93% as of 14 February 2025.

However, it is worth pointing out that these funds are not capital guaranteed, and funds in cash management accounts are not insured under Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation Limited (SDIC).

There are several ongoing promotions for investments in Singapore dollar money market funds. 

For example, Moomoo Singapore is offering a interest booster of up to 2.1% p.a. on top of your usual Cash Plus yield for 30 days.  Learn more about the Moomoo Cash Plus promotion here.

#2 – Cash Management Accounts with guaranteed returns

Firstly, a few of the robo-advisors have introduced cash management solutions that offer guaranteed returns. 

They generate the returns by investing your funds into fixed deposits products provided by banks in Singapore.

For example, Syfe Cash+ Guaranteed is the cash management solution offered by Syfe which offers investors guaranteed returns for their idle cash. 

Syfe Cash+ Guaranteed offers a guaranteed return of 2.88% per annum for a term of 1 month and 2.9% per annum for a term of 3 months as of 11 February 2025. 

StashAway Simple Guaranteed also offers a guaranteed return on your investments, with a 3-month guaranteed rate at 2.9% as of 11 February 2025. 

 #3 – US dollar denominated options to park your cash 

If you have idle cash denominated in US dollars, you can also consider the following options to earn a higher yield compared to the T-bill.

However, if you are converting from SGD to USD,  you should be aware of the foreign currency exchange risks. This is because the US dollar could weaken against the Singapore dollar. 

USD Fixed Deposits

• The best 3-month US Dollar fixed deposit rate is 4.75% p.a. offered by SBI.
• The best 6-month US Dollar fixed deposit rate is 4.20% p.a. offered by ICBC.
• The best 12-month US Dollar fixed deposit rate is 4.00% p.a. offered by the Bank of China.

You can check out the best USD fixed deposit interest rates in Singapore here. 

US Treasuries 

US Treasuries are debt securities issued by the US Department of the Treasury, just like the Singapore T-bills are backed by the Singapore government. 

The US 1-year Treasury yield is at 4.28% as at 11 February 2025, which has been increasing ever since President Donald Trump announced a 30-day delay on the tariffs for Mexico and Canada, which was set to have taken effect on 1 February. 

You can purchase US Treasuries using on either Moomoo Singapore or Tiger Brokers. 

USD Money Market Funds

Some of the cash management accounts also allow us to invest in money market funds denominated in US dollars. 

There are several ongoing promotions for investments in USD money market funds. Moomoo Singapore is offering a interest booster of up to 2.1% p.a. on top of your usual Cash Plus yield for 30 days.  Learn more about the Moomoo Cash Plus promotion here.

What to consider when choosing between T-bills vs fixed deposits vs SSB vs money market funds? 

There are 4 questions I would think about when considering these options.

• Am I comfortable with a product that is not be insured by SDIC or backed by the Singapore government?

If I am comfortable in doing so, then I would also consider cash management accounts to earn a higher yield on my cash.

• Will I need the money in short notice? 

If liquidity is of importance as I may need the cash for other uses in short notice, then I may prefer cash management accounts that offer liquidity typically within days. 

• Do I want to lock in the yields for a longer time period?

If I am looking to lock in the current high interest rates for a period of up to 10 years and not have to worry about reinvestment risks, then the Singapore Savings Bonds allow me to do so while having the flexibility to redeem anytime.

• Do I have any use for the cash in US dollars?

If I am looking to invest in US stocks or ETFs or have other uses of US dollars, then I may consider the US dollar denominated fixed deposits, money market funds or Treasuries. 

Otherwise, I may face foreign currency risks when converting the money back into Singapore dollar in future. 

What would Beansprout do? 

In summary, here are a few ways that I would try to earn a yield of close to 3% despite falling interest rates. 

If I have S$100,000 of cash, I would consider using the UOB Stash Account to earn an interest rate of up to 3.0% in a no-frills way, while tapping on the UOB Lunar New Year pot of gold promotion to earn additional cash rewards of up to S$688.

If I am looking to park a smaller amount of cash, the GXS Boost Pocket will allow me to earn an interest rate of 2.98% p.a. for up to S$60,000 without having the jump through hoops. 

I would also subscribe to the current issuance of the Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB) to lock in the 10-year average interest rate of 2.97%. 

Between fixed deposits and T-bills, I would still prefer T-bills as the latest 6-month T-bill yield of 2.9% is still above the best 6-month fixed deposit rate of 2.75% p.a. 

There is an upcoming 6-month T-bill auction on 27 February. You can leave your email below to get a free reminder when the T-bill auctions are open for application.

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However, I will stop deploying my CPF OA funds to T-bills, as the current yield is below the breakeven yield for T-bill investment using CPF OA savings. You can calculate the breakeven yield for CPF investment into T-bill using our CPF-T-bill calculator. 

With falling T-bill yields, I would look at bond funds which allow us to gain exposure to a basket of bonds which may see price appreciation if interest rates come down. 

I would also consider selected high quality Singapore REITs which may offer a higher dividend yield compared to the T-bill yield. You can screen for the top Singapore REITs with highest dividend yields here. 

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