SCB Simply Cash vs Maybank Family & Friends vs CIMB Visa Signature 2026

Updated: September 2026.

TL;DR verdict

Pick Standard Chartered Simply Cash if you cannot commit to a monthly minimum spend and want flat unlimited 1.5 percent on virtually everything, with no cap and no minimum. Pick Maybank Family & Friends if you have predictable monthly spend of at least SGD 800 across five customisable categories and want 8 percent on those categories. Pick CIMB Visa Signature if your spend concentrates on beauty and wellness, online shopping, groceries, pet shops and vet clinics, or cruises, and you can hit the SGD 800 monthly minimum, since the card pays up to 10 percent on those five categories with no annual fee ever. None of the three uses a foreign currency conversion sweetener as a hook, so match card to spend shape rather than to travel plans.

Where the cashback maths comes from

Three levers shape the payout on each of these cards. First is the base rate. Simply Cash pays 1.5 percent flat on almost all spend; Maybank F&F pays 0.3 percent base and 8 percent on chosen categories; CIMB Visa Signature pays 0.2 percent base and 10 percent on category spend. Second is the minimum spend gate. Simply Cash has no gate; Maybank F&F requires SGD 800 monthly spend to unlock the 8 percent tier; CIMB Visa Signature also requires SGD 800 monthly spend for the 10 percent tier. Third is the monthly cashback cap. Simply Cash is uncapped; Maybank F&F caps cashback at SGD 80 monthly (roughly SGD 1,000 category spend at 8 percent); CIMB Visa Signature caps at SGD 100 monthly with a per-category cap of SGD 20.

According to Standard Chartered's Simply Cash product page, "Get unlimited 1.5% cashback on all your eligible spend with no cap and no minimum spend requirement, and enjoy a first year annual fee waiver." (Standard Chartered Singapore, 2026). Maybank's Family & Friends page confirms the 2026 refresh: "From 1 January 2026, cardholders can select from 10 categories and earn 8% cashback on 5 chosen categories with a minimum spend of S$800 per statement month." (Maybank Singapore, 2026). CIMB's Visa Signature product page states, "Enjoy up to 10% cashback on beauty and wellness, online shopping, groceries, pet shops and vet clinics, and cruises, capped at S$100 total per statement month with no annual fee ever." (CIMB Bank Singapore, 2026).

Rate and terms table, September 2026

Card	Base rate	Category rate	Minimum monthly spend	Monthly cashback cap	Annual fee
SCB Simply Cash	1.5 percent	(no category tier)	None	Uncapped	SGD 196.20 (first year waived)
Maybank Family & Friends	0.3 percent	8 percent on 5 of 10 categories	SGD 800	SGD 80	SGD 80 (waivable)
CIMB Visa Signature	0.2 percent	10 percent on 5 fixed categories	SGD 800	SGD 100 (max SGD 20 per category)	None ever

The three cards side by side

Standard Chartered Simply Cash is Standard Chartered Singapore's flat-rate everyday card. No categories, no minimum, no cap. The math is boring on purpose. At 1.5 percent flat, SGD 2,000 monthly spend returns SGD 30 cashback. The first year fee waiver is standard; year two onward requires SGD 20,000 annual spend to auto-waive the SGD 196.20 fee. Contactless payment, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay all supported. Best paired as a base card for irregular spend that would not clear a category minimum on any other card.

Maybank Family & Friends Card refreshed its terms on 1 January 2026. Cardholders now pick 5 of 10 categories to earn 8 percent cashback: dining, groceries, transport (including SimplyGo), petrol, data communication and online TV subscriptions, retail (Uniqlo, Muji, Cotton On, and others), pharmacy and health, sports and fitness, and beauty and wellness. Minimum spend is SGD 800 per statement month. Cashback cap is SGD 80 monthly. At the cap, effective blended return is 4 percent on the SGD 2,000 that gets you to the cap. Annual fee SGD 80 with waiver on request in year two.

CIMB Visa Signature is CIMB Bank Singapore's flagship no-annual-fee cashback card. Five fixed categories: beauty and wellness, online shopping, groceries, pet shops and vet clinics, and cruises. The 10 percent tier requires SGD 800 monthly spend across the statement cycle. Cashback caps at SGD 100 monthly and SGD 20 per category, which means SGD 200 per category per month is the maximum earning threshold before rate collapses to 0.2 percent. The card carries no annual fee ever, no waiver request needed. Best for spenders whose lifestyle sits inside those five categories consistently.

Where each card wins

Simply Cash wins on: flexibility. You do not need to plan spend, hit a minimum, or track categories. The 1.5 percent applies to Grab, Shopee, hawker centres via PayNow QR (which some SC cards code as retail), utility bills paid by card, insurance premiums, and everything else that other category cards exclude. For a spender with irregular monthly patterns (freelancer, contract worker, parent on maternity leave), Simply Cash guarantees the return regardless of what the month looks like. Also the strongest card for the SGD 300 to 800 monthly spender who cannot clear any minimum gate.

Maybank F&F wins on: dining plus one high-frequency category. If you spend SGD 400 monthly on dining and SGD 400 on groceries or transport, F&F pays SGD 64 at 8 percent versus Simply Cash's SGD 12 at 1.5 percent on the same SGD 800. The category flexibility (pick your 5 of 10) means the card adapts to your lifestyle rather than the reverse. Also uniquely useful for pet owners paying pharmacy and health category regularly.

CIMB Visa Signature wins on: beauty, online shopping, and groceries. The 10 percent rate is the highest among the three when you hit the SGD 800 threshold and stay under the SGD 20 per-category monthly cap. For a spender who does SGD 200 monthly on Sephora, SGD 200 online at Shopee or Lazada, and SGD 200 groceries at FairPrice, CIMB pays SGD 60 (at 10 percent) versus Simply Cash's SGD 9 on the same SGD 600. Combined with no annual fee, the effective cost of holding the card is zero.

Use case segmentation

For the SGD 500 to 800 monthly spender: Simply Cash. You will not clear the SGD 800 gate on F&F or Visa Signature consistently, so the effort of tracking categories pays back nothing. Take the 1.5 percent flat, take the free first year, revisit at year end.

For the SGD 800 to 2,000 monthly spender concentrated on lifestyle categories: CIMB Visa Signature. If your spend maps onto beauty and wellness, online, groceries, pet, or cruises, the 10 percent pays back SGD 80 to 100 monthly. The no-annual-fee-ever removes the year-two decision.

For the SGD 1,500 to 3,000 monthly spender across dining, transport, and groceries: Maybank Family & Friends. The five-category flexibility captures dining plus two commuting-adjacent categories at 8 percent. Cashback cap of SGD 80 is the ceiling but easier to hit than CIMB's per-category SGD 20 cap.

For the household with two cards in play: Pair Simply Cash as the base flat-rate card with either CIMB Visa Signature (if beauty and online dominate) or Maybank F&F (if dining and groceries dominate). The base card catches every non-category spend, the specialist card catches the concentrated categories.

When this does NOT apply

None of the three cards optimises for miles or points, so if you fly monthly and want to accumulate KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, or Avios, look at DBS Altitude, UOB PRVI Miles, or Citi PremierMiles instead. None of the three offers a competitive foreign currency conversion rate; expect the standard 3.25 to 3.5 percent FX markup on overseas transactions. Do not use these cards abroad unless the base cashback (1.5 percent Simply Cash, or 0.2 to 0.3 percent on the other two for non-category spend) covers your FX loss.

CIMB Visa Signature excludes several merchant categories from the 10 percent tier: utility bills, government payments, insurance premiums, education, hospital and medical, telco recurring bills, and any spend at a merchant coded as a supermarket that is not on the qualifying list. Verify the merchant MCC on your first statement to confirm the category coding matches.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore's Notice 635 on unsecured credit facilities requires all Singapore banks to conduct a total debt servicing ratio and income assessment before card issuance. Minimum annual income for Simply Cash is SGD 30,000 (Singaporean or PR) or SGD 60,000 (foreigner); F&F is SGD 30,000 (main card) or SGD 60,000 (foreigner); Visa Signature is SGD 30,000 (main card) or SGD 60,000 (foreigner).

ShopBack utility for the sign-up

Use ShopBack to compare card sign-up offers across Simply Cash, Maybank Family & Friends, and CIMB Visa Signature. Check ShopBack when the bank runs a bonus cashback or sign-up gift campaign (typically 9.9, National Day, and year-end windows). Activate ShopBack via the Chrome extension when you land on the application page so the click-through fires and the sign-up bonus tracks. Compare on ShopBack across the three cards before applying since the sign-up cashback often outweighs the first-year earn differential.

Frequently asked questions

Which cashback card is best for Singapore everyday spend in 2026?

Simply Cash wins for spenders under SGD 800 monthly or with irregular patterns; CIMB Visa Signature wins for concentrated beauty, online, and grocery spend above SGD 800; Maybank Family & Friends wins for SGD 1,500 to 3,000 monthly spread across dining, transport, and groceries. Match card to your monthly spend pattern rather than the highest headline rate.

What is the minimum spend on SCB Simply Cash?

There is no minimum spend on Simply Cash. The 1.5 percent cashback applies to all eligible transactions from the first dollar. The annual fee is SGD 196.20 (first year waived), and year two onwards waives automatically if annual spend hits SGD 20,000.

How does the Maybank Family & Friends 8 percent tier work?

Pick 5 of 10 categories at card activation (dining, groceries, transport including SimplyGo, petrol, data communication and online TV, retail, pharmacy and health, sports and fitness, beauty and wellness). Spend at least SGD 800 across the statement month to unlock 8 percent on the chosen 5 categories, capped at SGD 80 total monthly cashback. From 1 January 2026, the category list and terms were revised so verify current categories on maybank2u.com.sg before applying.

Does CIMB Visa Signature really have no annual fee?

Yes. CIMB Visa Signature carries no annual fee ever, with no minimum spend requirement to waive it. This differentiates it from most premium cashback cards which either charge SGD 150 to 200 annually or waive on request. Combined with the 10 percent category tier, the card holds zero holding cost.

What is the cashback cap on CIMB Visa Signature?

Cashback caps at SGD 100 total per statement month, with SGD 20 per category cap. Once you hit SGD 20 in cashback in beauty and wellness, further beauty spend that statement earns the base 0.2 percent. To hit the full SGD 100 you need to spread spend across all five categories: beauty and wellness, online shopping, groceries, pet shops and vet clinics, and cruises.

Which card is best for grocery shopping in Singapore?

CIMB Visa Signature pays 10 percent on groceries up to SGD 200 monthly grocery spend (SGD 20 cap). Maybank F&F pays 8 percent on groceries if selected as one of your 5 categories, capped at SGD 80 total monthly. For monthly grocery spend under SGD 200, CIMB wins on rate; over SGD 200 grocery-heavy, F&F with grocery selected and cap headroom edges ahead.

Are these cards good for overseas transactions?

No. None of the three offers a competitive foreign currency conversion. Expect the standard 3.25 to 3.5 percent FX markup. For overseas spend, use a miles card (Citi PremierMiles, UOB PRVI Miles) or an FX-friendly card (YouTrip, Revolut, Wise) instead.

Can I hold all three cards at the same time?

Yes, subject to MAS Notice 635 total debt servicing ratio checks. Simply Cash, Maybank F&F, and CIMB Visa Signature are issued by three different banks, so cross-bank credit limit rules do not aggregate at issuance. Your total unsecured credit exposure across all cards and personal loans cannot exceed 12 times monthly income.

What is the sign-up bonus for these cards in September 2026?

Standard Chartered periodically offers SGD 300 to 350 cashback for Simply Cash sign-ups meeting a spend threshold; Maybank runs SGD 250 to 300 cashback plus luggage for F&F; CIMB offers SGD 200 to 300 cashback for Visa Signature. Verify current offers on shopback.sg/credit-cards or the issuer site before applying since the bonus amount and eligibility windows change monthly.

Which card offers the highest cashback rate on Sephora Singapore?

CIMB Visa Signature at 10 percent (up to SGD 20 monthly cap on the beauty and wellness category). Maybank F&F at 8 percent if beauty and wellness is one of your 5 selected categories. Combined with ShopBack cashback on top of the merchant transaction, the stack can exceed 15 percent on qualifying Sephora orders paid on CIMB Visa Signature.

How does ShopBack cashback stack with these cards?

ShopBack cashback earns separately from the card cashback. Click through from the ShopBack app or site to the merchant (or activate the extension), pay with your Simply Cash, F&F, or Visa Signature card, and both cashbacks track. Card cashback appears on your next statement; ShopBack cashback shows as Pending within 48 hours and confirms after the merchant's returns window closes.

Do these cards support Apple Pay and PayNow?

All three support Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Simply Cash and Visa Signature support NETS FlashPay top-ups (contactless transit). PayNow transfers made from the card's linked account earn no card cashback since PayNow moves money from your bank account, not the card. Card cashback only applies to card transactions.

What is the minimum income for these cards?

Simply Cash and CIMB Visa Signature both require SGD 30,000 minimum annual income for Singapore citizens and PRs, SGD 60,000 for foreigners. Maybank F&F requires SGD 30,000 for the main cardholder. All three follow MAS Notice 635 guidelines on unsecured credit assessment.

Which card is best for online shopping on Shopee, Lazada, and Amazon?

CIMB Visa Signature at 10 percent on online shopping is the strongest single category rate. Cap of SGD 20 monthly in online category means SGD 200 online spend hits the cap. For higher online monthly spend, Maybank F&F with online-adjacent categories (retail, data) selected covers wider merchant coding at 8 percent. Simply Cash at 1.5 percent is the fallback for online spend above the F&F cap.

Primary sources referenced

• Standard Chartered Simply Cash Credit Card
• Maybank Family & Friends Card
• CIMB Visa Signature Cashback Credit Card
• MAS Notice 635 Unsecured Credit Facilities
• MoneySmart Singapore cashback card comparison

Pick the card that matches your spend, not the headline rate

Simply Cash for irregular spenders. Maybank F&F for lifestyle-diverse SGD 1,500 to 3,000 monthly spenders. CIMB Visa Signature for concentrated beauty, online, and grocery spenders above SGD 800. Use ShopBack to compare card sign-up offers before you apply so the bonus cashback stacks on top of the first-year earn. Start at shopback.sg/credit-cards for the current card comparison and sign-up bonuses.

Cashback rates, card terms, and sign-up bonuses change. Verify current terms on the issuing bank's official site before applying. ShopBack receives a commission when readers apply for cards through a cashback link. This commission does not vary by editorial coverage.

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