Best High Yield Savings Account Malaysia 2026: Earn Up to 5% Interest

Malaysian banks have had a decade-long habit of paying you almost nothing on your savings. Maybank basic savings: 0.25% p.a. CIMB basic savings: 0.25% p.a. Meanwhile, the three digital banks that launched under BNM's digital banking framework are paying 3–4% p.a. — sometimes higher. The gap is not small. On RM 20,000, it's the difference between RM 50 and RM 660 per year.

Malaysia High-Yield Savings Accounts: Full Comparison 2026

Why Digital Banks Pay More Than Traditional Banks

Malaysia's Bank Negara issued five digital banking licences in 2022. Three are live: GXBank (Grab + Singtel + Kuok Group), Boost Bank (Axiata + RHB), and AEON Bank (AEON Financial Service, Islamic). These banks have no physical branches, no teller counters, no cash-handling infrastructure. That cost base is dramatically lower than a Maybank or CIMB branch network. They're passing some of that saving on to depositors as higher interest rates — at least during the customer acquisition phase.

The current OPR (Overnight Policy Rate) is 2.75% p.a., held steady by BNM since July 2025 and expected to remain unchanged through 2026. Traditional bank savings rates tend to track the OPR loosely — which is why basic savings accounts sit at 0.25–0.60% p.a. Digital banks, competing for deposits without branch infrastructure, are pricing above OPR to attract customers. That dynamic is unlikely to reverse in 2026.

GXBank — The Most Versatile Digital Savings Option

GXBank is the first BNM-licensed digital bank to go live in Malaysia (September 2023). It's built by GXS Bank Pte Ltd — the Grab-Singtel joint venture — with the Kuok Group as a Malaysian anchor investor. The Grab connection means fast adoption: if you use GrabFood or GrabCar, you can open a GXBank account in the same ecosystem.

GX Account: 2.00% p.a., No Strings

The main account earns 2.00% p.a. calculated daily and credited daily. No minimum balance. No monthly fees. No requirement to use a GXBank debit card or maintain a salary credit. You earn on every ringgit, every day, including weekends. That beats every major Malaysian traditional bank's basic savings rate by a factor of 3–8x. Opening takes under five minutes via the GXBank app, using eKYC with your MyKad.

Bonus Pocket: 3.18–4.00% p.a.

The Bonus Pocket is a time-deposit-like feature inside your GXBank account. You park money for 3 months (3.18% p.a.) or 6 months (4.00% p.a. as of April 2026). The key difference from a traditional fixed deposit: you can withdraw early without penalty — you simply forfeit the accrued bonus interest for that period, while the base 2.00% p.a. still applies to your withdrawal days. The Bonus Pocket cap is RM50,000 total across all active pockets.

The 4.00% 6-month rate includes a promotional element tied to GXBank's second anniversary. Confirm the current Bonus Pocket rate at gxbank.my/bonus-pocket before committing.

Important note from our GXBank full review: GXBank has cut its base rate twice since launch (from a higher introductory rate). This isn't alarming — it's consistent with a bank normalising post-acquisition-phase pricing — but it means you should check rates periodically rather than assume they're permanent.

Boost Bank — Best Daily Rate Among Digital Banks

Boost Bank is a partnership between Axiata (the regional telco group behind Celcom and Boost eWallet) and RHB Bank — Malaysia's fourth largest bank by assets. RHB's banking infrastructure and balance sheet underpin the product. Boost Bank is BNM-licensed, PIDM-protected, and operates through the Boost eWallet app rather than a standalone banking app.

3.30% p.a. With Zero Conditions

Boost Bank's standard savings rate is 3.30% p.a., calculated and credited daily, on balances up to RM100,000. No salary credit requirement. No minimum monthly spend. No tiered conditions. You get 3.30% on day one with RM1 in the account. That's the simplest high-yield savings proposition in Malaysia right now — and the highest unconditional daily rate among BNM-licensed banks.

BoostUP Jar: 4.00% p.a. (Up to RM3,000)

Boost Bank's BoostUP Jar pays 4.00% p.a. in daily compounding interest, but it's capped at RM3,000 and runs until 17 November 2026 (promotional). Think of it as a loss-leader to get you onto the platform — then the core 3.30% p.a. unlimited savings rate is what you're actually signing up for. Verify current BoostUP Jar terms at myboostbank.co/special-jars before relying on the 4.00% rate.

AEON Bank — Best for Shariah-Compliant Savings

AEON Bank is licensed under the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 (IFSA) — it is Malaysia's first digital Islamic bank. Every product it offers is Shariah-compliant, which means rates are referred to as "profit rates" rather than interest rates. Functionally, for a Muslim depositor requiring halal savings, AEON Bank removes the need to separately verify Shariah compliance.

The current AEON Bank Savings Account-i base rate is 0.88% p.a. (revised after the promotional launch period ended in August 2024). However, the Savings Pot feature pays 3.00% p.a. as a promotional rate. For Islamic depositors comparing against conventional digital banks, 3.00% p.a. from an IFSA-licensed bank is competitive and eliminates any halal ambiguity. AEON Bank is a full BNM member and PIDM-protected up to RM250,000.

GO+ (Touch 'n Go) — High Returns, But Not a Bank Deposit

GO+ is not a bank account. It is a money market fund — specifically the Principal e-Cash Fund, a Shariah-compliant unit trust managed by Principal Asset Management — accessed through the TnG eWallet. GO+ delivers average daily returns of approximately 3.4% p.a., which is competitive with digital bank savings rates. But there is one critical difference: GO+ is not PIDM-protected.

A money market fund is considered very low risk — the underlying assets are short-duration, high-quality instruments like government securities and short-term bank deposits. The fund has never broken its RM1 unit price. But "very low risk" is not the same as "insured." If something catastrophic happened to Principal Asset Management or its fund, PIDM would not step in. For small amounts (under RM1,000) and day-to-day spending float, GO+ makes sense — you can spend directly from it using the TnG QR code or highway toll. For emergency funds or serious savings, choose a PIDM-protected bank account.

Traditional Banks: When Do They Win?

Traditional banks still make sense for two scenarios. First, if you need conditional high interest: UOB One Account pays up to 5.65% p.a. on the RM50,001–RM100,000 tier when you credit at least RM2,000 salary or transfer per month. Standard Chartered Privilege$aver claims up to 6.30% p.a. with a combination of savings growth and spending criteria. These rates genuinely beat digital banks — if you can meet the conditions consistently. If you miss a month's conditions, you drop back to the base rate, which is typically 0.25% p.a.

Second, for primary banking infrastructure: salary crediting, bill payment, cheque books, in-branch cash deposits, home loan linkage — traditional banks remain necessary. Most Malaysians will run a traditional bank as their primary account and a digital bank as their savings vehicle. The two are complementary, not mutually exclusive.

For more on comparing Malaysia's best financial products for everyday use, see our Best Personal Loan Malaysia 2026 guide — which covers what your credit profile needs to look like before applying for any borrowing product.

How to Choose: A Decision Framework

Here's how to pick the right account for your situation:

• Emergency fund (RM3,000–RM30,000), need flexibility: GXBank Bonus Pocket (3.18% 3M, withdraw anytime without losing base interest). Zero minimum, PIDM-protected, simple app.
• Daily savings, no lock-in at all: Boost Bank (3.30% p.a. daily, no conditions). Highest unconditional daily rate in Malaysia as of April 2026.
• Shariah-compliant savings only: AEON Bank Savings Pot (3.00% p.a. promotional) — IFSA-licensed Islamic bank, no halal ambiguity.
• High savings balance (RM50K+), willing to meet monthly conditions: UOB One Account (up to 5.65% p.a.) or Standard Chartered Privilege$aver (up to 6.30% p.a.). Model out the conditions before committing — missing a month hurts.
• Small daily float for spending: GO+ (3.4% average, spendable via TnG QR). Keep under RM5,000 given the absence of PIDM coverage.
• Primary bank account for salary and bills: Stay with Maybank, CIMB, or Public Bank for infrastructure. Supplement with one of the above for savings.

PIDM Explained Simply

PIDM — Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia — is Malaysia's deposit insurer. It was established in 2005 under the Malaysia Deposit Insurance Corporation Act. Every bank holding a BNM commercial banking licence is automatically a PIDM member. You do not need to sign up, pay a premium, or do anything. If your PIDM-member bank fails, PIDM pays you back up to RM250,000 automatically — within a few days of the bank being placed into resolution.

The RM250,000 limit is per depositor per bank. If you have RM500,000 to save, spread it across two different PIDM-member banks and both halves are fully insured. PIDM covers savings accounts, fixed deposits, and current accounts. It does not cover investment products, unit trusts, or e-wallet balances — which is why GO+ is excluded. Verify any product's PIDM status at pidm.gov.my before depositing large sums.

Our Verdict

Our Pick: GXBank Bonus Pocket — for most Malaysians saving RM5,000–RM50,000.

3.18–4.00% p.a. with PIDM coverage, zero minimum balance, and the flexibility to withdraw without losing your base 2.00% p.a. interest. It's not the absolute highest rate in Malaysia — UOB One Account can beat it at 5.65% p.a. if you meet monthly conditions. But for a straightforward, no-conditions, PIDM-protected high-yield savings account, GXBank Bonus Pocket is the most accessible and competitive option available in 2026.

Runner-up: Boost Bank at 3.30% p.a. daily with zero conditions. If you want the highest unconditional daily rate and don't need the Bonus Pocket lock-in mechanic, Boost Bank wins.

For Islamic savings specifically: AEON Bank Savings Pot at 3.00% p.a. is the right choice — fully IFSA-licensed, PIDM-protected, no halal ambiguity.

Avoid: leaving significant savings in a traditional bank basic savings account paying 0.25–0.60% p.a. in 2026. The opportunity cost is real money you are leaving on the table every month.

Last updated: April 2026. Interest rates and PIDM coverage verified from official provider websites (gxbank.my, myboostbank.co, aeonbank.com.my, uob.com.my) and BNM OPR data (March 2026). Rates subject to change — always verify at the bank's official site before acting.