UOB One Account Overview:
The UOB One Savings Account is a great high-yield savings account option for anyone who is able to spend S$500 a month and wishes to take advantage of high interest rates of 5% 4% on S$100K. To earn UOB One Account’s attractive interest on your savings, there are two criterias: Spend and Salary Crediting. The ultimate strategy for this account is to spend on an eligible card to earn the credit card rewards + interest on your savings.
Eligibility Requirement:
- Minimum Age: 18 years old
- Minimum Initial Deposit: S$1,000
- Minimum Balance Requirement: S$1,000
(it would not otherwise make sense to have this account if one is unable to maintain funds above this requirement, as you would incur a monthly fall-below fee)
How does it work:
You’ll need to fulfill two criterias:
Step 1: Make a minimum monthly credit or debit card spend of S$500 on any of the eligible cards below:
Card | Cashback/Miles |
3.33% cashback with 3 consecutive months of S$500 spend in a quarter. | |
4 miles per dollar on one or two categories | |
3.94% cashback with minimum monthly spend of S$800 | |
UOB One Debit Visa Card | |
UOB One Debit Mastercard | |
UOB Lady’s Debit Card | |
UOB Mighty FX Debit Card |
Personally I chose the UOB One for the lower minimum monthly spend required. UOB Evol is no longer a good option, in my opinion, after the latest nerf on 6th June. Feel free to click on the above links for their cheatsheets for that!
Assuming you had S$30k of savings | UOB One | UOB Evol |
Interest earned on savings monthly: | S$96.25 | S$96.25 |
Minimum card spend for cashback: | S$500 | S$600 |
*Min. Cashback earned on card: | S$16.65 | S$30-40 |
*the cashback earned above is subjective and a conservative amount based on those who probably does not want to track their spending to the nitty gritty.
Step 2: Credit a minimum monthly salary of S$1,600 to your account (I wouldn’t bother about the GIRO transactions requirement as there is a way to hit the salary crediting component easily. More on that in FAQ below.)
Even though the “published interest rate” is 7.8% p.a, the maximum effective interest rate (EIR) on the One Account is actually 5% p.a. for deposits of S$100,000 till 30th April 2024!
Effective 1 May 2024, there will be massive changes for the UOB One Account:
The maximum effective interest rate will be lowered from 5% to 4% p.a
The maximum amount that is eligible to earn bonus interest will be increased from S$100,000 to S$150,000
This means that the absolute maximum interest earned per year will increase from S$5,000 (5% p.a) to S$6,000 (4% p.a), but you would need 50% more deposits to earn that rate (see below).
Side by Side Comparison:
Meet Card Spend of min. S$500 (calendar month) | Meet Card Spend of min. S$500 AND make 3 GIRO debit transactions | Meet Card Spend of min. S$500 AND credit salary | ||||
Account balance in your UOB One Account | Current total interest p.a | Total interest p.a. effective 1 May 2024 | Current total interest p.a | Total interest p.a. effective 1 May 2024 | Current total interest p.a | Total interest p.a. effective 1 May 2024 |
First S$30,000 | 0.65% | 0.65% | 2.50% | 2.00% | 3.85% | 3.00% |
Next S$30,000 | 0.65% | 0.65% | 3.00% | 2.00% | 3.90% | 3.00% |
Next S$15,000 | 0.65% | 0.65% | 4.00% | 2.00% | 4.85% | 3.00% |
Next S$25,000 | 0.05% | 0.05% | 0.05% | 3.00% | 7.80% | 4.50% |
Next S$25,000 (NEW) | 0.05% | 0.05% | 0.05% | 3.00% | 0.05% | 4.50% |
Next S$25,000 (NEW) | 0.05% | 0.05% | 0.05% | 0.05% | 0.05% | 6.00% |
Above S$150,000 | 0.05% | 0.05% | 0.05% | 0.05% | 0.05% | 0.05% |
So assuming you hit the spending criteria and salary crediting criteria, this is the amount of interest you can expect to earn as of 1 May 2025:
Account balance in your UOB One Account | EIR: Effective until 30 April 2024 | EIR: Effective 1 May 2024 | Monthly Interest (Old) | Monthly Interest (New) |
25000 | 3.85% | 3.00% | 80.2 | 62.50 |
50000
| 3.90% | 3.00% | 161.25 | 125 |
75000
| 4.07% | 3.00% | 254.37 | 187.50 |
100000 | 5.00% | 3.38% | 416.67 | 281.25 |
125000 | 4.10% | 3.60% | 427.08 | 375 |
150000
| 3.50% | 4.00% | 437.08 | 500 |
As you can see, it is only at S$150K deposit that you will earn more than previously. I think if you are able to, then just go for the S$150K deposit amount. You could choose the OCBC 360 Account alternatively, but i do expect the other banks to follow suit to cut interest rates too.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- What if I am unable to hit the salary requirement with the UOB One Account?
- Make a min. S$1,600 of PayNow or FAST Transfer from another bank account (DBS, Standard Chartered, UOB, CIMB, but not OCBC) into your UOB One Account and choose the purpose of payment as “SALARY” and your UOB One Salary requirement on your UOB One interest tracker will be fulfilled in two days.
- this will reflect in your bank statement as “SALA” / “PAYNOW SALA”) in each calendar month.
- This method only works for UOB One and does not work for the crediting of salary into OCBC 360.
- In the app, you would be able to easily verify if you have met the requirements by clicking on your One Account under “View Activities” in a day or two.
Below is a sample of how it looks:
- Do AXS payments count towards UOB one Account interest?
No. They do not count towards the S$500 minimum spend to unlock the interest on savings.
- Do insurance payments count towards UOB One Account interest?
Yes. You would have to pay via insurance website directly or in-person via contactless, but not via AXS. However, you will not earn any credit card rewards for any type of insurance payments.
- Can the minimum S$500 spend be charged across more than 1 eligible card?
Yes. That means for example, you can have one UOB Lady’s card with S$200 spending and UOB one debit card with S$300 spending to fulfill the requirements.
- Does utility bills count towards UOB One Account interest?
Yes. You can also get cashback with UOB One Credit or debit card if you do not pay via AXS. You cannot get any cashback with UOB Evol.
You can apply for the UOB One Account when you apply for the UOB Evol or UOB One Credit Card to take advantage of the credit card sign up promotion here:
Credit cards change their T&Cs every so often and it is difficult to stay updated. That’s why I created a Telegram Broadcast where you can receive timely bite-sized updates to get the most out of your spending.
