If you still call it a Kim Eng trade, you are not wrong, just a brand cycle behind. Maybank Kim Eng became Maybank Securities, and the old KE Trade platform is now Maybank Trade, but the account behind it is the same SGX-stalwart broker your parents probably used. The number most reviews skip: the price you pay depends entirely on which account you open. The cash account that holds shares in your own CDP charges from 0.275% with a S$25 minimum per SGX order. The prefunded account, where Maybank holds the shares in custody, drops that to 0.12% with a S$10 minimum. Same broker, more than double the cost on a small trade. This 2026 guide gives the real figures, the CDP-ownership trade-off, CPF and SRS support, margin and rewards, all checked against Maybank's own Singapore pages and the MAS directory in June 2026.
Kim Eng Securities was a Singapore stockbroking name from the 1970s. Maybank bought it and ran it as Maybank Kim Eng for years, which is why the trading site lived at ketrade.com.sg and everyone said "Kim Eng trade" out of habit. The group has since standardised the brand to Maybank Securities, and the retail platform is marketed as Maybank Trade. The licensed entity is Maybank Securities Pte. Ltd., the investment-banking arm of Malayan Banking Berhad, listed on the MAS Financial Institutions Directory and a CDP Depository Agent.
What this means for you: a "Kim Eng trade" today is a Maybank Securities trade. The legacy domains still resolve, the account numbers carry over, and trading representatives many older investors have used for decades are still there. If you are choosing your first broker rather than reconnecting an old one, our step-by-step guide to opening a brokerage and CDP account covers the paperwork order before you commit to any platform.
Maybank Securities runs two retail account types, and the gap between them is the single most important number in this guide. The cash (basic trading) account settles into your own Central Depository (CDP) account, so the shares are registered in your name. The prefunded account is collateralised and custodian-held, meaning you park money first and Maybank holds the shares; in exchange you get sharply lower commission.
Here are the steady-state online SGX rates as published on Maybank Securities Singapore's pricing pages, verified June 2026. Foreign-market trades add exchange, clearing and any local stamp or withholding charges on top; SGX trades add CDP clearing of 0.0325%, an SGX trading fee of 0.0075%, GST on the brokerage and clearing, plus a S$0.35 settlement-instruction fee per CDP settlement.
| Account type | Where shares sit | SGX commission | Minimum per order | US-stock minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash (CDP-linked) | Your own CDP account | 0.275% up to S$50k; 0.22% S$50k-S$100k; 0.20% above S$100k | S$25 | US$20 |
| Prefunded (custodian) | Maybank custody | 0.12% flat | S$10 | US$20 |
Percentages hide where the minimum bites. On a small order the S$25 cash-account floor dominates, which is why a beginner buying S$1,500 of an SGX counter pays the same S$25 whether the stock moves or not. The prefunded floor of S$10 is gentler, and the 0.12% rate only starts to matter on larger tickets. Use the worked figures below before you decide which account to open; you can sanity-check the drag against long-run returns with our compound interest calculator.
The pattern: for trades under roughly S$9,000 on SGX, the cash account's S$25 minimum is the binding cost and prefunded is dramatically cheaper per dollar invested. Above that, both accounts charge their percentage and the prefunded rate (0.12%) is still less than half the cash rate (0.275%). The catch is custody, covered in the next section.
| Trade size (SGX) | Cash account (0.275%, min S$25) | Prefunded (0.12%, min S$10) |
|---|---|---|
| S$1,500 | S$25.00 (minimum) | S$10.00 (minimum) |
| S$5,000 | S$25.00 (minimum) | S$10.00 (minimum) |
| S$10,000 | S$27.50 | S$12.00 |
| S$30,000 | S$82.50 | S$36.00 |
| S$60,000 | S$132.00 (0.22% tier) | S$72.00 |
Cheaper is not automatically better. With the cash account your SGX shares sit in your own CDP account, so you are the registered legal owner, you receive dividends and annual reports directly, you can vote at AGMs, and you can transfer the holding to another broker later. If Maybank Securities ever ran into trouble, your CDP-held shares are not part of its books. For long-term holders of blue chips and REITs, that direct ownership is worth the higher commission.
The prefunded account keeps shares in Maybank Securities' custody. You can only sell them through Maybank, corporate actions like dividends and rights are processed by Maybank on your behalf, and moving the holding elsewhere means selling or running a custodian transfer. The lower fee is the reward for giving up the CDP linkage. If the difference between CDP and custodian holdings is new to you, our explainer on what a CDP account is sets out exactly what changes. The clean rule: trade small and often, lean prefunded; buy and hold SGX for years, lean CDP cash.
Breadth is a real advantage here. The Maybank Trade platform reaches multiple Asian exchanges plus the US and Hong Kong, historically up to eleven markets including SGX, Bursa Malaysia, Hong Kong, the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges, Jakarta, the Philippines, Thailand and the US (NYSE and NASDAQ). The mobile app currently lists trading across nine exchanges. For US names, the prefunded account brings the rate to 0.12% with a US$20 minimum.
The feature low-cost app brokers usually lack: Maybank Securities accepts CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) and Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) monies for eligible SGX-listed stocks. CPF-payment trades show a "CPF" indicator against approved counters, and SRS works for most SGX stocks except ADRs and some bonds. You still need a CPF Investment Account with DBS/POSB, OCBC or UOB, and an SRS account with an agent bank, and SGD must be the settlement currency or the trade reverts to cash. If you are weighing whether to deploy idle SRS at all, read our CPFIS guide first.
Beyond plain stock buying, Maybank Securities offers share margin financing for investors who want to borrow against their portfolio. Published financing rates have run around 5.8% per annum on SGD facilities, 6% on HKD and 7% on USD (Maybank's rate card, dated figures that the broker revises, so confirm the live number before drawing on margin). Borrowing to buy stocks magnifies losses as much as gains and is not a beginner tool; if you are still learning the difference between owning and borrowing to invest, our piece on investing versus trading is the better starting point.
On loyalty, the Rewards programme awards points on commission paid (historically one point per roughly S$5 of commission), redeemable for trade rebates, live prices, market depth and news. New-account sign-up promotions and trade rebates rotate through the year, so the headline offer when you read this may differ from a friend's. Treat promos as a tiebreaker, not the reason to choose a broker; the account-type fee gap above dwarfs any sign-up rebate.
Against newer platforms, Maybank Securities is the established, full-service, CDP-capable choice rather than the rock-bottom one. App-first brokers undercut it heavily on raw commission and minimums, but most hold your SGX shares in custody by default rather than your own CDP. The decision is less about a single cheapest number and more about ownership model, support and the markets you actually trade.
If outright cost is your priority and you are comfortable with custodian holdings, compare the figures in our reviews of moomoo, Tiger Brokers and Interactive Brokers before deciding.
| Broker | SGX commission (typical) | Minimum per SGX order | SGX shares held in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maybank Securities (cash) | 0.275% | S$25 | Your own CDP |
| Maybank Securities (prefunded) | 0.12% | S$10 | Maybank custody |
| moomoo SG | around 0.03% + platform fee | around S$0.99 floor | Custody (CDP optional) |
| Tiger Brokers | around 0.06% all-in | around S$1.99 | Custody |
| Interactive Brokers | around 0.08% (tiered) | around S$2.50 | Custody |
Yes, if you want to own SGX blue chips and REITs in your own CDP for the long haul, invest with CPF or SRS, value a named trading representative, or trade Asian markets the app brokers cover thinly. The cash account's S$25 minimum is the price of direct ownership and full-service support, and for buy-and-hold portfolios that drag is small relative to a decade of dividends.
It is harder to justify if you trade small and frequently in US stocks, where app brokers cost a fraction per order and you are indifferent to CDP versus custody. In that case the prefunded account narrows the gap on SGX but rarely wins outright. Match the account to the behaviour: long-term SGX ownership and retirement-account investing point to Maybank cash; high-frequency, cost-first trading points elsewhere.
Yes. Kim Eng Securities became Maybank Kim Eng after Maybank acquired it, and the group has since rebranded the retail business to Maybank Securities. The old KE Trade platform is now Maybank Trade, but it is the same licensed broker, regulated by MAS, with the same accounts and trading representatives carried over.
On the cash account that uses your own CDP, online SGX commission starts at 0.275% with a S$25 minimum per order. On the prefunded custodian account it drops to 0.12% with a S$10 minimum. Both add CDP clearing of 0.0325%, an SGX trading fee of 0.0075% and GST, verified June 2026.
Yes, but only on the cash (basic trading) account, where SGX shares settle into your personal CDP account and you are the registered owner. The cheaper prefunded account holds shares in Maybank's custody instead, so you trade lower ownership portability for a lower commission rate.
Yes. Maybank Securities accepts CPF Investment Scheme and SRS funds for eligible SGX-listed stocks. You first need a CPF Investment Account with DBS/POSB, OCBC or UOB, or an SRS account with an agent bank, and you must select SGD as the settlement currency or the trade reverts to a cash trade.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.