Singaporeans overlook interest on spare cash, survey finds

Research commissioned by Chocolate Finance found that three in four Singaporeans with spare cash do not think it is working as hard as it could. It also found that only 11% are very confident they know the interest rate their bank accounts pay.

The study, conducted by Milieu among 1,000 Singapore residents, points to a gap between how closely consumers track spending-related perks and how often they check the returns on money they have already set aside.

Among respondents with spare cash, 48% had checked cashback or reward points in the past six months, while 37% had checked the interest rate on that money. CPF balances and discounts, vouchers or promo codes also drew more attention than the rates paid on spare cash.

The findings suggest many consumers monitor visible, immediate benefits more closely than returns that build in the background. For savings, banking and cash-management firms, that pattern highlights the challenge of getting customers to pay attention to what their balances earn over time.

Attention gap

The survey suggests this is not simply a matter of disengagement with personal finances. Instead, respondents seemed selective about where they focused their attention, finding everyday rewards easier to track than interest rates or cash returns.

Survey participants said they use an average of 3.7 named banks and financial platforms, including traditional banks, digital banks, and wealth or cash-management services.

That spread may make it harder for account holders to track what different pools of money are doing. Only one in ten respondents said they were very confident they knew the interest rate their bank accounts paid, while 89% said they were not fully confident.

Walter de Oude, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Chocolate Finance, said the findings showed a mismatch between consumer intent and awareness.

"We've always known that Singaporeans want more from their spare cash. What this research proves is how many people don't actually know what their money is earning. People move their money around for an attractive welcome offer, but once that offer ends, the money often just sits there, earning very little. And many don't even realise it. We created Chocolate Finance to change that," de Oude said.

Purpose unclear

The research also found uncertainty over when spare cash will be used. Some 72% of spare-cash holders said the money was for "one day, eventually" or that they did not think about timing at all.

Only 29% of respondents said they separate all their money into clear categories for different purposes. That matters because 59% said giving spare cash a clear purpose would make them more likely to leave it untouched and let it grow.

The data points to a behavioural pattern in which saved money can lose definition once it is no longer linked to a purchase, bill or near-term goal. Without a stated purpose, balances may sit across multiple accounts without regular review.

For financial firms, that creates an opening for tools that sort savings by goal rather than provider alone. Chocolate Finance is introducing a feature called Jars that lets customers separate spare cash into different pots for goals such as an emergency fund, a holiday or a home.

de Oude linked the planned product launch to the survey findings. "What really stands out is that Singaporeans are already putting money aside, but many don't have a clear plan for what that money is for. And when people give their spare cash a purpose, they're more likely to leave it alone and let it grow. That's a really important insight, and exactly why we're launching Jars. We want to make it easier for people to turn their spare cash into something they're actually working towards," he said.

Chocolate Finance was founded in 2024 and operates in Singapore as a licensed fund management company offering cash-management, savings and payment products. Milieu conducted an online survey of Singapore residents aged 18 and above, with a reported margin of error of ±3 % at a 95% confidence level.