This post was written in collaboration with UOB. While we are financially compensated by them, we nonetheless strive to maintain our editorial integrity and review products with the same objective lens. We are committed to providing the best recommendations and advice in order for you to make personal financial decisions with confidence. You can view our Editorial Guidelines here.
Gone are the days when putting your money in a savings account essentially meant just having a glorified piggy bank with hardly any interest earned at all. These days, bonus interest accounts are extremely popular and the space is really competitive.
Of course, earning bonus interest isn’t as simple as just depositing your money and wishing that any bank is going to give you more interest. Part of the “deal” is for you to perform some form of banking transactions with them. This isn’t anything new, but what does vary from bank to bank are the requirements you need to fulfil in order to earn that bonus interest.
To that point, we’ve previously written about why the UOB One Account is probably the easiest account to earn bonus interest on. But now, with a few small tweaks, the account just a whole lot better. How so? Let’s have a look at some of the key changes to the account and what this really means for you:
1. The highest interest rate in town
Previously earning you a maximum of 3.33% per annum, which is already a rather high amount, the account now earns you up to 3.88%. Here are the changes at a glance:
Revised Interest Rates
| Current total interest | Total interest with effect from 1 Aug 2018 | ||||
| Account balance | A. Meet card spend of min. S$500 (calendar month) | B. Meet card spend of min. S$500 AND credit your salary OR make 3 GIRO debit transactions | Account balance | A. Meet card spend of min. S$500 (calendar month) | B. Meet card spend of min. S$500 AND credit your salary OR make 3 GIRO debit transactions |
| First S$10,000 | 1.00% | 1.50% | First S$15,000 | 1.50% | 1.85% |
| Next S$20,000 | 1.50% | 2.00% | Next S$15,000 | 1.50% | 2.00% |
| Next S$20,000 | 2.00% | 3.33% | Next S$15,000 | 1.50% | 2.15% |
| Above S$50,000 | 0.05% | 0.05% | Next S$15,000 | 1.50% | 2.30% |
| Next S$15,000 | 1.50% | 3.88% | |||
| Above S$75,000 | 0.05% | 0.05% | |||
There are several things to note here. Firstly, the account is still just as easy to earn bonus interest on. You just need to fulfil the criteria on either track and you earn the corresponding bonus interest based on your account balance. The biggest changes here are obviously the fact that the minimum bonus interest has gone up, as has the maximum interest you can earn.
Earning 1.5% p.a.interest from the very first dollar you put into your account is the highest rate in the market, and all you need to do is simply meet the monthly card spend requirement.
You’ll also notice that the cap for the amount in your account that you can earn bonus interest on has gone up to S$75,000 as well. This means that you can earn total interest of S$1,827 p.a. if you hit this level. It’s important to note that this is a core offering of the product, and doesn’t encompass any “promotions” for a limited period of time.
2. The UOB One Account – An inclusive account for all
We did mention that there was more, and this is a key difference from many other bonus interest accounts out there. With the gig economy taking off in a huge way over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in freelancers. Even fresh graduates are increasingly starting to explore freelance work, and huge companies like Grab and foodpanda also have to hire plenty of freelancers.
What this really means in the context of these bank accounts is that all these people may not necessarily have a salary to credit. It isn’t as simple as just putting your own salary in the account, and the bank must actually recognise it as a transaction from a company crediting your salary into the account.
Thankfully, with a tier that allows for just meeting a monthly card spend of S$500, even people who don’t have a salary “credited” to their UOB One Account can benefit. This also applies to the higher bonus interest tier as well so you don’t need to credit your salary to earn more interest. This is great for freelancers and you just need to hit the minimum spend and make 3 GIRO debit transactions in order to qualify.
Conclusion
As a quick summary, here’s just how easy it is to fulfil the requirements to earn up to 3.88% in bonus interest:
- Earn 1.50% p.a. from your first dollar – for those who don’t have salary to credit, you just need to meet a minimum card spend of $500 per month.
- Earn from 1.85% p.a. from your first dollar – for those who meet the card min. spend AND credit their salary OR make 3 GIRO debit transactions.
- Earn up to 3.88% p.a. – allows you to potentially earn $1,827 p.a. in interest.
- New increase of balance cap to S$75,000 for earning bonus interest.
If you are interested to sign up for the UOB One Account or find out more, you can easily click here.
What are your thoughts on the improved UOB One Account?