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Digibank Apps: Which Bank Has The Best All-In-One Experience?

Denise Bay

Denise Bay

Last updated 14 January, 2021

Digibank apps are likely some of the most used apps on your mobile device if you’re one who enjoys staying on top of your finances. Find out which bank’s mobile app offers features that make customers’ experience that much more pleasant.

Digibank apps exist to make banking easier and more convenient for customers like you and I. The rise of digital banking in an increasingly digital world is only natural, really. Gone are the days where we have to get our banking done solely over the web or in-person at the bank branch. 

In this article, we’ll take a look at the digibank apps from POSB/DBS, UOB, OCBC, Citibank, Amex, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank. Find out both useful and unique features each digibank app has to offer, and which one stands out amongst the crowd.

Main features common across digibank apps

While each digibank app is unique in its own right, there are basic features common across all these apps. Here are the main features you’ll find in the digibank apps featured in this article:

  • secure digital token  
  • hassle-free biometric login 
  • accounts at a glance
  • easy viewing of transactions
  • ability to make payments and transfers easily (PayNow, QR Pay etc)
  • fuss-free bill payments 
  • SGFinDex (except Citi Mobile app and Amex Mobile app at this time) 

For the uninitiated, SGFinDex is a pretty recent digital infrastructure introduced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Digital Government Group. 

SGFinDex lets you combine all your personal finance information across Citibank, DBS/POSB, HSBC, OCBC, Maybank, Standard Chartered Bank and UOB on a single platform. 

That’s not all, SGFinDex even pulls your financial data from several government agencies so you can view your latest CPF balance and outstanding HDB loan balance for instance. 

Definitely consider setting up yours if the idea of having all (or almost all) of your personal finance information in one place sounds good to you. 

How the digibank apps compare

While every digibank app offers some common, basic functionalities, they aren’t entirely the same by any means. Here’s a quick look at how each digibank app stands out in the crowd.

Bank Unique featuresRatings on Apple App Store &
Google Play Store
POSB/DBSPeek Balance: Check account balance without login 

DBS NAV Planner: Stay on top of your finances, including tracking and growing your investments

Personalised insights and smart shortcuts

Move seamlessly between digibank and PayLah! to access banking and lifestyle needs

DBS Remit: Send money across borders easily. Enjoy competitive rates with no transfer fee 
Apple: 4.4
Google: 4.6
UOBMighty FX: Enjoy competitive FX rates across 11 currencies for your trading, online shopping and travel needs

UOB Mighty Lifestyle: Get exclusive dining, shopping and travel deals. Plus, snatch limited Mighty Coupons every Friday

Contactless ATM withdrawal. Easily pre-set your withdrawal amount in-app

Redeem your preferred UNI$ rewards in-app. You can pay with UNI$ on the KrisPay and SP Utilities apps too 
Apple: 2.0
Google: 3.8
OCBCSavings Goal: Plan for your short-term goals (e.g. wedding expenses, dream vacation, gaming chair)

Set your monthly spending limits — the app will help you keep track of your spending 

Personalised wealth insights and alerts: No more worries about missing out on market movements and price fluctuations

Keep track of your investment portfolio and invest on the go

OCBC Life Goals helps forecast your long-term needs 
Apple: 2.4
Google: 2.7
CitiCitibank Global Wallet: Skip foreign transaction or currency conversion fees. Turn on the feature and add foreign currency accounts linked to your Citibank Debit Mastercard in-app

Citi World Privileges: Enjoy deals and discounts locally and in 95 other countries. Easily access deals in-app via ‘View Rewards’

Personalised offers, notifications and upgrades

Use your Citi Points or Miles to offset purchases made on your Citi credit card
Apple:4.9
Google: 4.7
AmexAmex Offers: Exclusive offers for dining, shopping and more. Save the offers to your card in-app to utilise them

Offset purchases instantly with Membership Rewards points. Simply tap on your chosen transaction. T&Cs apply

Easy access to your 6-month spend history

Share your personalised link to refer friends and get rewarded
Apple: 4.8
Google: 4.2
HSBCView all your local and global accounts at a glance

Get real time updates of your credit card transactions

Apply and use your credit card within minutes

PayNow transfers made easy — you can now select payees from your mobile phone address book

Offset your spending instantly using Pay with Points
Apple: 4.6
Google: 4.5
SCBsoCash: Get cash at >1,000 merchants. This service is available if you’re an SCB current or savings account holder. T&Cs apply

SC Money Manager: Take control of your budget and expenses, complete with an overview of your spending habits

Service Requests: Skip the queue. Tap on ‘Help & Services’ whenever you need to raise a Service Request 
Apple: 2.5
Google: 3.1

Anecdotes on digibank apps by SingSaver team

POSB/DBS Digibank app

On UX/UI design: Easy to navigate and find what you want (e.g. to pay credit card bills, to apply for new card, to see eligible transactions). You get all the numbers you need at a glance. All core functions are easily accessible on the bottom menu (i.e. paynow).

On ability to customise: Can reorder sections in sequence that's more in line with what's most important to you.

On NAV Planner: Useful for getting a personalised overview of your financial health (e.g. the % you’ve saved in the preceding month).  

On digital applications: Can apply for cards, loans, insurance and investment accounts in just a few taps.

On overall experience: The app is very intuitive. You can perform any transaction other than convert your DBS points.

Other notes: The bank is always trying to improve the app (e.g. new features such as the profit/loss indicator on your investment accounts).

UOB Mighty

On UX/UI design: Fairly decent, generally painless and easy to navigate, view transactions and bills.

On Mighty Insights: Nice touch; it analyses your spending habits (e.g. tells you if you’re spending more than you usually would, based on different categories).

On digital applications: Can apply for cards, insurance, bank accounts, loans or even fee waivers in-app.

On SGFinDex: Easy to set up; step-by-step guide is available online. A bit laggy when setting up SGFindDex. Need to repeat steps and link each bank individually.

On overall experience: Pretty good. More lifestyle-ish in a sense that there's a dedicated tab that reveals all UOB deals and offers near you. POSB/DBS doesn't quite have that.

OCBC Mobile Banking app

On UX/UI design: Generally OK, looks and feels a lot more youthful (strong Frank vibes here) compared to other digibank apps. That said, Android users hate the new app updates, complaints aplenty regarding buggy, crashing app. 

On Savings Goal function: Very useful to help you stay on track.

On digital applications: Can apply for cards, bank accounts and cash loans instant with MyInfo. Can invest on the go, too.

Citi Mobile app

On UX/UI design: Fantastic overall user experience and app doesn’t lag. The mobile token is painless to use. Really easy to manage credit cards’ settings, navigate, view transactions and rewards.

On digital applications: Can apply for Citi Quick Cash, or easily convert credit card purchases or statement balance into fixed monthly instalments with just one tap. You can quickly set up recurring bill payments with Citi PayAll or invest on the go as well.

On overall experience: Awesome and intuitive. Can easily use points or miles to offset transactions. Easy access to featured deals, all promotions under Citi World Privileges and your card benefits. Timely reminders and quick account updates come in handy, too. The only con is you’re not able to integrate SGFinDex like other digibank apps at this time.

Amex Mobile app

On UX/UI design: Fantastic overall user experience and app is intuitive.

On Amex Offers: Plenty of offers that are easy to save and use. 

On overall experience: Wonderful. In case you didn’t know, Amex has the best customer service. Only con? You can’t integrate SGFinDex like other digibank apps at this time.

Which bank offers the best all-in-one experience?

It’s a tough one to say since every digibank app is inherently different. Regardless of which digibank app you’re using — or which digibank app is your ultimate favourite — the user experience and unique app features clearly matter. 

Your positive or even negative experience with a particular mobile banking app can definitely play a part in the credit cards you apply for, the investment brokerage you use or even your home loan package! After all, nobody wants to be stuck with a buggy digibank app when important transactions need to be done.

Read these next
Credit Cards That Get You Instant Approval And Digital Cards
Online Banking: Easy Tips To Prevent Cyber Attacks And Safeguard Your Money
DBS, OCBC or UOB: Which Bank Gives You The Greatest Dividend Yield?
4 Things To Do Immediately If Your Credit Card Details Get Stolen
Most Popular Credit Cards In Singapore

While Denise has a thing for travel, K-dramas, 0% sugar bbt (with boba!), Japanese cuisine and flat white, her curious nature means all sorts of random tabs are open on her phone 24/7. She doesn’t like to pay full price for anything, too.

FINANCIAL TIP:

Use a personal loan to consolidate your outstanding debt at a lower interest rate!

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