What’s in it for us: 3 ways joint accounts work for couples

What is the best way to manage your finances? It's challenging enough to do this alone; and with your spouse, there are so many more factors to consider! That’s because your decisions on how you spend your time and money will now impact others, and the impact lasts.

One of the best ways to begin this new chapter of life is with a joint account where both of you credit your salaries and dividends. But to really maximise your joint account in Singapore, you’ll want to ensure it earns the highest interest rates and rewards you for planning your finances as a new family unit.

This combination comes in handy: a joint account with individual DBS Multiplier Account for each of you.

Building a life together involves a myriad of spending and savings choices. And the DBS Multiplier helps you take advantage of these choices, letting you unlock interest from paying your utility bills, charging to your DBS credit card to buy the anniversary gift, or in time to come, paying for the kid's tuition fees.

What is a joint account?

A joint account is similar to a savings account that you may already have on your own – but with at least two people having access to it. This type of account allows you to combine forces into growing your savings a little faster than you would on your own.

Advantages and disadvantages of joint accounts

There are many other advantages to joint accounts. It helps with budgeting and reduces the hassle of transferring money to your spouse for household bills. A joint account also allows both parties to have an overview of the family’s financial health. You can even open a joint account before marriage! This provides the transparency that can help couples build trust.

Are there disadvantages? Some couples prefer to keep their finances separate and cite privacy as one reason. Another concern is that the joint account may have to be unravelled if your relationship status changes.

But what happens to a joint account in Singapore when someone dies? In the event of death, the joint account balance will typically be passed to the surviving owner.

Joint account vs. Joint-alternate account

When applying, you'll have to choose between a "Joint account" and "Joint-alternate account". The difference is that with a "joint account", all account holders must agree to all transactions. On the other hand, a "joint-alternate account" allows you to perform transactions independently and you do not need consent from the other account holders. (It's probably polite to let them know though, to build trust and transparency!)

Benefits of a joint account + Multiplier account

Here are some tips to help you get more benefits by combining the use of a joint account together with a personal Multiplier Account.

#1:  Earn higher interest by "stacking" your salaries

Typically, couples manage their joint accounts in one of these ways:

• Both contribute a fixed percentage;
• Both contribute a fixed amount; or
• Both credit all their salaries and investment dividends

You can maximise the interest earned with your personal Multiplier Account. Here's how it works: Bank your salaries into a joint account such as My Account to qualify for higher eligible transaction tiers and earn bonus interest on the average daily balance in your individual DBS Multiplier Account.

Getting more benefits with a joint account

Scenario 1: Both John and Mary credit their salaries and dividends into a joint account. They also have a personal Multiplier Account each.

In this scenario, the bonus interest earned on their individual Multiplier Account will be based on the combined credited salaries and dividends (S$7,100), instead of just their individual salary and dividends.

Scenario 2: Only George credits his salary into a joint account. Both George and Emily also have a personal Multiplier Account each.

In this scenario, the bonus interest earned on their individual Multiplier Account will be based on George’s credited salary (S$4,000). Even though Emily does not draw a salary, she still gets to enjoy the bonus interest in her personal Multiplier Account.

You can still benefit even if you're a gig economy worker, or are between jobs. Here's how:

1. Credit your investment dividends into your joint account, and use PayLah! to pay for your purchases at physical retail shops. Just make sure it adds up to at least S$500 each month.

   That's because PayLah! retail spends are also counted for the first S$10,000 in your DBS Multiplier Account. And if your situation changes, your DBS Multiplier Account is smart enough to figure out the best route to higher returns for you and bae.

2. Use your SingPass log-in to connect your financial information to NAV Planner (via SGFinDex), and make your usual credit card purchases, home loan repayments, and other financial commitments.

   Connecting to SGFinDex each month allows you to meet the mandatory criteria even if you don't have a monthly salary or dividend to credit. It also provides a holistic view of your finances, so that planning your financials becomes much easier.

   That's because we’ve designed DBS Multiplier Account to complement the key aspects of financial planning and reward you for your commitments.

#2:  Get more out of your spending with Multiplier

Starting a life together is likely to lead to additional payments, premiums and costs. This includes life insurance, mortgage payments, utilities and groceries, among others. These combined expenses can give you something in return:

With the DBS Multiplier, couples can make payments and purchases that can help earn bonus interests.

Say you each have your personal credit cards and have met the minimum spending criteria for the Multiplier Account. For the first S$50,000 in your DBS Multiplier Account, the interest can be as high as 2% each year.

If you add a DBS/POSB home loan onto that, you’ll unlock up to 3% p.a. interest on your next S$50,000. This would be one of the highest interest rates that you could earn in a savings account in Singapore!

#3:  Plan better for your life together

Money can be a major source of conflict between couples - having a joint account creates transparency (and builds trust), while helping you and your partner grow your little nest egg.

In addition, setting couple goals create financial discipline, encouraging you to work within your budgets and save for something much bigger like a new house, the bucket list vacation in Machu Picchu, or more tuition classes for the kids as their major exams approach.

It's easy to apply for DBS Multiplier and joint account

How do you open a joint account in Singapore? At DBS and POSB, everything is done online in a safe, secure manner. You never have to visit a branch if you don’t want to, fill in dozens of forms or make a thousand declarations after the one you've already made to the "one". You can even open a joint account if not married, which is so useful for wedding expenses and furnishing the marital home.

What do you need to open a joint bank account? Existing DBS/POSB customers can apply for a joint-alternate My Account here. New DBS/POSB customers will need to submit a few more documents so you’ll want to prepare for that with this list.

A joint account, with all the benefits you gain through your individual DBS Multiplier Account, is one of the best ways to kick-start your savings journey and at the same time look to get something back through your spending.

Estimate how much interest you could earn each year with the joint account + Multiplier combination.

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Deposit Insurance Scheme
Singapore dollar deposits of non-bank depositors and monies and deposits denominated in Singapore dollars under the Supplementary Retirement Scheme are insured by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation, for up to S$75,000 in aggregate per depositor per Scheme member by law. Monies and deposits denominated in Singapore dollars under the CPF Investment Scheme and CPF Retirement Sum Scheme are aggregated and separately insured up to S$75,000 for each depositor per Scheme member. Foreign currency deposits, dual currency investments, structured deposits and other investment products are not insured.