UNO Digital Bank: Opening a Savings and Time Deposit account

UNO Digital Bank or UNOBank is one of the six BSP-licensed digital banks in the Philippines 121 and has been operating for a few months now. But if you’re one of those who are yet to open an account with them and want to see what they have to offer, here’s a walkthrough.

Step 1: Download the app

The first thing that you need to do is download the UNO Digital Bank app. It’s available on Google Play Store 89 and Apple App Store. 52

Step 2: Registration

Once you have the app installed, just launch it and you will be greeted by a welcome screen to begin your registration.

One of the first things it will require is your mobile number. Once entered, it will then send an OTP. Once the OTP is verified, you will need to accept the Terms & Conditions and the Data Privacy Statement.

Step 3: Identity verification

The next step of the registration process is ID verification, so make sure to have a government ID ready, The app will then scan the front and back of your ID and then your face.

The scanning is quick as the app automatically captures the image of the ID once the focus is good.

Once the ID and your face are scanned, the app will fill out the basic details using the information found on your ID. You will just need to input additional information such as your employment and financial details. It will also ask to verify your email address via an OTP sent to your email. After that, just confirm the information and then submit.

Step 4: Set your Password and Passcode

UNO Digital Bank implements two layers of security – a password and a passcode. When it comes to the latter, it’s just 4 digits, however, it won’t accept passcodes with repeating numbers, like 1111 or 1234. But from our experience, it also won’t accept two repeating numbers like 2245 or 0019. Not a big deal, though. And you can also use your smartphone’s biometrics for easy login.

The whole registration process just took about 15 minutes.

Types of accounts

UNO Digital Bank offers three account types: #UNOready, #UnoBoost, and #UNOearn.

#UNOready is a savings account that lets you send money, pay bills, and shop online. The interest rate is 4.25% p.a. and is credited on a daily basis. It also offers free life insurance coverage worth PHP 50,000, and automatic activation of UNO Debit Mastercard virtual card when you deposit at least PHP 100, which you can use for online transactions.

#UNOboost is a time deposit account (min. PHP 5,000, max. PHP 500,000) that lets you earn up to 6.5% p.a. at maturity and lets you choose a term starting at 3 months all the way up to 12 months.

#UNOearn is also a time deposit account (min. PHP 5,000, max. PHP 500,000) that offers 6.5% p.a. in longer terms of 12 months and 24 months but lets you enjoy monthly payouts.

Every time a time deposit account matures, you need open a new time deposit account. Early withdrawal will incur certain charges.

Upon opening your UNO Digital Bank account, you will be given the #UNOready account. You can then add a time deposit account by tapping on My accounts -> Add account -> Add time deposit. The time deposit account will get funds from your savings account, so make sure you have enough funds.

Funding your account

You can transfer funds to your UNO Digital Bank account from your other bank accounts or e-wallet via PESONet. The maximum account per transaction online is PHP 50,000 with zero transfer fee, which is good.

If you want to cash in directly from the UNO Digital Bank app. Just tap on Add Money and choose either BPI or Union Bank. Fund transfers are also done via PESONet but in our experience, funds are credited within an hour.

UNO Debit Mastercard

Aside from the Virtual Debit Mastercard, UNO Digital Bank also offers a physical Debit Mastercard. The bank says that it is the first numberless card in the Philippines where details are stored inside the chip and are not visible on the card, making any lost or stolen card unusable. It’s not yet available, though, and will be offered soon.

So far, UNO Digital Bank looks promising. Opening an account is hassle-free and purely online, funding the account is easy to do, offers a virtual card, and has two kinds of time deposit accounts for those who want to earn high-interest rates.

For more information, visit UNO Digital Bank’s website at https://uno.bank/ 215