WEBVTT - Choosing the best bank for you 0:00:00.009 --> 0:00:02.349 You're listening to AC N A podcast. 0:00:05.250 --> 0:00:08.270 Hey, there. It's Andrea Heng. And this is the Money 0:00:08.279 --> 0:00:11.359 Talks podcast where we discuss everything there is to know 0:00:11.369 --> 0:00:14.890 about personal finance. If this is the kind of topic 0:00:14.899 --> 0:00:18.549 you're interested in and you probably are. That's why you're here. 0:00:18.659 --> 0:00:22.290 Follow us on Spotify Apple podcasts and youtube music, 0:00:22.715 --> 0:00:27.655 you'll be notified immediately when a new episode drops and 0:00:27.665 --> 0:00:30.354 it will make a huge difference to us. If you 0:00:30.364 --> 0:00:33.575 follow us, let us know your burning questions and we'll 0:00:33.584 --> 0:00:36.685 get them answered for you. Now, let's get into some 0:00:36.694 --> 0:00:39.534 quick headlines that you may have missed this week. Hey, Tiffany. 0:00:40.110 --> 0:00:42.950 Hey. All right. So what are we starting with? Let's 0:00:42.959 --> 0:00:45.479 start with a question for you on a scale of 0:00:45.490 --> 0:00:49.599 1 to 10. How comfortable are you about declaring all 0:00:49.610 --> 0:00:53.009 your personal information to your insurance provider? I'm talking here 0:00:53.020 --> 0:00:57.419 about your income assets and information about your dependents to 0:00:57.430 --> 0:01:01.369 my insurance provider. You know what? I actually don't think 0:01:01.380 --> 0:01:05.180 twice about it. I probably go all out. Same. I 0:01:05.190 --> 0:01:07.910 do the same as well because I've never considered how 0:01:07.919 --> 0:01:09.289 much data I'm giving. 0:01:09.599 --> 0:01:12.660 I always assume that this is crucial information exactly. That's 0:01:12.669 --> 0:01:14.919 what I think you're about to tell me that that's 0:01:14.930 --> 0:01:17.789 not the case. Well, that still is the case but 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:21.098 that may change because the monetary authority of Singapore is 0:01:21.110 --> 0:01:25.190 proposing to cut down the information that customers need to 0:01:25.199 --> 0:01:30.190 give when buying simple insurance policies. Oh, wow, that's huge. Ok. 0:01:30.199 --> 0:01:33.959 So what is considered simple though? So for example, we're 0:01:33.970 --> 0:01:35.779 talking about life insurance policy, 0:01:35.889 --> 0:01:40.319 standard critical illness riders that are sold with term life 0:01:40.330 --> 0:01:46.120 insurance and stand alone critical illness policies. Basically almost everything 0:01:46.129 --> 0:01:48.910 that I have. I am relieved, but at the same 0:01:48.919 --> 0:01:52.029 time stupefied because I'm thinking, wow, why didn't I think 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:55.900 about the ramifications of giving away my privacy or my 0:01:55.910 --> 0:01:59.660 data to someone like an insurance agent, like I would 0:01:59.669 --> 0:02:02.069 have thought that would be absolutely vital, right? 0:02:02.430 --> 0:02:06.319 Ok. So what sort of information then do I not 0:02:06.330 --> 0:02:10.119 have to reveal if this policy goes ahead? Yeah, so 0:02:10.199 --> 0:02:13.550 you don't have to reveal details like your employment status, 0:02:13.690 --> 0:02:17.728 your assets and your liabilities. But let's talk about stuff 0:02:17.740 --> 0:02:20.660 that you must declare still, right? Things like your annual 0:02:20.669 --> 0:02:24.520 income and your financial objectives. Sure. Yeah. So for anyone 0:02:24.529 --> 0:02:27.350 who's listening now, if you like the idea that insurance 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:29.820 companies shouldn't collect too much of your data, 0:02:30.087 --> 0:02:33.246 you have until 15th March to give your feedback to 0:02:33.257 --> 0:02:35.995 the MA S, you know, this is so important especially 0:02:36.007 --> 0:02:38.806 now in an age where your personal data might just 0:02:38.817 --> 0:02:42.906 be floating around anywhere and you don't know how safe 0:02:42.917 --> 0:02:48.626 these providers, these companies are going to be guarding hacks. Right. Exactly. Exactly. Wow, 0:02:48.636 --> 0:02:51.847 this is huge. I might actually fill up that feedback 0:02:51.856 --> 0:02:54.787 form to the MS. Ok. So moving on quickly to 0:02:54.796 --> 0:02:57.405 another piece of news, can't ignore this one. Is 0:02:57.483 --> 0:03:02.113 this finally the end of the Lazada retrenchment saga just 0:03:02.123 --> 0:03:05.464 to prime us off last week, Lazada and the unions 0:03:05.473 --> 0:03:10.264 representing the retrench workers said they came to an amicable settlement. 0:03:10.324 --> 0:03:13.884 An NTUC spokesperson told CN A that union members can 0:03:13.893 --> 0:03:18.404 be assured that they will now be better off. But 0:03:18.413 --> 0:03:21.722 here's the caveat. They didn't disclose what the final payout 0:03:21.733 --> 0:03:24.783 will look like because of a confidentiality agreement. 0:03:25.061 --> 0:03:27.261 Ok. So I guess we can just take it as 0:03:27.270 --> 0:03:31.251 surface value that is better off. Yeah, exactly. Here's hoping 0:03:31.261 --> 0:03:33.709 that the money can still help these workers t through 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:36.281 at least a few months before they find a new job. 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:39.160 I personally have a story that I will say for 0:03:39.171 --> 0:03:41.860 next week when we look at how to manage your finances, 0:03:41.871 --> 0:03:46.160 if you're retrenched, making that episode was significant for me 0:03:46.171 --> 0:03:48.680 because it made me wish that I had someone to 0:03:48.690 --> 0:03:50.710 walk me through this. But then you know what, that's 0:03:50.720 --> 0:03:52.520 what we are here for to help you. 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:59.800 Every Singaporeans first bank account is one that's set up 0:03:59.809 --> 0:04:03.009 by his or her parents and then we grow up, 0:04:03.020 --> 0:04:05.139 we strike out on our own because you know, we 0:04:05.149 --> 0:04:07.839 want to take charge of our finances. We're adults. Right. 0:04:08.139 --> 0:04:11.479 So we do what we do best. We go out. Well, 0:04:11.490 --> 0:04:14.759 these days we go online to shop around for a 0:04:14.770 --> 0:04:18.859 new bank account that best serves our financial needs and goals. 0:04:19.230 --> 0:04:23.380 But when there are so many types of savings accounts 0:04:23.519 --> 0:04:28.130 offered by so many banks, it gets really overwhelming. Well, 0:04:28.140 --> 0:04:31.220 this episode is here to cut through the noise and 0:04:31.230 --> 0:04:34.178 we're going to get help from Prashant Agarwal CEO at 0:04:34.190 --> 0:04:36.219 Money Hero Group. Hey Prashant. Hey 0:04:36.230 --> 0:04:37.630 and very nice to meet you. 0:04:37.850 --> 0:04:41.029 Wise, likewise. Thanks for coming in. So before we begin, 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:44.670 I'm curious, do you have more than one savings account? 0:04:45.070 --> 0:04:48.209 I do. Ok. Alright, please walk me through this. How 0:04:48.220 --> 0:04:49.739 many do you have and why I 0:04:49.750 --> 0:04:51.799 in fact have three, you 0:04:51.809 --> 0:04:56.190 have three savings account and what does each one do 0:04:56.660 --> 0:05:00.670 look? I think diversification of accounts is important, right? And 0:05:00.678 --> 0:05:03.739 I actually personally encourage that quite a bit. When I 0:05:03.750 --> 0:05:06.440 say three accounts, you're talking about one account for your 0:05:06.450 --> 0:05:12.480 everyday expenses. You're using one account for your savings. Ok. Right. 0:05:12.488 --> 0:05:15.500 Which is emergency fund, right? And one account, which is 0:05:15.510 --> 0:05:17.558 your wealth management account, right? Which is where you do 0:05:17.570 --> 0:05:21.279 most of the investments. Now, why do I believe in 0:05:21.290 --> 0:05:25.359 having more than one account is because firstly, it makes 0:05:25.369 --> 0:05:25.380 a 0:05:25.452 --> 0:05:29.412 of sense to have multiple accounts to diverse your risk, right? 0:05:29.423 --> 0:05:31.872 You know, we know that we are all in Singapore. 0:05:31.882 --> 0:05:34.833 All bank accounts are protected. By SD I and that 0:05:34.842 --> 0:05:38.372 limit is 75,000 Singapore dollars for now. But that is 0:05:38.382 --> 0:05:43.183 going to change to $100,000 starting first of April. Now, 0:05:43.202 --> 0:05:48.032 I do believe that in Singapore banking system is incredibly safe. 0:05:48.041 --> 0:05:51.673 It is probably one of the safest banking systems in 0:05:51.683 --> 0:05:54.153 the world to be here. Absolutely, 0:05:54.246 --> 0:05:57.286 absolutely. We all should be very proud of the infrastructure 0:05:57.295 --> 0:05:59.996 that our regulators have created for us. But having said 0:06:00.005 --> 0:06:03.946 that diversifying and splitting your risk is still a good idea. 0:06:04.246 --> 0:06:08.265 The second reason I believe is having a backup for emergencies. Now, 0:06:08.276 --> 0:06:11.126 as much as our banking systems are very stable and 0:06:11.135 --> 0:06:13.746 you know, most of the transactions are done digitally. We 0:06:13.755 --> 0:06:18.276 have had instances where the digital platforms have gone down, right? 0:06:18.286 --> 0:06:20.936 And we've had more than one such instances. So you 0:06:20.946 --> 0:06:22.915 don't want to be in that position where you're stuck, 0:06:23.039 --> 0:06:25.718 need to make an urgent payment and and you're unable 0:06:25.729 --> 0:06:27.897 to do that. So that's another reason for that. Um 0:06:27.908 --> 0:06:30.269 The third one is personally for me that I'm very 0:06:30.278 --> 0:06:33.989 passionate about is maximizing my returns now because there are 0:06:33.998 --> 0:06:37.579 so many options available, there are such great deals available. 0:06:38.338 --> 0:06:41.459 You can split your money into multiple bank accounts and 0:06:41.468 --> 0:06:44.058 maximize your returns. So that I feel is a great 0:06:44.069 --> 0:06:47.378 opportunity not to be missed. And lastly, it just helps 0:06:47.389 --> 0:06:50.139 you manage your finances better personally for me. But even 0:06:50.148 --> 0:06:51.738 for the younger generation that I all 0:06:51.832 --> 0:06:55.231 always talk to or I mentor is use the 50 0:06:55.242 --> 0:07:00.532 30 20 rule which is use 50% not more than 50% 0:07:00.541 --> 0:07:05.011 of your total salary in expenses. Ok. 30% in investments 0:07:05.141 --> 0:07:08.451 and put 20% in savings for your emergency fund. It 0:07:08.462 --> 0:07:10.302 may be a good idea to put them in a 0:07:10.312 --> 0:07:13.582 separate bank account out of sight, out of mind. No 0:07:13.592 --> 0:07:14.032 withdrawal 0:07:14.041 --> 0:07:14.772 card needed. 0:07:14.782 --> 0:07:15.691 Absolutely. 0:07:16.361 --> 0:07:17.861 That's a good move. That's a good move. I like 0:07:17.872 --> 0:07:20.532 that rule 50 30 20. Ok. So as you 0:07:20.625 --> 0:07:22.924 right, there are so many types of accounts out there, 0:07:22.975 --> 0:07:26.875 there's a savings account, a current account, multi currency, even 0:07:26.885 --> 0:07:30.265 fixed deposit accounts. And these tend to be the most 0:07:30.274 --> 0:07:34.454 common ones. What's the difference between all of these different accounts? 0:07:34.515 --> 0:07:34.614 I'll 0:07:34.625 --> 0:07:38.084 try and explain this in a very simple current account 0:07:38.135 --> 0:07:41.265 is as the name suggests, it's an account you use 0:07:41.274 --> 0:07:44.565 for your everyday expense, right? Have enough money in it 0:07:44.575 --> 0:07:48.345 that you're using your transactions, your daily transactions, your inflows 0:07:48.355 --> 0:07:49.325 and outflows from it. 0:07:49.630 --> 0:07:51.519 But be careful. Actually, I would say in all of 0:07:51.529 --> 0:07:54.679 them that they could be minimum balance requirements, right? So 0:07:54.690 --> 0:07:58.890 current account is typically used for your current expenses, savings accounts, 0:07:59.059 --> 0:08:02.500 as I said previously is your emergency, right? So do 0:08:02.510 --> 0:08:06.010 not do not touch, right? Do not touch until you 0:08:06.019 --> 0:08:10.160 absolutely need to. And a fixed deposits as we know 0:08:10.170 --> 0:08:14.760 are deposits that get locked in. So while fixed deposits 0:08:14.769 --> 0:08:17.489 are a great way to earn some some income, 0:08:17.700 --> 0:08:20.829 but you know that it is not liquid asset, right? 0:08:20.839 --> 0:08:23.600 If you urgently need money, you're going to lose, you're 0:08:23.609 --> 0:08:25.200 going to have to pay some penalty to break your 0:08:25.209 --> 0:08:28.670 fixed deposit. So fixed deposits is, is kept quite separately. 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:30.709 And then of course, you know, you have your investment 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:34.390 accounts that are used primarily for your stock trading, for 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:36.780 your equity trading or your other investment 0:08:36.789 --> 0:08:40.189 needs. What's your take on the multi currency accounts? Where 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:42.890 do they fall in terms of popularity? I guess in 0:08:42.900 --> 0:08:45.409 terms of, I would say utility 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:51.369 multi currency accounts, it depends significantly on the individual needs. Now, 0:08:51.380 --> 0:08:55.218 I can talk about my own example. I have lived 0:08:55.780 --> 0:08:56.820 in seven countries. 0:08:57.820 --> 0:08:58.539 That's the dream. 0:08:58.549 --> 0:09:00.520 Now, of course, Singapore is home for me. I'm very 0:09:00.530 --> 0:09:02.848 proud of being here, but that means that I do 0:09:02.859 --> 0:09:07.659 have some financial interest in multiple countries. All right. So 0:09:07.669 --> 0:09:11.549 multi currency account specifically for me is very, very useful 0:09:11.650 --> 0:09:15.289 because I do need to transfer funds into multiple accounts. 0:09:15.299 --> 0:09:19.260 And I love to have a consolidated view of all my, 0:09:19.270 --> 0:09:21.919 all my expenses and all my incomes. Now I do 0:09:22.010 --> 0:09:25.119 some rental incomes from properties which are overseas and I 0:09:25.130 --> 0:09:28.238 would like to keep them in my consolidated account. So 0:09:28.250 --> 0:09:30.189 that is one use case, there could be other use 0:09:30.200 --> 0:09:32.909 cases as well, which means sometimes you may want to 0:09:32.919 --> 0:09:36.309 just park some money in a different foreign exchange account 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:38.250 because you see that the rates are really good. Like, 0:09:38.260 --> 0:09:40.580 for example, a lot of people are, now we're looking 0:09:40.590 --> 0:09:45.728 at Singapore, Japanese yen or even Singapore Australian dollar Malaysian 0:09:45.739 --> 0:09:48.270 ring it. Right. So it could be a great way 0:09:48.349 --> 0:09:52.090 to make some small trades for yourselves. And the difference 0:09:52.099 --> 0:09:54.609 between trading and a multi currency account is this is 0:09:54.619 --> 0:09:57.190 your own asset. It's sitting with you. You're not speculating 0:09:57.200 --> 0:09:58.190 it on a daily basis. 0:09:58.489 --> 0:10:00.309 You're just parking it in there and watching it move. 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:04.229 Absolutely. Absolutely. So those utilities now, I do feel that 0:10:04.239 --> 0:10:07.020 there was another utility which is gradually going down, which 0:10:07.030 --> 0:10:11.090 was travel. Yes. And now you have so many more options. 0:10:11.099 --> 0:10:13.609 You have travel cards, you have multi currency, travel cards 0:10:13.739 --> 0:10:14.599 which are kind of 0:10:14.690 --> 0:10:18.590 disrupting the multi currency account. But you know, it depends 0:10:18.599 --> 0:10:21.069 each to yourself. You know, what, what's your spending habit? 0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:23.770 What's your usage habit? There is some utility of travel 0:10:23.780 --> 0:10:25.950 there. That's a great primer. Thanks very much for that. 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:28.750 So I wanted to go back to history a little bit. 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.090 So back in the day, it's really just a very 0:10:31.099 --> 0:10:34.140 simple bank account to what it is now where there 0:10:34.150 --> 0:10:37.150 are so many different ones. I mean, what's changed or 0:10:37.159 --> 0:10:40.390 what's prompted this emergence of having just so many accounts 0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:40.909 out there. 0:10:41.469 --> 0:10:47.020 Let me say the wealth of Singaporeans. I mean, we are, 0:10:47.030 --> 0:10:49.239 we are very, I mean, it's a real reason, very 0:10:49.250 --> 0:10:52.679 wealthy country, right? And at the same time, so banks 0:10:52.690 --> 0:10:56.159 see us as a very attractive market. Now, I categorize 0:10:56.169 --> 0:11:00.369 banks in four broad categories. So you've got the big 0:11:00.380 --> 0:11:05.840 three Singaporean banks. Then you have the large international banks, right, 0:11:06.109 --> 0:11:09.859 then you have the challenger banks, right. These are banks 0:11:09.869 --> 0:11:12.549 which are regional banks who are trying to make a 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:17.000 presence in Singapore and actually have seen unprecedented growth, significant 0:11:17.010 --> 0:11:18.640 growth in the recent times. I can think of a 0:11:18.650 --> 0:11:23.010 few actually. And then you have the digital banks. That's right. Right. 0:11:23.164 --> 0:11:26.614 The new new kids on the block. Now, what is 0:11:26.625 --> 0:11:31.364 interesting is each of these are looking to attract a 0:11:31.375 --> 0:11:35.424 different kind of customer, right? Because some of the banks 0:11:35.434 --> 0:11:38.544 like your large Singaporean banks may want to deepen a 0:11:38.554 --> 0:11:40.104 relationship with the customer. 0:11:40.460 --> 0:11:44.030 A digital bank is looking for acquisition, right? A Challenger 0:11:44.039 --> 0:11:48.549 Bank may want to attract you again from an acquisition perspective, 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:51.358 they want to attract you or they have very, very 0:11:51.460 --> 0:11:55.968 attractive exchange rates between Singapore and their home countries. So 0:11:55.979 --> 0:12:01.539 they're all attracting different types of customers. And that fundamentally 0:12:01.549 --> 0:12:03.000 means that there is 0:12:03.090 --> 0:12:07.239 something great for all of us, irrespective of how much 0:12:07.250 --> 0:12:10.189 money we make, what our age is, what our financial 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:15.030 status is. There is a great bank account available for 0:12:15.039 --> 0:12:17.559 all of us. All we need to do is make 0:12:17.570 --> 0:12:21.119 sure that we are doing our research, we understand what 0:12:21.130 --> 0:12:24.309 our financial needs are. We're doing our research, we use 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:25.539 platforms which 0:12:25.719 --> 0:12:29.400 simplify the benefits of all these bank accounts for you 0:12:29.409 --> 0:12:32.659 match your requirements to it and make a decision. So, 0:12:32.669 --> 0:12:34.669 so we're in a very good position actually. Yeah, 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:37.710 we spot for choice. We're the ultimate buffet table if 0:12:37.719 --> 0:12:40.409 I can put it that way. All right. So what 0:12:40.419 --> 0:12:44.119 are the things that we need to think about when 0:12:44.130 --> 0:12:48.329 it comes to deciding which type of account to open? 0:12:48.510 --> 0:12:52.059 I'm thinking here, the difference between function 0:12:52.349 --> 0:12:53.450 and goal. 0:12:54.179 --> 0:12:57.010 It's a really good question. Now, there are some very 0:12:57.020 --> 0:12:59.020 fundamental things that we should look at when we are 0:12:59.030 --> 0:13:01.580 looking to search for a bank account. The first thing 0:13:01.590 --> 0:13:04.030 is what is the interest rate that we're going to 0:13:04.039 --> 0:13:07.380 earn from it. And especially since the interest rates have 0:13:07.390 --> 0:13:08.630 gone up, there are some 0:13:08.765 --> 0:13:12.385 very attractive offers out there. The second thing is to 0:13:12.395 --> 0:13:16.544 look at fees, right? And not be blindsided because some 0:13:16.554 --> 0:13:20.655 accounts do attract fee if you go below a minimum balance. 0:13:20.994 --> 0:13:24.294 The third one is convenience. Now, convenience can be broken 0:13:24.304 --> 0:13:25.065 down into two. 0:13:25.349 --> 0:13:28.780 The number of atms that the bank has now that 0:13:28.789 --> 0:13:32.500 is becoming increasingly less important for someone like me. And 0:13:32.510 --> 0:13:34.549 I think for most of us since COVID, because now 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:36.809 we do a lot of digital payments. Having said that 0:13:36.820 --> 0:13:38.330 every once in a while you do need a little 0:13:38.340 --> 0:13:40.250 bit of cash. So you need to make sure that 0:13:40.260 --> 0:13:43.289 the bank that you choose has some ATM coverage. The 0:13:43.299 --> 0:13:47.219 second part of convenience is the digital banking app. How 0:13:47.229 --> 0:13:48.289 easy it is to 0:13:48.299 --> 0:13:49.530 use. It is so crucial. 0:13:49.539 --> 0:13:51.719 This exactly because you have to make 0:13:51.825 --> 0:13:53.625 payments, you have to receive money, you have to check 0:13:53.635 --> 0:13:56.724 your accounts. So how easy it is for you to use. 0:13:56.734 --> 0:14:00.364 And last and definitely not the least is the rewards 0:14:00.375 --> 0:14:02.645 and the gifts or the incentive. I'm 0:14:02.655 --> 0:14:06.454 really curious about this angle here. I mean, obviously it's 0:14:06.465 --> 0:14:09.164 attractive to me as a customer, but what's in it 0:14:09.174 --> 0:14:11.864 for the bank? I mean, what's the mechanism here? Try 0:14:11.875 --> 0:14:15.723 and walk me through this psychology of offering these gifts 0:14:15.734 --> 0:14:18.164 and extra rewards for signing up with them. 0:14:18.679 --> 0:14:21.619 I think it's a way for banks to attract new customers. 0:14:21.789 --> 0:14:25.969 It's as simple as that, right? Gifts are a great 0:14:25.979 --> 0:14:29.619 way to advertise to market a product and it is 0:14:29.630 --> 0:14:33.530 a great incentive for a customer to make a decision. Now, 0:14:33.539 --> 0:14:36.049 I'll tell you in very simplistic form, right? You and 0:14:36.059 --> 0:14:39.500 I are talking about it as friends and we're thinking about, yeah, we, 0:14:39.580 --> 0:14:41.770 you know, we should maybe this account, maybe that account, 0:14:41.780 --> 0:14:44.450 let's do our research. Now, when you see a gift, 0:14:44.469 --> 0:14:46.059 it prompts you to make a decision, 0:14:47.989 --> 0:14:49.820 you stop thinking you actually act 0:14:49.880 --> 0:14:52.450 like, oh, I want that. I'll sign up just to 0:14:52.460 --> 0:14:52.669 get 0:14:52.679 --> 0:14:57.580 that correct. So I don't recommend people to simply pick 0:14:57.590 --> 0:14:59.929 a product because the gift is attractive. 0:14:59.950 --> 0:15:03.020 Yeah, see I wouldn't, I wouldn't either. And I'm trying 0:15:03.030 --> 0:15:06.229 to understand the psychology of the people that do. I mean, is, 0:15:06.239 --> 0:15:08.859 is that what it really is. It's just trying to 0:15:08.869 --> 0:15:11.960 draw the customer to that particular product that may actually 0:15:11.969 --> 0:15:13.619 be inferior perhaps. 0:15:13.909 --> 0:15:15.900 And I don't think so. I don't think that's the 0:15:15.909 --> 0:15:15.969 idea 0:15:16.536 --> 0:15:21.137 the key objective is to make people act, right? I 0:15:21.146 --> 0:15:27.007 think rewards help people make the decision faster and act, 0:15:27.117 --> 0:15:30.836 which means you don't procrastinate your decision, right? So my 0:15:30.846 --> 0:15:34.817 recommendation always is know what your needs are, right? And 0:15:34.827 --> 0:15:36.997 let's go through those, let's say in a bank account, 0:15:37.007 --> 0:15:40.137 what are typically your needs? Your first need is you've 0:15:40.146 --> 0:15:42.367 got a certain amount of deposit that you want to 0:15:42.377 --> 0:15:44.247 park somewhere. The second is 0:15:44.333 --> 0:15:45.133 have your salary. 0:15:45.364 --> 0:15:47.223 Yes, I was going to ask about that. Yeah, that 0:15:47.234 --> 0:15:49.504 should be credited somewhere. So you need an account to 0:15:49.513 --> 0:15:52.133 credit your salary. Third is going to be a credit card, 0:15:52.143 --> 0:15:56.093 you know, you make certain payments. Fourth is bill payments, right? 0:15:56.104 --> 0:15:59.473 You're making utility payments, telco payments, et cetera. Now these 0:15:59.484 --> 0:16:04.073 four things are pretty much table take standard for everyone, 0:16:04.883 --> 0:16:09.754 then comes other products such as home loan, right? Insurance 0:16:10.104 --> 0:16:12.504 and investment accounts. Now 0:16:12.601 --> 0:16:16.260 what banks are doing is it's very easy to understand 0:16:16.460 --> 0:16:20.721 that banks will share with you or incentivize you if 0:16:20.731 --> 0:16:24.301 they make money. Sure, of course, it's simple business which 0:16:24.310 --> 0:16:26.060 means the more money they make from you, the more 0:16:26.070 --> 0:16:27.440 they're willing to incentivize. Yeah, they're 0:16:27.460 --> 0:16:29.270 basically paying for your loyalty. 0:16:29.281 --> 0:16:33.781 Absolutely. So mapping what your needs are. Now, there are banks, 0:16:33.791 --> 0:16:37.971 I can tell you which can give you about 3 3.5% 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:40.770 of interest on savings account. Six, 0:16:41.148 --> 0:16:44.958 for crediting your salary, making bill payments and spending more 0:16:44.968 --> 0:16:48.067 than $500 on their credit card in one account just 0:16:48.078 --> 0:16:51.888 simply doing that. But you also need to then see, 0:16:51.898 --> 0:16:54.168 is there a catch, it may be banks that don't 0:16:54.177 --> 0:16:57.208 have a very vast branch network or they do not 0:16:57.218 --> 0:17:00.228 have a very vast ATM network. So you may need 0:17:00.237 --> 0:17:03.588 to balance it out. Similarly, if you are someone like 0:17:03.598 --> 0:17:06.378 me who's in my late forties, I've got a family, 0:17:06.387 --> 0:17:09.047 I've got kids. So if my needs are more complicated 0:17:09.525 --> 0:17:13.004 and my needs include pretty much all seven aspects I 0:17:13.015 --> 0:17:16.555 spoke about right, which adds home loan, my mortgage, my 0:17:16.564 --> 0:17:21.515 investment account, my insurance needs and hence more traditional banks 0:17:21.525 --> 0:17:26.524 actually incentivize very well. If you are a wholesome customer 0:17:26.535 --> 0:17:29.294 where you're using all the services or bits and pieces 0:17:29.305 --> 0:17:31.625 of all the services and there are savings accounts that 0:17:31.635 --> 0:17:33.194 can give you up to 7%. 0:17:33.405 --> 0:17:35.744 You can obviously opt not to do that right to 0:17:35.755 --> 0:17:37.284 stay within the same ecosystem. 0:17:37.511 --> 0:17:39.942 Is there something to be said about the benefit of 0:17:39.952 --> 0:17:42.342 going to different banks for different needs? So for example, 0:17:42.352 --> 0:17:45.972 my salary is credited into one account with one bank 0:17:45.982 --> 0:17:48.322 and then my investment account is with another bank and 0:17:48.332 --> 0:17:50.120 so on and so forth. Is there any value to 0:17:50.131 --> 0:17:50.420 that as 0:17:50.432 --> 0:17:55.332 well? 100%? And it all comes down to what incentives 0:17:55.342 --> 0:17:58.342 the banks are actually giving away to give you a very, 0:17:58.352 --> 0:18:02.852 very simple example. There are banks which are simply incentivizing 0:18:02.862 --> 0:18:05.572 you for putting their money in the savings account and 0:18:05.667 --> 0:18:08.318 they don't expect you to transact. They, they don't expect 0:18:08.328 --> 0:18:11.058 you to put your salary credits on it, but simply 0:18:11.068 --> 0:18:14.548 incentivize you on the quantum of money that you're actually 0:18:14.558 --> 0:18:18.558 putting in right now. That is a great account for 0:18:18.568 --> 0:18:21.008 me as a savings account. I was just thinking that 0:18:21.338 --> 0:18:23.848 I don't want to touch that money. It's my emergency fund. 0:18:24.138 --> 0:18:27.088 I don't want to transact. Why wouldn't I put it 0:18:27.098 --> 0:18:28.667 in a bank where I can earn a little bit 0:18:28.678 --> 0:18:31.889 of interest rather than in the consolidated bank, which is 0:18:31.898 --> 0:18:33.609 not incentivizing, correct. 0:18:33.936 --> 0:18:37.836 So this is where spending a little bit of time 0:18:37.855 --> 0:18:42.345 on these platforms, learning about the options can actually save 0:18:42.355 --> 0:18:45.595 you a lot of money and don't forget this is 100% 0:18:45.605 --> 0:18:45.906 risk 0:18:45.916 --> 0:18:48.875 free. Yeah, and it's not just saving you money, it's 0:18:48.885 --> 0:18:52.755 making you money in some instance. Indeed. Yeah. Ok. So 0:18:52.765 --> 0:18:54.845 you've talked about the fees and charges that need to 0:18:54.855 --> 0:18:57.095 be aware of. Can we expand a little bit more 0:18:57.105 --> 0:18:58.875 on that? What are the kinds of charges that we 0:18:58.885 --> 0:19:01.025 need to look out for when we're considering and shopping 0:19:01.036 --> 0:19:02.115 around for a bank account? 0:19:02.510 --> 0:19:07.530 The most fundamental and basic one is account fee. Now 0:19:07.540 --> 0:19:10.479 most banks you would see will waive off the account 0:19:10.489 --> 0:19:15.569 fee unless your minimum balances drop under a certain level. 0:19:15.800 --> 0:19:19.969 So you need to be very well aware of that. Right. 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:23.560 So that is most basic, the other fees that comes 0:19:23.569 --> 0:19:26.319 in and I'll move more into the wealth accounts, 0:19:26.511 --> 0:19:31.171 priority banking accounts. There is a number of fees right. 0:19:31.261 --> 0:19:35.011 There will be an account management fee. There could be 0:19:35.021 --> 0:19:39.291 fees on buying and selling of securities, there'll be fee 0:19:39.302 --> 0:19:44.361 on foreign exchange transactions, um and conversions. Now, one of 0:19:44.371 --> 0:19:47.822 the things that I've often seen is that when people 0:19:47.832 --> 0:19:50.371 go for investment accounts, they do 0:19:50.513 --> 0:19:55.034 don't necessarily understand that fee structure well enough because it 0:19:55.042 --> 0:19:57.943 comes in that link that comes along with your account, 0:19:58.042 --> 0:19:58.254 the 0:19:58.484 --> 0:20:00.413 unsubscribe link it all the way at the bottom, it's 0:20:00.423 --> 0:20:02.904 buried and then you have to find what language it's 0:20:02.913 --> 0:20:03.394 written in. 0:20:03.404 --> 0:20:07.053 Right? Indeed, indeed. And that's why again, using platforms that 0:20:07.063 --> 0:20:10.173 are supposed to help you with this, the platforms that 0:20:10.183 --> 0:20:13.853 are helping you simplify the understanding of that fee. But 0:20:13.864 --> 0:20:14.394 one of the simple 0:20:14.515 --> 0:20:16.156 things I'd say is call up the bank and ask 0:20:16.166 --> 0:20:18.806 them very clearly. And and they will tell you what 0:20:18.816 --> 0:20:21.355 are all the fees that I'm paying and compare those 0:20:21.365 --> 0:20:25.055 fees as well. Now, less crucial in a savings account 0:20:25.066 --> 0:20:27.776 because in savings accounts are very simple, very standard as well, 0:20:27.786 --> 0:20:31.025 very standard, very simple, but definitely very crucial when you 0:20:31.036 --> 0:20:32.505 go into wealth accounts or investment 0:20:32.515 --> 0:20:35.555 accounts. Ok. That's a very good reminder actually, for us 0:20:35.566 --> 0:20:38.406 to really ask the right questions and not just blindly 0:20:38.517 --> 0:20:41.017 sign up on the dotted line. So a big reason 0:20:41.027 --> 0:20:43.177 a lot of my peers tend to choose a particular 0:20:43.186 --> 0:20:45.797