【Renminbi Short-term Savings Insurance Comparison 2025】Which one offers the best guaranteed return? 4 products deliver returns exceeding 2%

Many residents hold RMB deposits, but the mainland is currently in an interest-rate cutting cycle, and mainland banks have repeatedly lowered deposit rates. Major banks in Hong Kong offer only about just over 1% for a 3-month RMB time deposit, which really fails to meet the expectations of rate-chasers seeking asset growth. If you want to seek better returns, short-term RMB savings insurance may be a better option. 10Life found at least four short-term savings insurance (RMB) products that guarantee an internal rate of return (IRR, which can be understood as the annualized rate of return) equal to or exceeding 2%. The contribution period is generally 1 or 2 years, and most products can be purchased online, making it convenient for everyone to lock in higher rates.

4 RMB short-term savings insurance products with IRR of 2% or above

Table 1 shows six RMB savings products with terms of 3 and 5 years. Among them, four have guaranteed IRRs at maturity of 2% or above, higher than typical bank time deposits. The best performer is Liqiao Life Insurance’s 5-year "Xi Ying Yu 'Interest' Five-Year Savings Protector 3", with a guaranteed IRR of 2.41%; the premium payment period is 1 year or single-premium.

All RMB short-term savings insurance products yield negative returns if surrendered in the first year

As shown in Table 1, all products listed would "lose money" if surrendered in the first year. The largest loss is from Bank of China Life’s Target 3-Year Online Savings Insurance Plan (payment period 1 year or single-premium), whose guaranteed IRR on first-year surrender falls as low as -17.43%, meaning that an early surrender would result in principal loss. Therefore, consumers considering a purchase should take liquidity into account to avoid net losses.

RMB short-term savings insurance: consider exchange rate fluctuations before buying

Before buying RMB short-term savings insurance, policyholders need to consider exchange rate volatility. Taking USD to offshore RMB as an example, the price range over the past 5 years has been 6.3 to 7.42, a high-low swing of over 17%.

If at policy maturity the RMB has depreciated and the policyholder chooses to convert to HKD, even if interest has been earned, the exchange rate loss could offset gains and affect overall returns; conversely, if the RMB appreciates, the policyholder will enjoy an "additional benefit", effectively earning both interest and currency gains.

To earn both interest and currency gains, assess RMB trends

Because short-term savings insurance policies typically have terms of 3 or 5 years, you can refer to opinions from different market participants to assess RMB performance over the next 3 to 5 years and evaluate whether the RMB will further appreciate on top of the guaranteed return above 2%, allowing you to earn both interest and currency gains.

Finally, if consumers want to compare short-term savings insurance products in different currencies, they can visit 10Life’s product decoder:

• Compare short-term savings insurance (USD)
• Compare short-term savings insurance (HKD)
• Compare short-term savings insurance (RMB) 

Further reading:
[Internal Rate of Return] What does the IRR of savings insurance and annuities mean? How is it calculated?

Note: This article was last updated on 13 August 2025.

This English version of this article has been generated by machine translation powered by AI. It is provided solely for reference purposes. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between this translation and the original Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.