Citibank Premium Account

Dual Currency Investments

Potential opportunities.

A globe model above multiple currency notes and market analysis sheets

Citibank Premium Account

  • Dual currency investment
  • Potentially higher returns
  • Wide selection of currencies with flexibility to invest in different tenures
  • Trade 24/7 via Citibank Online. Click here to find out more.

To find out more, call 6225 52256225 5225 to make an appointment with us.

Citibank Premium Account

  • Dual currency investment
  • Potentially higher returns
  • Wide selection of currencies with flexibility to invest in different tenures
  • Trade 24/7 via Citibank Online. Click here to find out more.
Benefits

What is a Citibank Premium Account?

  • Dual currency investment that involves a currency option which gives the bank the right to repay your principal and interest earned in either the base currency or the alternate currency.
  • A part or all of the interest that you earn on the Citibank Premium Account represents the premium that the bank pays you for the currency option.

Is Citibank Premium Account for you?

When investing in a Citibank Premium Account, timing, choice of currencies and your personal investment preferences are all crucial. You might find a Citibank Premium Account particularly suited to you:

  • If you are indifferent to the two currencies chosen.
    In other words, you are comfortable receiving your money in either the base or the alternate currency.
  • If you wish to hold on to a particular currency that is weakening.
    By investing in this currency in a Citibank Premium Account, you may earn a potentially higher interest, plus you may also have a good chance of receiving your money back in the same currency.
  • If you have the view that the exchange rate between the two currencies you have chosen appears to be stable.
    In this case, the limited exchange rate movement between the currencies will help to improve your interest differential gains.

How does the investment returns work with Citibank Premium Account?

  • Step 1:

    Place your principal in the base currency of your choice.

    Currencies available: SGD, USD, AUD, NZD, EUR, GBP, CAD, JPY, CHF and *HKD.

  • Step 2:

    Choose a second currency as your alternate currency and decide on the tenure of your investment.

    Currencies available: SGD, USD, AUD, NZD, EUR, GBP, CAD, JPY, CHF and *HKD.

    Tenures available: 1 week to 6 months. Depending on your investment strategy and market conditions, select the preferred exchange rate between these two currencies as your pre-agreed exchange rate. You will then be quoted the interest rate for your Citibank Premium Account.

  • Step 3:

    On maturity, you will receive the principal plus interest earned in either the base currency or the alternate currency - whichever is the weaker currency.

    This is decided by comparing the pre-agreed exchange rate with the prevailing exchange rate two business days before maturity. The pre-agreed exchange rate will be applied should your base currency be converted to the alternate currency.

Here's an example:

Assuming that you have invested Singapore Dollar 100,000 in a one-month Citibank Premium Account, with Singapore Dollar as your base currency and Australian Dollar as your alternate currency1.

  • Pre-agreed exchange rate: AUD/SGD 0.980
  • Interest rate: 6% p.a.
  • Current exchange rate: AUD/SGD 1.000

At maturity, you will be paid on the weaker of the two currencies.

There are three possible scenarios:

Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3
At Expiry AUD strengthens against SGD (e.g., AUD/SGD exchange rate moves up from 1.000 to 1.020) AUD weakens against SGD (e.g., AUD/SGD exchange rate moves down from 1.000 to 0.960) AUD/SGD weakens exchange rate is the same as the pre-agreed exchange rate of 0.980
Currency of Principle returned SGD AUD SGD or AUD as determined by Citibank
Amount returned SGD 100,000 + (SGD 100,000 * 6% * 30/365) = SGD 100,493.15 [SGD 100,000 + (SGD 100,000 * 6% * 30/365)] / 0.980 = AUD 102,544.03 SGD 100,493.15 or AUD 102,544.03
Gain or Loss Gain of SGD 493.15 SGD 100,000 - [AUD 102,544.03 * 0.960] = Loss of SGD 1,557.73 Gain of SGD 493.15

1 The hypothetical gains and losses shown in the above 3 scenarios are meant for illustrative purposes only.

You can establish your Premium Account Currency Investments via Citibank Online in 5 easy steps:

  • Step 1:

    Sign the Citibank Premium Account Agreement & Risk Disclosure, and the Investment Risk Profile.

  • Step 2:

    Login to Citibank Online with your User ID and Password

  • Step 3:

    Decide your currency pair, pre-agreed exchange rate and tenure.

    This is decided by comparing the pre-agreed exchange rate with the prevailing exchange rate two business days before maturity. The pre-agreed exchange rate will be applied should your base currency be converted to the alternate currency.

  • Step 4:

    Establish your Citibank Premium Account.

  • Step 5:

    Set your Citibank Premium Account expiry date alert (optional).

Citibank Premium Account is in substance an investment in one or more foreign currencies. It is subject to foreign exchange rate fluctuations, which may provide opportunities and risks.

How to establish a Citibank Premium Account:

  • Decide on the base currency and the amount for establishment
  • Choose your second currency as your alternate currency
  • Select a tenure that you are comfortable with
  • Choose an exchange rate between the currencies as your strike rate

Here's an example:

  • Pre-agreed exchange rate: AUD/SGD 1.251
  • Interest rate: 6% p.a.
  • Current exchange rate: AUD/SGD 1.266

At maturity, you will be paid on the weaker of the two currencies.

There are three possible scenarios:

Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3
At Expiry AUD strengthens against SGD (e.g., AUD/SGD exchange rate moves up from 1.000 to 1.020) AUD weakens against SGD (e.g., AUD/SGD exchange rate moves down from 1.000 to 0.960) AUD/SGD weakens exchange rate is the same as the pre-agreed exchange rate of 0.980
Currency of Principle returned SGD AUD SGD or AUD as determined by Citibank
Amount returned SGD 100,000 + (SGD 100,000 * 6% * 30/365) = SGD 100,493.15 [SGD 100,000 + (SGD 100,000 * 6% * 30/365)] / 0.980 = AUD 102,544.03 SGD 100,493.15 or AUD 102,544.03
Gain or Loss Gain of SGD 493.15 SGD 100,000 - [AUD 102,544.03 * 0.960] = Loss of SGD 1,557.73 Gain of SGD 493.15

1 The hypothetical gains and losses shown in the above 3 scenarios are meant for illustrative purposes only.

The minimum amount for establishing a Citibank Premium Account online is USD 5,000 (or equivalent).

However, you would also need to have signed a Citibank Premium Account Agreement, Risk Disclosure and completed the Investment Risk Profile before the system will allow you to proceed to establish a Citibank Premium Account online.

The following reminder window will pop up if you have not signed a Citibank Premium Account Agreement, Risk Disclosure and completed the Investment Risk Profile prior to establishing of Citibank Premium Account online:

Premium Account

Sorry, you need to have an existing Premium Account to book a new transaction. Please contact your Personal Banker or Relationship Manager or visit our branch for more information.

In this situation, please visit any of the branches to do a risk profiling for the product and complete a Citibank Premium Account Agreement and Risk Disclosure.

  • Enjoy bonus rates when you book online
  • More information on the different currency pair is available for comparison

You can establish a maximum of USD 500,000 (or equivalent) for a Citibank Premium Account online deal.

Yes, you can view all existing Citibank Premium Accounts deals that have not reached maturity, including online deals, under Citibank Premium Account "Current Holdings". Existing deals that are valued will be displayed under "Current PA" and pending deals that have not been valued will be displayed under "Pending PA".

Yes, you will be able to see all your Citibank Premium Account deals that are expired, including expired online deals, under Citibank Premium Account "Transaction History".

Note: Citibank Premium Account "Transaction History" will not show pending Citibank Premium Account deals that have not been valued.

For "Exercised" deals, the "Converted Amount", "Current Market Rate", "Marked to Market P & L" will be populated with amounts associated to the foreign exchange done as a result of conversion to the alternate currency.

For "Lapsed" deals, the above-mentioned deals will be displayed as "N.A.".

When a Citibank Premium Account expires, the system will determine whether the Citibank Premium Account deal is lapsed or exercised by comparing the pre-agreed strike rate of the currency pair against the prevailing exchange rate of the pair.

E.g. SGD Base against AUD Alternate at the pre-agreed exchange rate of AUD/SGD 1.251

If the base currency weakens against the alternate currency (from AUD/SGD 1.266 to 1.270), the deal is determined as "Lapsed". You will then receive the principal and interest earned in the base currency (SGD).

If the base currency strengthens against the alternate currency (from AUD/SGD 1.266 to 1.243), the deal is determined as "Exercised". You will then receive the principal and interest earned converted to the alternate currency (AUD) at the pre-agreed exchange rate of 1.251 (i.e., P+I computed in SGD and converted to AUD).

There are a few scenarios for this phenomenon:

Scenario 1: The Citibank Premium Account is converted and it is below the minimum principal amount of USD10,000 (or equivalent at the prevailing foreign exchange rates).

Scenario 2: You tried to renew your deal before 10.30am or after 10.30pm on the expiry day. Renewal can only be done from 10.30am to 10.30pm on the day your deal expires.

Scenario 3: One of your deals have been renewed offline, consequently all other expired deals has been removed as a source of fund to prevent double-booking.

Scenario 4: You went into the "Historical Transaction Summary" when you clicked on the "Your Citibank Premium Account" link in "Account Summary". You will then need to click on the "Open a Citibank Premium Account" tab to view your available Citibank Premium Accounts as a Source of fund.

Your Citibank Premium Account Agreement and Investment Risk Profile forms are forwarded to our Treasury Unit for processing and review before it is availed for online usage. In general, it takes 24 hours for processing.

You can contact us at 6333 3223 to request for assistance.

It refers to the time on the expiry date that our system determines whether the Citibank Premium Account is exercised or lapsed, given the rate at that time.The Citibank Premium Account expiry process takes place from 10.00 a.m. to 10.30 a.m.

If your deal has lapsed, you have the option to change the base currency when you book a new Citibank Premium Account deal. On the other hand, if your Citibank Premium Account is exercised, i.e. your fund is converted to the alternate currency, you can only use the currency which the previous Citibank Premium Account deal had exercised into, as the base currency of the new Citibank Premium Account.

Disclaimer:Disclaimer:

By investing in a Citibank Premium Account, you are allowing the bank to repay you at a future date in an alternate currency that is different from the currency in which your initial investment was made, regardless of whether you wish to be repaid in this currency at that time. A Premium Account is unlike a traditional bank account as it is an investment and returns may vary. Premium Account is subject to a number of risks. A Premium Account is an investment in one or more foreign currencies. It is subject to foreign exchange rate fluctuations, which may provide both opportunities and risks. You may experience a loss when you convert any alternate currency into the base currency. The higher rate of interest you may earn in the Premium Account as compared to a traditional time deposit may not compensate you for the foreign exchange loss. The Premium Account is not subject to the provisions of the Deposit Insurance and Policy Owners' Protection Schemes Act 2011 of Singapore and is not eligible for deposit insurance coverage under the Deposit Insurance Scheme. Exchange controls may apply from time to time to certain foreign currencies. Our Treasury Services Managers and Relationship Managers may assist you with information on any exchange controls that are relevant to the currencies in which you invest. You should note that a Premium Account is an investment product that should be held to maturity. Early withdrawal of a part of a Premium Account prior to the maturity date is not permitted. Early withdrawal of the whole of a Premium Account is permitted but strongly discouraged, because you will have to pay early termination charges and these charges will be deducted from the amount repaid under the Premium Account. As a result, the amount repaid to you may be less than the principal amount. If you wish to terminate your Premium Account prior to maturity, please contact the Bank. The Bank may, at any time at its discretion, terminate the Premium Account. This may happen, for example, if restrictions on convertibility and transferability become applicable to any of the currency in your Premium Account. In such cases, payment to you may be made in the alternate currency or another currency chosen by the Bank. You may incur a loss on the principal amount in such cases. You should obtain the advice of a licensed or an exempt financial advisor before making a commitment to enter into a Premium Account transaction. In the event that you choose not to seek advice from a financial adviser, you should carefully consider whether a Premium Account is suitable for you in light of your investment objectives, your financial means and your risk profile. For more information on a Premium Account, you should also carefully read the terms and conditions of the Premium Account. Premium Account is not available to U.S. persons and may not be available in all jurisdictions. Citibank's full disclaimers, terms and conditions apply to individual products and banking services.

The products and services mentioned above are not offered to individuals resident in the European Union, European Economic Area, Switzerland, Guernsey, Jersey, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican, The Isle of Man. the UK, Jamaica, Ecuador or Sri Lanka. This website is not, and should not be construed as, an offer, invitation or solicitation to buy or sell any of the products and services mentioned herein to such individuals.

This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.