Drop in UOB One account interest from May 2025
The expected happens, drop in UOB One interest rate. These changes will be revised on 1 May 2025. Now let's see what are the changes and see what are the alternatives.
UOB One account changes
| Category | Tier | Current Rate | New Rate | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spend + GIRO2 | First S$75,000 | 2.00% | 1.50% | -0.50% |
| Next S$50,000 | 3.00% | 2.50% | -0.50% | |
| Next S$25,000 | 0.05% | 0.05% | 0.0% | |
| EIR1 | 2.40% | 1.90% | -0.50% | |
| Spend + Salary3 | First S$75,000 | 3.00% | 2.30% | -0.70% |
| Next S$50,000 | 4.50% | 3.80% | -0.70% | |
| Next S$25,000 | 6.00% | 5.30% | -0.70% | |
| EIR1 | 4.00% | 3.30% | -0.70% |
*You will earn a base interest of 0.05% a year on your entire account balance regardless of whether you fulfil the above categories.
1For maximum EIR illustration purposes for your first S$150,000 for Salary + Spend, first $125,000 for Giro + Spend.
2Requires 3 GIRO transactions.
3Requires salary credit.
I place the option of 3 giro transactions there but most people should be able to fulfill the salary credit criteria.
Alternatives that you can consider
With the revised rates, let's look at some alternatives. Do note we are assuming you are able to meet the spend, salary, payment or save criterias that are required from the respective banks. I'm excluding the wealth / insured bonus that some of the banks offer cause I'm assuming most of us don't buy them. Do note this table reflects the change starting May 2025 although this article is written as of 1 April 2025. This now includes the changes from UOB One Account along with OCBC 360 that has been discussed previously.
OCBC 360 Max: SGD 100,000 | UOB One Max: SGD 150,000 | BOC SmartSaver Max: SGD 100,000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interest Breakdown | Base: 100,000 @ 0.05% = $50.00 Salary: 2000.00 (1.6%/3.2%) Save: 750.00 (0.6%/1.2%) Spend: 500.00 (0.5%/0.5%) | Base: 100,000 @ 0.05% = $50.00 Salary: 2675.00 (75,000 @ 2.3%, 25,000 @ 3.8%) | Base: 400.00 (100,000 @ 0.4%) Salary: 2500.00 (2.5%) Spend: 800.00 (0.8%) Payment: 900.00 (0.9%) |
| Yearly Interest | SGD 3300.00 | SGD 2725.00 | SGD 4600.00 |
| Monthly Interest1 | SGD 275.00 | SGD 227.08 | SGD 383.33 |
| Daily Interest2 | SGD 9.04 | SGD 7.47 | SGD 12.60 |
| Effective Interest Rate | 3.30% | 2.73% | 4.60% |
1Monthly interest is calculated based on yearly interest ÷ 12 months for illustration.
2Daily interest is calculated based on yearly interest ÷ 365 days for illustration.
OCBC 360 | UOB One | BOC SmartSaver | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary: | First SGD 75,000: 1.6% Next SGD 25,000: 3.2% | First SGD 75,000: 2.3% Next SGD 50,000: 3.8% Next SGD 25,000: 5.3% | First SGD 100,000: 2.5% |
| Save: | First SGD 75,000: 0.6% Next SGD 25,000: 1.2% | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Spend: | First SGD 75,000: 0.5% Next SGD 25,000: 0.5% | First SGD 75,000: 0.65% Next SGD 50,000: 0.05% Next SGD 25,000: 0.05% | First SGD 100,000: 0.8% |
| Base Interest: | 0.05% | 0.05% | 0.15% - 0.40% |
| Payment Bonus: | Not applicable | Not applicable | 0.9% |
Note: UOB One Salary portion it's a combination of spend and salary.
Now, let's discuss these individually.
UOB One Account
This is now on par with OCBC 360 in terms of the EIR at 3.3%. But UOB One gives you up to $150,000 instead of $100,000 and it does not have the "Save" element which is good. However at $100,000, Bank of China earns up to 4.6% EIR. If you have maximum of $100,000, UOB One won't be a good choice.
UOB Stash might be a better option from my understanding however I don't have the account to comment further. But I'm aware there are no spend / salary credit to fulfill and it gives up to EIR 3%.
OCBC 360 Account
This has been discussed in my prior article which you can read to understand further.
BOC SmartSaver
This has also been discussed in my prior article but since it's 1 April 2025 now and they haven't announce any changes, I suspect they might drop it some time further. Or they might follow OCBC strategy to delay the drop after they acquire a huge chunk of market share over.
Conclusion
BOC SmartSaver is now a clear winner even if you go deposit higher at $150,000. EIR at 3.4%. But who knows it will drop soon?