Starting Friday, the bank’s gold purchase counters will operate until 6 p.m. on weekdays, excluding public holidays, instead of the previous 4:30 p.m., it announced on Monday, according to The Business Times.
They will also no longer accept walk-in purchases and gold conversions, it said.
Customers looking to sell gold back to the bank will still be able to do so without an appointment from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, excluding public holidays, it noted.
“With this measure, wait times should be reduced and customers can be served at the timing of their reservation,” the bank said in the announcement, as quoted by The Straits Times.
The bank said appointment bookings are available via its website starting from 6 p.m. on Thursday and urged customers to check online for real-time availability of specific gold products before visiting or making an appointment.
UOB is the only local bank in Singapore that sells and buys physical gold bars and bullion coins.
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An employee shows a gold bullion bar at a shop in Singapore, June 16, 2017. Photo by Reuters |
Bloomberg earlier reported that people have been flocking to the lender’s headquarters to buy gold as prices dipped.
The metal has been volatile so far this year, climbing to a record high above US$5,500 an ounce in late January before sliding to below $4,500 and settling above $5,000. Even after the pullback, analysts expect the rally to continue and push prices to fresh highs later in 2026.
Last year, Singapore’s investment demand for gold hit a record 9.6 tonnes. The figure marked a 48% year-on-year increase, the biggest in Southeast Asia, even as prices surged 64% in 2025, according to the World Gold Council.
Kelvin Ng, UOB’s head of global markets group, told Channel News Asia that the bank’s physical gold business last year recorded a 59% jump in total transacted volume, measured in kilograms, from a year earlier.
“This performance reflects a parallel and strengthening preference among another segment of investors for physical bullion, particularly as a means of long‑term wealth preservation and portfolio diversification during periods of elevated market volatility.”
