What is RoundUp?

Saving can be challenging for a lot of people. In fact, according to some recent savings stats by Fortunly, nearly 70% of Americans had less than $1,000 in savings in 2020. That’s rough, as the median cost of a household emergency that same year was $2,000. We all know we should save more, but once the money hits our accounts, it seems to quickly dissipate. What if your community bank offered a smart, simple way to automate the saving process? A way that’s so subtle you don’t even notice? If you have both checking and savings accounts with UBT, enrolling in our RoundUp program is an easy way to get a jump-start on savings.

How does RoundUp work?

Remember when we used to dump all the change from our cash purchases in a big jar, then take that change jar to the bank when it filled up, resulting in a nice-sized deposit? In a world where not many people still use cash, RoundUp is a smart, effortless answer to the trusty change jar. With RoundUp, you can choose to round your debit purchases up to the nearest dollar, and the difference is transferred from your checking account into your savings account each day.

Let’s say, for example, you buy a latte for $3.65 with your UBT debit card. If you’re enrolled in RoundUp, your purchase is rounded up to the nearest whole number — so in this case, it’s $4.00 — and without any exertion on your part, the extra 35 cents is diverted to savings. This may seem like a small amount, but if you make several purchases a day, this could add up to a lot of money over the course of a few months or a year. It’s an easy, automatic way to start building up your savings just by using your checking account. What’s more, if you have your Round Up funds deposited into an interest-bearing savings account, your money’s working on making a bit more money — and it all adds up. As for that latte, you can sip in satisfaction, knowing you’re in control of your financial future. (That may be a bit dramatic for 35 cents, but you get the point.)

Hassle-free savings

There are no special fees or charges to be in the RoundUp program, and there are no minimum required purchases or even any maximum number of purchases, so RoundUp savings is not only painless, it’s free. Whether you use signature-based or PIN purchases doesn’t matter; all debit card transactions from your UBT checking account are included in the RoundUp program, so saving is convenient regardless of how you prefer to spend.

Your checking account statement will list each day’s purchases using your Visa® debit card. At the end of each business day, we’’ll total the RoundUp amount and list it in one transfer to your designated savings account. Your savings account statement will show the transfer as a deposit on that same day. If you’re signed up for our combination statements, seeing all the transactions in one place is an easy review, as is our UBTgo and paperless statements.

RoundUp savings may not make sense for everyone. If you keep a very low checking balance, you could accidentally find yourself out of money due to an automatic transfer (that’s where text alerts come in handy). But if you’ve been wanting to save, but want to start small, RoundUp can help you achieve your money goal.

Interested in rounding your way to savings success? It’s as simple as having UBT checking and savings accounts and a debit card. Contact us to learn more or get started today by enrolling in RoundUp.