I was sitting at the kitchen table last week, staring at the latest statement from my Chocolate Finance account. My husband looked over and said, “So does it still work, or are we done with it?” It was a fair question. Everyone asks it now.
Three years ago I put money into Chocolate Finance because it promised something banks didn’t: returns higher than fixed deposits, no lock-ins, and daily payouts. Since then, the platform has been through a stress test that would have made me nervous if I hadn’t understood how it actually worked.
Here’s what changed — and what hasn’t.
The March 2025 panic (and why my money was never at risk)
A few YouTube videos went viral in March 2025. They said Chocolate Finance was facing a “bank run.” Thousands of people opened the app and asked for their money back, all at once.
Over S$500 million in withdrawals were processed that single week. To put that in perspective: just weeks earlier, BlackRock — the world’s largest asset manager with more than $10 trillion under management — blocked nearly half of its investors who tried to pull money out of a $26 billion private credit fund. Not because it was failing. Because too many people wanted out at once.
Chocolate Finance suspended instant withdrawals on March 10, 2025. The MAS (Singapore’s central bank) stepped in on March 12 to confirm that all customer funds were fully segregated and held with custodians like HSBC and State Street the entire time.
This is the part a lot of people missed: our money was never sitting on Chocolate Finance’s balance sheet. It was in ringfenced custody accounts. This is fundamentally different from a bank run, where depositor funds can be at risk if the institution fails.
So why did I not panic? Because instant withdrawals were always a promotional perk — not a guaranteed feature. The standard redemption timeline of 3–10 business days that kicked in was actually normal for this type of investment product. Most people just hadn’t read the fine print.
Instant withdrawals are unlikely to come back now. CEO Walter de Oude said they currently process 90% of withdrawal requests within 30 hours and are working toward same-day processing for 90%.
What Chocolate Finance actually does with your money
This is the question I wish more people asked before signing up: Chocolate Finance is not a bank. It’s a managed cash investment account.
Your funds get invested into short-duration fixed-income and money market funds. As of 2026, the portfolio includes:
- Dimensional Short-Term Investment Grade Fixed Income SGD Fund
- UOBAM United SGD Fund
- Fullerton Short Term Interest Rate SGD Fund
- LionGlobal Short Duration Bond SGD Fund
- Amova Short Term Bond Fund
Compared to 2024, they’ve added more funds to spread out liquidity risk while balancing returns. And here’s something that matters: Chocolate Finance buys the institutional share classes of these funds — the cheaper versions that retail investors can’t access on their own.
The platform only earns performance fees when it beats its stated return target. Most DIY platforms charge upfront or annual fees regardless of how your money performs. For the level of returns being targeted, I don’t think replicating this yourself is worth the effort.
Today’s rates — and how they stack up
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Chocolate Finance was offering 4.2% p.a. on your first S$20,000 when I wrote my last review. Today the numbers look like this:
- SGD Account: 2% p.a. on first S$20,000; 1.8% p.a. on next S$30,000; up to 1.8% above S$50,000
- USD Account: 4.1% p.a. on first US$20,000 (roughly S$26,800); 3.8% p.a. on next US$30,000; up to 3.8% above US$50,000
Yes, the SGD rate is lower than it was. But look at what else has happened since:
- Local bank fixed deposit rates have slipped to around 1.6% p.a.
- The latest Singapore Savings Bonds issue offers a first-year yield of just 1.35%
- MAS T-bill yields (Singapore’s short-term government securities) have steadily declined
Chocolate Finance has always aimed for about 50 basis points above the best available 3-month fixed deposit rate, and that’s exactly what they’re still doing. By that measure, it remains competitive — just in a lower-rate environment.
The USD account is where the real action is
This is the part I find most compelling right now. While SGD rates have cooled alongside Singapore’s rate environment, the USD account still offers 4.1% p.a. on your first US$20,000 and 3.8% p.a. on the next US$30,000.
If you hold USD savings or are comfortable with some forex exposure, that’s a meaningful return on cash sitting idle in a multi-currency account. Combined with SGD returns on your first S$50,000, you’re looking at roughly S$117,000+ of capital supported by the Top-Up Programme.
One thing worth noting: the USD has been weaker against the SGD lately, partly due to tariff uncertainty and recession fears in the US. That actually makes converting SGD to USD at current rates an interesting move — if the dollar strengthens again later, you’d benefit on both interest earned and exchange rate gain.
But forex is tricky. I wouldn’t recommend it without thinking through your own situation first.
The Top-Up Programme: why it matters
What started as what some people thought was a short promotional offer has been extended year after year. Here’s how it works: if the underlying portfolio doesn’t hit the stated rates, Chocolate Finance makes up the difference out of its own pocket.
The programme runs until June 30, 2026, or until total assets under management reach S$1.5 billion — whichever comes first. That means you can treat the 2% p.a. SGD and 4.1% p.a. USD rates on your first S$20,000 as committed returns for now.
And if they fail to deliver? Then you pull your cash out and move it somewhere else. That’s the beauty of no lock-ins.
So should you still put money in?
Here’s my honest take, from someone who has had real money here since 2023.
The SGD rates are less exciting than they were two years ago. That’s just the market right now. If you’re purely chasing yield on cash with no lock-ins, there isn’t a dramatically better option out there for Singapore-based investors.
What hasn’t changed:
- Your money is held in segregated custody with established institutions — HSBC, State Street, BNP Paribas, and Citibank
- The management team survived a very public stress test. Everyone who wanted their money back got it
- MAS confirmed the ringfencing structure worked exactly as designed
- Quite a few people who panicked and withdrew during March 2025 actually put their money back later
The March episode reinforced my confidence rather than weakened it. Most financial startups haven’t even been through one stress test.
Treat Chocolate Finance for what it is: a managed cash investment account, not a bank savings account. You don’t get SDIC insurance (Singapore’s deposit insurance scheme) because it’s not a bank — but your funds are held separately in custody accounts at major banks.
It works well for spare cash you won’t need instantly overnight. Don’t park your emergency fund here if you might need S$30,000 on two hours’ notice. But as a place to put non-emergency cash and earn more than your savings account? That still makes sense to me.
My advice: check the rates in the app today, look at what your current bank is offering on comparable products, and let the math decide. If you want to explore it yourself, you can sign up for Chocolate Finance here.
This review is my own opinion — I’m not a licensed financial advisor, and this isn’t investment advice. Always do your own research before making financial decisions.