Standard Chartered attracted 7,000 millennials to open new accounts with its «JumpStart» offering which targets the youth segment with a focus on low fees and thresholds.

The JumpStart savings account offering was soft launched just two months ago and specifically targeted young customers between 18 and 26 years old. With no minimum deposit, no fall-below fee and no lock-in period, customers were able to secure an interest rate of 2 percent for their first S$20,000 ($14,681).

In addition, JumpStart customers were offered a debit card with 1 percent cashback on spending, capped at $44 per month, and 100 percent rebates for the fees linked to the first $14,681 in investments through online trading and unit trusts. 

Millennials

According to research commissioned by Standard Chartered, millennials were «mostly incognisant with banking products and services due to the lack of knowledge and funds». But over the next five years, key priorities included securing a stable job and planning for homeownership and marriage, both of which require intensive saving rates for the average Singaporean.

«Savings form the foundation of financial well-being, and we wanted to give young millennials a good reason and provide a great platform to start building healthy financial habits,» said Dwaipayan Sadhu, Standard Chartered’s Singapore head of retail banking Singapore, adding that initial response to JumpStart has been «overwhelming».

«This is an exciting start and we have plans to further broaden Jumpstart to cover other areas which are meaningful to this segment, such as financial seminars and giving back to society.»