UOB One now offers up to 7.8% p.a. interest. Is it better than OCBC 360?

Today, UOB raised the maximum bonus interest rate on the UOB One account from 3.6% to 7.8% p.a.

If you have been following the latest news, you will know that OCBC 360 was previously offering the best interest rates among the local banks.

With this new announcement, will UOB One dethrone OCBC 360 as the best deposit account in Singapore?

Is UOB One better than OCBC 360 now?

Let’s find out using math!

What you need to know about UOB One

For those who missed my previous article, let me highlight the key features of UOB One.

UOB One requires you to make minimal effort to earn the maximum interest rate possible. 

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

Two simple steps and you are done!

This is so much easier and better than signing up for endowment plans or insurance. 

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). 

Now, let us take a look at the interest rate offered if you were to credit your salary via GIRO.

Source: UOB One account page

UOB One vs OCBC 360 – Which is the best deposit account in Singapore? 

As you can see from the table, UOB is offering an interest rate of 7.80% p.a. for the incremental S$25,000 of deposits between $75,000 and below S$100,000.

Similar to other local banks, the interest rate isn’t significant for deposits above S$100,000.

But that is ok because I am going for the interest rate of 7.80% p.a. for now. 

Let us look at the effective interest rate (EIR) we are getting, and compare it against our previous winner – OCBC 360.

The effective interest rate is the average interest rate we would earn across the entire deposit amount. 

So, is UOB One or OCBC 360 better?

*drumrolls*

From the table above, it is clear that UOB is the clear winner regardless of the deposit amount. You will be able to earn a higher interest rate on your deposits.  *party horn*

Assuming you have S$100,000, you will get about S$5,000 every year.

This is about S$350 more than if you were to put it with OCBC 360 and earn the 4.65% interest. 

In this inflationary environment, I would be a very kiasu Singaporean and choose to bank with the one that gives me the best return.

S$350 is still money. 😊

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! 

Unlike RHB where they have an extensive definition of ‘fresh funds’, UOB One does not require you to deposit fresh funds to be eligible for the bonus interest rate. 

Perhaps the only thing you need to find out is the type of UOB credit cards that are considered ‘eligible’. 

Did I also forget to mention that UOB One debit card has the highest cashback rate of 10% now? 

Final verdict on UOB One vs OCBC 360 account

UOB One seems to be a no-brainer for now, because you can earn the best interest rates on your deposits with minimal effort.

I know some of you are lazy so I shall provide the sign-up link here. 

Some may even ask if the UOB One is better than the T-bill since the EIR of 5% higher than what T-Bills are offering.

I am thankful to the Beansprout community as they are very quick to share with the group all the exciting deals.

In fact, they were the ones who highlighted that UOB will be making a change to the interest rate before the news was released today.

If you are keen, you can join the Telegram community here.