Changes to ubank Save Account

RichardL on 27/05/2024 - 23:30
Last edited 18/06/2024 - 15:21

Just received an email from ubank for changes to the ubank Save Account.

Hi,

We’re making some changes to our General Terms, which will apply from 1 July 2024.

Here are the main changes:

  1. Bonus Eligibility Criteria: we’re increasing the amount you need to deposit to qualify for bonus interest. Starting from 1 July, you’ll need to deposit $500 or more into either your Spend, Bills or Save account each month from an external bank account (like your salary).
  2. How we calculate interest on your Savings: We’re introducing interest rate tiers to our Save account, which will change how interest is calculated. We’ll be in touch soon with the rates that apply to each tier. For more info visit ubank.com.au/banking/savings-account/whats-new. We’ll be in touch very soon with more on this.
  3. Removing Outbound Payments from Save: You’ll no longer be able to make most external payments directly from your Save account. You'll still be able to receive external payments into Save. It's all about keeping your savings separate. Make sure to update any recurring payments, like Netflix or your phone bill, to come out of your Bills or Spend account(s) or Visa Debit cards. We’ll send reminders about this closer to the time.
  4. Passkeys: We’re introducing an easier and more secure alternative to log in to the app. This won’t be available for everyone yet; we’ll be in touch when it’s available for you.

All of the changes we’re making to the General terms are set out in detail at the start of the new terms. Please make sure you read them, so you understand what’s changing.

For more information about the upcoming changes to the Save click here.

Speak soon,
Team ubank

Update: Bonus interest rate tiers from July 1st (Deal Post):

Tiers Amount Rate
Tier 1 $0 to $100K 5.5%
Tier 2 $100K to $250K 5.0%
Tier 3 Over $250K 0%

Overall an increase (assuming 250k)

  • Current Rate of 5.1% = $12750pa
  • New Tier Rate of up to 5.5% = $13000pa
Financial Bank Account Savings Account

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Comments

    • bdl on 28/05/2024 - 10:51

      I just went AMP, was super easy to set up a new account

      • umoddbro on 28/05/2024 - 12:23
        +1

        Did you have any problems verifying online, tried passport and drivers license just says 'We couldn't verify your identity' and to download paper form. Not keen on going through the trouble of having to verify physical documents….

        • bdl on 28/05/2024 - 16:39

          Nope, I used a drivers license using the license number and card number

      • bdl on 30/05/2024 - 08:37

        a heads up for AMP, giving it a trial at the moment - although you receive the account details immediately on signup, it takes 48 hours (!) to be added to their online/mobile banking systems (lol)

    • Bredo on 28/05/2024 - 10:58
      +1

      FYI AMP doesn't have outbound payments from savings account

      Not sure yet about Rabobank, anyone knows?

      • BigBirdy on 28/05/2024 - 12:40
        +3

        I do outbound transfers from AMP Savings account, and there's an option to do BPay

        • Bredo on 28/05/2024 - 12:55
          +2

          Good to know, however it doesn't allow to setup direct debits which I really need

          https://www.amp.com.au/banking/savings-accounts/amp-saver-ac…

          What the product doesn't include
          Access to the bonus interest rate if you save less than $1,000 each month
          The ability to use the account for direct debits
          A cheque book, Bank@Post or the option to use a digital wallet

          • bdl on 28/05/2024 - 16:41

            @Bredo: I got one of the free transaction accounts to go with it and just schedule a transfer from the savings to transaction account a few days before the direct debit is drawn from the transaction account. Stuff ubank, going to close everything and split it between Macquarie and AMP

            • Bredo on 28/05/2024 - 16:47
              +2

              @bdl: If that works for you great, unfortunately you don't always know in advance when a direct Debit it's gonna hit your account meaning still something you have to keep an eye on. This is specially true with some credit cards, for example my Citibank has some weird schedule for direct debit dates and I would have to remember to setup the savings to transaction transfer every month once I know that date, no thanks 🥴
              Edit: another example is my council rates, I'll have to schedule the transfer once I know the 4 installments dates every year, a PITA

          • BigBirdy on 28/05/2024 - 18:29
            +1

            @Bredo:

            What the product doesn't include … Access to the bonus interest rate if you save less than $1,000 each month

            That poorly worded statement appears to be incorrect, unless I misunderstand it. The requirement is a $1000 deposit per month. No need to increase the account balance. Withdrawals (like UBank) are fine. I've been withdrawing back the $1000 deposit along with the interest each month without penalty for a couple of years.

            FYI, I've just changed my direct debits to put $500 into AMP, then transfer it to UBank, transfer it back to AMP, then back to mamma. Should satisfy both banks

            • Bredo on 28/05/2024 - 19:06
              +1

              @BigBirdy: Yeah my point wasn't that, I just copied and pasted the whole thing. My point was specifically about "The ability to use the account for direct debits"

              • BigBirdy on 28/05/2024 - 19:21
                +1

                @Bredo: Yes I know, just the wording of that other point caught my attention.

                Personally, I wouldn't use one of these high interest savings accounts as a transaction account. I've been using such accounts for 4 decades or so, and sometimes they just go bad … crap interest, crap terms, or close down. I transact with a mainstream account in a big bank, and drop spare $ in these

        • wangasm on 10/06/2024 - 21:18

          BPay does not seem to work directly from the Savings account, I've tried and it just gives a "Something went wrong" error.
          Works from the transaction account

    • bimmeup on 07/06/2024 - 21:04

      Ok, I will sus them out :)

  • ButterYourMuffin on 28/05/2024 - 14:14
    +1

    so I can't direct debit my credit card payment or bills from my Save ubank account going forward?

    I assume the next best would be Macquarie Transaction Account ?

    • Bredo on 28/05/2024 - 15:15
      +7

      That's exactly right, you'll only be able to setup direct debits against the Spend and Bills accounts, which means remembering to top them up before the direct debit hits them

      At the moment, Macquarie it's the best alternative I know if you need Direct Debit support. Hopefully someone else find an even better option 🙏

  • tumsum on 28/05/2024 - 14:54
    +2

    at least no foreign transaction fee still

  • Ghost47 on 28/05/2024 - 15:02
    +4

    Well that sucks. Feels like everything is getting worse because Australia got addicted to low interest rates and the expectation that rates would continually decrease into perpetuity.

  • ry34 on 28/05/2024 - 15:40
    +1

    does this mean I can no longer BPay bills from Savings account? Will I need to move the amount to Spend account and BPay from there?

      • DoctorCalculon on 29/05/2024 - 00:18
        +10

        So what?
        Some folks prefer the convenience of not having to transfer funds out of their savings account into the transaction account.

          • dazweeja on 29/05/2024 - 12:58
            +9

            @THICKnSLOW: It's not about the 20 seconds needed to transfer the money, it's keeping on top of (or predicting) when you'll need to do this for each bill. No-one is saying that this is impossible, just that not having to worry about it was very convenient. Sure, you can keep a few hundred in the spend account for covering bills but why not earn interest on that if you can?

          • nickstar76 on 09/06/2024 - 09:56

            @THICKnSLOW: You don't really seem to understand

            • THICKnSLOW on 09/06/2024 - 12:00

              @nickstar76: You don't really seem to give a valid input

              • nickstar76 on 09/06/2024 - 12:05

                @THICKnSLOW: A lot of people have multiple direct debits setup across save accounts. Each of these accounts have money being also used to earn interest. For a lot of people this is a time thing, money goes into accounts and I don't need to worry about when the direct debit comes out - this change screws all of that up. Arguing that "I can take 20 seconds to login to my account and transfer" doesn't really address this issue faced by many

    • Nixon2142 on 29/05/2024 - 00:19
      +8

      Seems unnecessarily complicated doesn't it. For no apparent reason, no explanation. Ubank's slowly going down the sink.

      • bimmeup on 07/06/2024 - 21:11
        +1

        I think Ubank is trying to throw a spanner into the machinery of compound interest. You'll be forever transfering money out of the highest interest bearing account to the spend account and in doing so will affect negatively the amount of (compounded) interest you will earn the following month.

    • Ooops on 30/05/2024 - 19:27
      +2

      I also pay bills from my savings account. So much more convenient when you have 10 different accounts for various things like insurances (pets/cars/house), taxes, etc.

      • hundredplus on 03/06/2024 - 13:20

        Exactly what I did. Now it is PITA when they stops paying from saving accounts.

  • cashless on 28/05/2024 - 16:34
    +5

    Weird. Never received this email (checked spam/junk etc).
    Am I alone?

    • Blakus on 28/05/2024 - 18:51
      +2

      Haven’t got yet either.

    • johnwickspuppy on 28/05/2024 - 19:16
      +2

      Same. Last email from them says "Spotted Bills is Here <eyeballs emoji> May Feature Update". Checked spam and sadly it's full of Russian Bride and Nigerian Prince offers but no Ubank.

      • finbar on 28/05/2024 - 20:01
        +2

        No Viagra offers ?

    • DoctorCalculon on 28/05/2024 - 19:41
      +1

      You will receive it in a different batch.

    • KangaDrew on 28/05/2024 - 23:10
      +6

      Large corporations like banks and telcos will always send these email campaigns out in batches. Otherwise their call centres could get flooded iif tens of thousands of customers all received the same email at the same time. I received mine at 10:50 AEST tonight.

      This is also why they'll send batches out at night. It helps reduce the contact centre load.

      • johnwickspuppy on 29/05/2024 - 06:16
        +1

        Never had to think about this. Makes perfect sense.

    • McFly on 29/05/2024 - 00:45
      +1

      Banking threads are the last place I expect to see you, cashless.

  • cycleri3 on 28/05/2024 - 17:17
    +2

    What are the interest tiers? you get more interest the less money you have or more money?

    • Ghost47 on 29/05/2024 - 08:04
      +2

      I find this announcement very half-arsed. It’s unbelievable people are getting paid to determine what the tiers will be but they haven’t finalised them before sending this email.

      Either way they’ll probably pay out less interest on higher balances, it doesn’t make sense to do it the other way because it’ll cost them more. No doubt like most companies they are trying to optimise costs in a higher interest rate environment.

    • bobbieb on 31/05/2024 - 07:13
      +4

      Yeah. I seriously douche bag move from UBank to announce the change without the rates, and even worse - no detail on whether the bonus increases or decreases with the higher balance tiers.

      It's been fun UBank, but I'll be leaving real soon.

  • st1ng on 28/05/2024 - 20:09
    +11

    Well this sucks balls. If they are going to remove the ability to debit from the saving account, they should at least bring back the sweep option that original (pre-86400) Ubank had.

  • Ryk on 28/05/2024 - 20:36
    +11

    Not happy, payments directly from the saver was the key product feature I used, without it ubank offers nothing over the others. There's no point changing payments to bill or spend account, how is that better. Tonight I have been changing them to Macquarie Bank, and my pay too.

  • Ave Maria on 28/05/2024 - 21:08
    +12

    Ubank link https://www.ubank.com.au/banking/savings-account/whats-new

    Since the merger Ubank seems to be spending most of their time making it harder for existing customers to stick with them.

    Instead of focusing on competitve interest rates (nowhere near MEB, ING, AMP, Rabo, etc.) they keep introducing rules that conditions that nobody asked for or needs -:)

      • Ryk on 29/05/2024 - 19:24

        new CEO could stop these changes if he was even aware of them, but they would have been planned, approved and in development for several months before the CEO came onboard.

        • payless69 on 29/05/2024 - 22:08

          Andrew joined NAB in 2020 as Group Executive, Business and Private Banking. Prior to joining NAB, Andrew was with McKinsey

          Anything McKinsey does is screwing with customers

          • Ryk on 30/05/2024 - 08:40

            @payless69: sure, but he wasn't running ubank?

            • payless69 on 30/05/2024 - 09:07

              @Ryk: Sam reckons that he has just developed a bear phobia!

  • THICKnSLOW on 28/05/2024 - 22:50
    +2

    " any recurring payments, like Netflix"

    BAHAHAHAA, no way!

    • KangaDrew on 28/05/2024 - 23:13
      +11

      Ha! Amateurs… Little do ubank know - we live in Turkey now.

      • tdth99 on 28/05/2024 - 23:48

        Or on the High Seas!

  • bght007 on 28/05/2024 - 23:09
    +2

    Disappointed to receive the email as well.
    Just purchased a property so my money is going elsewhere in offset anyway, which happens to be Macquarie.
    Glad to know it is considered a good alternative

  • Uncle Roger on 28/05/2024 - 23:14
    +12

    Just got the email, we JUST moved from ING to UBANK, and now it feels like we're heading out soon again haiyaaaa

    • jizmo on 31/05/2024 - 19:25

      Yep

  • Elppa8 on 29/05/2024 - 00:23

    Can’t an extra step be put into the process, money in to saver from external, schedule transfer to spend then schedule to external.

    • BigBirdy on 29/05/2024 - 08:04
      +3

      Or just transfer into Spend from external, then transfer it back out. No need to put it into Saver

      you’ll need to deposit $500 or more into either your Spend, Bills or Save account each month from an external bank account

  • Hangryuman on 29/05/2024 - 08:02
    +22

    'Removing Outbound Payments from Save: You’ll no longer be able to make most external payments directly from your Save account. You'll still be able to receive external payments into Save. It's all about keeping your savings separate. Make sure to update any recurring payments, like Netflix or your phone bill, to come out of your Bills or Spend account(s) or Visa Debit cards.'

    Wait, WHAT !?!?!?!?

    I spent at least 14 HOURS of tear-my-hair-out stress, frustration and irritation last year between April-August 2023 to change my many regular external payments from my 'Spend' account across to come from my 'Save' account after UBank changed our bank account numbers - that was a nightmare I don't want to go through again.

    And NOW they're saying they're gonna shut that down, and require external payments to come from their F'ing no-interest Spend accounts - AGAIN !?!?

    I've just checked my previous records - we have 18 direct debits - for which I guess I would have to contact the external institutions to ask them to change the account number - that may be a signed authority form for each of those - and THEN if there's no sweep function, I'd be expected to chase each of those irregular payments to arrange a transfer from my interest-earning Save account to the no-interest-earning Spend/Bills account ? In other words do TWICE as much work - for EACH bill, EVERY TIME ?

    Sorry UBank - this is a step too far - if this is what it sounds like, I'm not only gonna switch to a completely different bank, but I'm also gonna send UBank a bill for my time - last recorded (I did) at 14 hours - let's say by minimum $50ph - that'll be $700 bill I'll be sending to UBank - for the PREVIOUS BS.

    If I have to do this $#IT again - I'll probably double that bill - say $1400 - and I can probably register an NCAT application to take this to the tribunal - and win.

    • SBOB on 29/05/2024 - 08:29
      +5

      I'm not only gonna switch to a completely different bank

      100% this is really the logical choice. If you want interest on your savings thats sitting in an account you can have bills direct debit out of, ubank is no longer a valid choice.

      and win

      Narrators voice "but they wouldn't really win"

    • anti-hero on 29/05/2024 - 18:01
      +1

      I'm facing a similar situation and had to spend hours setting up direct debit, only to have this change come along and frustrate me even further! It's really upsetting to have to go through this process again.

  • aboteh on 29/05/2024 - 08:22
    +2

    Below is the reply I got from Ubank about Removing Outbound Payments from Save

    With the upcoming changes to our Save accounts, we aim to encourage less frequent transactions and promote the accumulation of savings, allowing customers to earn interest on their balances and achieve their financial goals. For day-to-day expenses and transactions, we have introduced the new Bills account, specifically designed to handle regular payments and expenses with ease.

    • rooon on 30/05/2024 - 16:38
      +2

      Hard for new billing acount to handle these payments and expenses if there is no money kept in there due to crap interest rate.

    • heytherehoney on 30/05/2024 - 16:50
      +6

      Haha, their PR BS is laughable.

      Translation: "We aim to encourage more frequent transactions and more funds held in the Spend account; and discourage the accumulation of savings, forcing customers to earn less interest on their Save balances so they are further from achieving their financial goals"

  • pandadude on 29/05/2024 - 09:07
    +3

    I am moving to Macquarie. Lower interest but they give interest on there transaction account which also allows outbound.

    uBank was my secondary account for direct debit as l couldn't be bother moving money between accounts.

    • leftspeaker2000 on 31/05/2024 - 11:39

      What is the Macquarie app like ?

      • izkai67 on 31/05/2024 - 13:05

        Nice app, if they don’t do anything to make our life difficult or reduce interest rate Macquarie is my first choice bank

  • MTWallet on 29/05/2024 - 09:16
    +2

    Something to keep in mind if closing a Save account.

    Exerpt from email received after closing my account -

    'If your account was a Save account:

    You'll lose any interest accrued this month as per our General Terms.'

    • crentist on 29/05/2024 - 14:20
      +4

      Pretty sure I have about 60cents in some old savings account, which was the accrued interest at the time of moving to a new bank.
      And that's been slowly collecting interest for the past 10 years. Score.

  • leeroys_dad on 29/05/2024 - 10:13
    +4

    Yes, make sure you close account on 1st day of month, otherwise you forfeit interest

  • gimme on 29/05/2024 - 10:51

    Confused. I have a saver and saver ultra account. Is this something different?

  • TitanFather on 29/05/2024 - 11:25
    +19

    Such a frustrating change.

    Spoke to customer service today and they are receiving a lot of complaints about this already.

    I would encourage everyone to submit a complaint to Ubank via their official complaints form
    https://www.ubank.com.au/complaints-policy/shoot-us-a-messag…

    If you can be bothered consider upvoting this "completed feature" in the Ubank feature roadmap on Trello that might also send them a message.
    https://trello.com/c/0x3UFXUs/49-make-payments-from-your-sav…

    • heytherehoney on 30/05/2024 - 16:55

      I've submitted a complaint via link above.

    • izkai67 on 31/05/2024 - 13:07

      They know it’s not popular decision, if they still go ahead with it, I just move all my money, no time doing business with bank that don’t care about you at all.

    • DamonT on 31/05/2024 - 14:35

      thanks for the link, done

    • sntc on 31/05/2024 - 21:27
      +3

      Just sent a complaint below:

      Issue
      1. Auto Sweep feature between Spend and Saving Account
      2. Outgoing payment from Savings Account
      3. Minimum $500 deposit & and new Tier Rates

      Resolution Expectations
      1. Bring back this feature
      2. Don't break functionality of what is working like you did with number 1
      3. Don't overcomplicate things
      If you didn't realise yet, most of us are with uBank for simplicity and ease of use. If you move towards different direction, what choice do you leave us with?

      Let's see if any changes.
      Newer wannabe management are usually deaf tone!

      • johnwickspuppy on 02/06/2024 - 11:30
        +1

        I also sent a complaint and copy-pasted yours. Hope you don't mind.

  • leeroys_dad on 29/05/2024 - 11:39
    +6

    [email protected]

    I also emailed

  • oswade on 29/05/2024 - 11:55
    +3

    Submitted a complaint too

    [email protected]

  • Minties on 29/05/2024 - 12:15
    +2

    Also submitted a complaint to the above email

  • McFly on 29/05/2024 - 13:09

    FYI sister account https://www.nab.com.au/personal/bank-accounts/savings-accoun… is 5% (bonus) up to one million dollars [say it like Dr. Evil] for all you guys out there with a spare mil burning a hole in your pocket.

    • timhn on 29/05/2024 - 13:17
      +2

      No withdrawal otherwise it will drop 0.35%.

      • McFly on 29/05/2024 - 14:05

        True. Also need one deposit (no minimum) per month. Not an issue for me - I use other accounts for withdrawals.

  • Roe Jogan on 29/05/2024 - 14:48
    +1

    so is rabobank or AMP better? for balances between 100k to 150k?

    • izkai67 on 31/05/2024 - 13:09
      +1

      AMP is better, app is average but it works fine, 5.4 % with deposit $1k which you can withdraw unlimited, that’s good enough for me.

      • Roe Jogan on 31/05/2024 - 18:35

        no debit card huh? i wish they did have it..

        • izkai67 on 01/06/2024 - 16:04
          +1

          Amp has visa debit card

          • Roe Jogan on 02/06/2024 - 09:05

            @izkai67: nice! done deal than, when does this change take effect btw? have they announced how much we are getting this month for ubank?

            • izkai67 on 04/06/2024 - 20:18

              @Roe Jogan: Ubank hasn’t said but I bet it won’t be good, I am looking at Australian unity bank, freedom saver interest rate 5.2% 0-50k and 5.1% 50-250k which is better than ubank, and it has no hoop at all! No limit to withdraw, I am hesitant review is not that good.

              • Roe Jogan on 05/06/2024 - 08:51

                @izkai67: looks like AMP is the best option atm, we still have 1 month, this month is 5.1 percent, it starts 1st of july. i wont close the ubank ill just remove the money from there to the AMP once i open the account. but i heard AMP only pays from second month, is that true?? if yes that sucks and is off putting

                • timhn on 05/06/2024 - 12:07

                  @Roe Jogan: Open AMP now and transfer $1K into it to get high interest from next month onward

                  • Roe Jogan on 08/06/2024 - 09:15

                    @timhn: just a question, can i transfer $1000 money out of the AMP account into the ubank saver, and back again to AMP every month to unlock that return rate?

                    • timhn on 08/06/2024 - 12:38

                      @Roe Jogan: Yes.

                      You can deposit into AMP and literally transfer out within minute and still qualify - or vice versa.

  • koplik8 on 29/05/2024 - 16:24
    +1

    I went through all that frustration of setting up the account. Plus working out that you need two savings accounts to qualify plus the $200 deposit every month. Since then it's been working like clock work on the interest. I'm with ING for everyday banking. I forget half the time to check I've increased my savings balance to qualify for the bonus interest the next month (why do I have to wait till next month!). I've enjoyed the set and forget with Ubank. Might be time to hunt for a better option.

    I just got a spending account with UP. I'm liking the app and guilt free spending on coffees :P

  • anti-hero on 29/05/2024 - 17:51
    +2

    Someone mentioned that Macquarie bank allows outbound payments from transaction account, and this account pays high interest rate. I am moving my cash to Macquarie bank . Ubank sucks

    • wdw on 31/05/2024 - 08:27

      And the Savings account - see here - https://www.macquarie.com.au/help/personal/bank-accounts/ope…

    • Roe Jogan on 05/06/2024 - 20:34

      how much do they pay % and what are the hoops?

      • mbcd on 07/06/2024 - 00:25

        5.35% welcome rate, 4.75% ongoing. no hoops.
        + they have a marketplace where you can purchase discounted gift cards. I use it for amazon, woolies, target, kmart, EB games, etc

        • Roe Jogan on 08/06/2024 - 09:14

          hmm so lower than AMP by 0.60

        • Roe Jogan on 09/06/2024 - 09:24

          also what benefits does it have besides being more known compared to the AMP account?? imagine the ubank interest drops to 4.75 for the amount over 100k so what is the point of switching

  • anti-hero on 29/05/2024 - 17:56
    +3

    I'm extremely frustrated that I can't make outbound payments from my savings account. This means I'll have to waste several hours setting up direct debit again at another bank. It's really infuriating!

  • JHoliday on 29/05/2024 - 22:15
    +1

    This is such sad news, just received the email tonight :(

    RIP. Good thing I moved to AMP but their app sucks and so does the text notifications for payments instead of push notifications. Also I’m not sure if they fully support NPP.

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