UOB Overseas Transfer Fees, Exchange Rates, and More

Founded in 1935, United Overseas Bank (UOB) stands as a heavyweight in the Singaporean banking sector, holding the third-largest bank title in the country and among the most widely-used banks across the Asia-Pacific region more broadly. It offers personal and commercial clients a wide range of financial services, including overseas transfers between all of the world’s major currencies.

UOB also maintains a rock-solid reputation in the way of security and resilience, with the bank having clinched the spot of Asia’s third safest, according to Global Finance Magazine’s World's Safest Banks 2019 rankings.

However, despite the bank’s all-around prominence, UOB is a poor choice for customers who want to send an overseas transfer due to the combination of cable charges, commission fees, and exchange rate margins that it places on all outward remittances. Ultimately, these extra costs leave UOB’s exchange rates uncompetitive, especially in the face of cheaper money transfer providers that exist on the market.

By delving into the cost of sending money with UOB, we found that the bank charges a hidden exchange rate margin on top of its already high fees. Users can expect to pay around 10% in total fees on telegraphic transfers of under SGD 500, leaving the bank outshone by cheaper alternative money transfer services.

UOB Overseas Transfer Fees

When sending a telegraphic transfer overseas from Singapore, UOB users are subject to a slew of fees and commissions, which the bank lays out in its fee schedule. These include the following:

• A 0.0625% cut on all telegraphic transfers for both individuals and businesses. This fee is levied at a minimum of SGD 10 per transfer and capped at a maximum of SGD 100 per transfer.
• A fixed SGD 30 cable charge per transfer except for those sent to neighbouring Malaysia, fixed at a slightly lower SGD 20 per transfer.

UOB Exchange Rates

In addition to the above fees and commissions, users sending money abroad with UOB are also subject to a hidden exchange rate margin. 

This means the exchange rate that the bank charges on telegraphic transfers is kept slightly lower than the actual exchange rate on the market, known as the mid-market rate. When clients send money abroad with UOB using its own exchange rates, the bank then pockets the difference, even if the relevant costs are not explicitly listed.

While these margins may seem relatively small, typically only hovering between 1% and 2.5% depending on the currency, the extra cost nonetheless stands up:

Total UOB Overseas Transfer Costs

All things considered, UOB’s fee schedule makes the bank a costly choice, especially when sending small amounts of money abroad.

Take a look at the tables below to get a better picture of how UOB’s fee schedule affects telegraphic transfers for both individuals and businesses:

For example, if you were to send SGD 100 to a friend living in Australia, the bank would pocket slightly more than SGD 40 of that amount in cable charges, commission fees, and exchange rate margins. In the end, your friend would receive AUD 60.28 at the time of writing.

Contrast this to making the same transfer with CurrencyFair, a global transfer service based in Dublin, Ireland. Sending SGD 100 to Australia with CurrencyFair using a bank transfer, you'd only pay no base fees and SGD 0.49 in exchange rate fees, leaving your friend with AUD 101.69 at the time of writing — nearly 70% more than with UOB! What's more, unlike with UOB, these fees will be laid out clearly for you in a transparent manner long before you pay.

Run a search on our comparison engine to find the best deal in real-time:

UOB Telegraphic Transfers: Other Fees

When sending an overseas SWIFT transfer with UOB, it is possible that an "agent charge" may apply in addition to the other fees. These agent charges, which are better known as correspondent bank fees, are imposed by third-party banks that act as a middleman if UOB needs to send money to a bank with no established relationship.

If the bank to which you're sending your money is relatively small or obscure, then there's a fair shot that your transfer will be hit with this fee.

How To Make a UOB Overseas Transfer

There are four ways you can make a telegraphic transfer to a country overseas with UOB. We've ranked them in order of cost, with the first being the cheapest and the last being the most expensive:

1. SingX via UOB Personal Internet Banking: By signing up with SingX (the cheapest digital transfer service from Singapore on our comparison) you can send money across the globe by making a transfer via your UOB online banking and their online platform. This method will generally cost only a total of 0.25% to 1% in fees depending on the currency you're sending to.
2. UOB Personal Internet Banking: You can send a telegraphic transfer to a foreign currency bank account directly from your e-banking by selecting 'Overseas Transfer' when in your UOB Personal Internet Banking. Sending abroad using this method costs between 5% and 15% depending on the currency and the amount you send.
3. Phone Banking: By calling UOB at 1800 222 2121, you can instruct a telegraphic transfer over the phone. You'll probably need to wait for a moment on hold before an agent helps you, to whom you'll need to verify your account and give your beneficiary's bank details. Like online banking, sending abroad using this method costs between 5% and 15% depending on the currency and the amount you send.
4. At the UOB bank branch: You can also visit a UOB bank branch to instruct your transfer there. This method has slightly higher fees, but the final cost of your transfer will probably also end up being between 5% and 15% of the total amount sent.

Is UOB Good for Telegraphic Transfers?

Without a doubt, UOB is a world-class bank with an impeccable record of safety and security for its clients. Furthermore, its wide range of services and its long history make it a worthy candidate as a financial service provider.

However, regarding telegraphic transfers in particular, UOB remains behind the pack for those who wish to keep costs down. Not only does UOB charge a small 1/16th-of-a-percent commission on top of the SGD 30 cable charge for most countries, but it also slides in an exchange rate margin, adding a further 1% to 2% onto the total cost of the transfer.

As a result of these high fees for sending money abroad, if you're somebody who'd like to save money on every transfer abroad, then we'd recommend you explore which low-cost money transfer service may best suit your needs. Our comparison engine allows you to do just that — drawing on real-time data and exchange rates to help you find the best deals on money transfers abroad.