UOB One Account Review – Highest interest rate amongst local banks?

What is the UOB One account?

The UOB One account has consistently been a favourite high yield-savings account in the Beansprout community, especially after they raised the maximum bonus interest rate on the UOB One account from 3.6% to 7.8% p.a.

The UOB One account is the flagship savings account of UOB which allows you make minimal effort to earn the maximum interest rate possible. 

Let us dive deeper to find out more about the UOB One account and how you can make the most of the UOB One account.

What is the interest rate on the UOB One account?

The UOB One account allows you to earn a tiered interest rate of up to 7.8% per annum with two simple steps. 

All you have to do is to spend a minimum sum of $500 monthly on eligible UOB credit/debit cards and credit your salary via GIRO.

The UOB One account does not require you to purchase insurance or an investment scheme to unlock the highest tier.

If you are in the midst of adulting, you should have an easy time meeting the requirements to earn the higher interest rate on the UOB One account.

To understand how the interest rate on the UOB One account works, let us look at the breakdown below.

We shall start by illustrating the interest rate earned on the UOB One account if you are able to credit your salary via GIRO. 

For the first monthly average balance of S$30,000 in your account, you earn an interest rate of 3.85% p.a. if you are able to spend a minimum $500 on eligible UOB card and credit your salary via GIRO.

The interest rate earned rises to 3.90% p.a. on your next S$30,000 of monthly average balance, all the way up to 7.80% p.a. on your monthly average balance between S$75,000 and S$100,000.

Note that the interest rate shown below is tiered and only earned on a portion of the monthly average balance rather than all your deposits. This means that if you have S$80,000 of deposits, the interest rate of 7.80% per annum will only be applied to your monthly average balance from S$75,000 to S$80,000 (ie S$5,000 of deposits). 

We can also look at the effective interest rate earned on the UOB One account across various tiers. To calculate the effective interest rate, we can add the total interest received across different tiers.

The effective interest rate is the average interest rate you would get by dividing the total interest earned by your average balances.

You might also be interested to know that salary credit transactions made via PayNow reflected as “PAYNOW SALA” will be considered eligible for bonus interest on UOB One Account. 

What is the interest rate earned on the UOB One account if I am unable to credit my salary?

If you are unable to credit your salary via GIRO, you can always make 3 GIRO debit transactions in each calendar month to qualify for the bonus interest rate (albeit a little lesser). 

For those who are wondering how to make at least 3 GIRO payments, here are some ideas:

1. Credit card bills (Yes! I was also amazed to find out that this method counts – say yay to paying credit card bills on time and no to paying late fees)
2. Electricity bills
3. Mobile phone bills
4. Income tax (apply with IRAS)

What are the eligibility requirements for the UOB One account?

To qualify for the UOB One account, you must fulfill the following requirements.

• You will need to be 18 years and above to open a UOB One account. 
• The minimum initial deposit for the UOB One account to S$1,000.
• You will also need to maintain a monthly average balance in your UOB One account of at least S$1,000, or a S$5 fall-below fee will be imposed. This fall-below fee is waived for the first 6 months for accounts opened online. 
• A S$30 early account closure fee will levied if you close your UOB One account within 6 months from opening. 

The full terms and conditions can be found here.

Is there any catch to the UOB One account? 

Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any catch to the UOB One account. What you see is really what you get! 

UOB One does not require you to deposit fresh funds to be eligible for the bonus interest rate. 

Also, do note that the interest rate earned on your UOB One account falls to 0.05% per annum for the portion of your monthly average balances above S$100,000.

To maximise your interest earned, you might want to consider the UOB Stash account or another high yield savings account for balances above S$100,000. 

Which cards are eligible for the UOB One spending? 

One thing you need to note is that the $500 card spend must be done on an eligible card.

The eligible UOB Credit Cards include the UOB One Card, UOB Lady's Card (all card types), and UOB YOLO Credit Card.

The eligible UOB Debit Cards include the UOB One Debit Visa Card and Mastercard, UOB Lady's Debit Card, and UOB Mighty FX Debit Card.

The UOB EVOL credit card, UOB Absolute Cashback Card and UOB KrisFlyer Credit Cards are not eligible for UOB One Spending. 

If you are looking for a fuss-free card, the UOB One debit card offers 10% cashback on dining, online shopping, groceries, transport.

You can find the list of eligible cards here. 

Are there any ongoing UOB credit card promos?

Sign up for a UOB credit card and enjoy 1x chance to win your share of up to S$200,000 in prizes in SingSaver's epic 101! Milestone Giveaway, plus a chance to win S$5,000 bonus cash each week on top of ongoing promotions.

In addition, first 200 eligible new-to-UOB Credit Card members who spend at least S$1,000 per month for 2 consecutive months from card approval date will also receive S$350 worth of Grab vouchers.

Learn more about UOB Credit card promo here.

UOB One vs OCBC 360 vs DBS Multiplier – Which is the best savings account in Singapore? 

Many of you are probably wondering if the UOB One account is better than the OCBC 360 account and DBS Multiplier account.

This is especially so after the DBS Multiplier account was made simpler with effect from 1 August 2023. 

As there are many tiers involved, we have done the math to find out which is the best savings account in Singapore.

Our calculation is based on a few assumptions – 

1. You do not buy insurance/investment products from the Bank 
2. You save and spend at least $500 respectively a month and 
3. You credit your monthly salary into the bank 
4. You spend the minimum amount with their credit cards

To find out the maximum interest rate you can earn on different savings accounts, check out our Compare Savings Accounts tool.

Are there any signup promos for the UOB One account?

There are several promotions that UOB is currently running for the UOB One account.

#1 - Online Account Opening Promotion

Firstly, you can get S$30 cash when you apply for an eligible UOB savings account online and deposit S$5,000 Fresh Funds. This promotion is only limited to the first 200 New-to-UOB Deposits/Existing-to-UOB Deposits customers per month during the promotion period.

#2 - UOB SalaryPlus Promotion

Next, receive additional S$130 cash in the UOB SalaryPlus promotion when you pay your bills, credit your salary and dividends with UOB. 

• Get S$30 GIRO Payment Cash Reward when you successfully perform bill payment (min. S$30) from an eligible UOB Account via GIRO
• Get S$50 Salary Cash Reward when you successfully credit your monthly salary (min. S$1,600) into an eligible UOB Account via GIRO or PayNow. For full-time National Serviceman (NSF), you must successfully credit your monthly salary or allowance of min. S$500.
• Get S$50 CDP Credit Cash Reward when you successfully credit your CDP dividends (min. S$50) into an eligible UOB Account via Direct Credit Service.

To qualify for the UOB SalaryPlus promotion, register your participation here between 1 October 2023 and 30 December 2023 (both dates inclusive).

#3 - Christmas Savings Promotion

Lastly,  earn up to S$1,500 guaranteed cash when you top up an eligible UOB savings account and register your participation.

Promotion ends 30 December 2023. T&Cs apply.

Final verdict on UOB One Account

We like the UOB One account as it allows you to earn an attractive interest rates on your deposits with minimal effort.

It is also fairly simple for an average working adult in Singapore to meet the requirements across the two categories to reach the higher interest rate tier of 7.8% per annum.

With an effective interest rate of up to 5.0% per annum, the interest rate on the UOB One account is one of the highest amongst savings accounts in Singapore. In fact, it is also higher than the T-bill and Singapore Savings Bond.

The drawback of the UOB One account is that the interest rate  falls to 0.05% per annum for the portion of your monthly average balances above S$100,000. To maximise your interest earned, you might want to consider the UOB Stash account or another high yield savings account for balances above S$100,000. 

Join the Beansprout Telegram group and Facebook group to get the latest tips on making your savings work harder. 

How to open a UOB One Account

You can open a savings account online here, get approval within minutes and start transacting instantly.

To apply you will require the following:

• New to UOB customers, existing to UOB customers and joint applicants: Retrieve with Myinfo using Singpass login
• Existing to UOB customers: Personal Internet Banking login details 
• Existing to UOB customers applying for single-named account application: Credit/Debit card number and PIN