Help me deal with money while working short-term in Singapore

August 1, 2017 6:38 AM

I’ll be living and working in Singapore for the next six months, getting paid in SGD, but I have bills (and the rest of my life) in the US. Help me figure out 1) What bank and what account to get in Singapore, and 2) What the best way to transfer money home from Singapore is, both for paying the occasional bill, and when I leave next year with (presumably) a small pile of savings to take back to the US with me.

For what it’s worth, I have a Wells Fargo account at home, and I also have an account with Aspiration. (Aspiration is one of those internet-only banks that lets you deposit checks with pictures and refunds international ATM fees. It’s the account I stock when I travel, but I haven’t gotten in the habit of using it regularly yet.) I also have a handful of “common” credit cards, most without foreign transaction fees, but none with either of the banks I have checking accounts through. I've seen this old, helpful thread, though it seems like by now United Overseas Bank and POSB/DBS offer similar services when it comes to multi-currency accounts and ease of transfers?

There are POSB/DBS and OCBC ATMs nearby me, so I'm inclined to go with one of those. Also maybe a United Overseas Bank ATM, though I’m not sure?

Assume that I am a knucklehead when it comes to math-y things, especially exchange rates. Also assume that if there are userful things I should know about money in Singapore, like the NETS card, I probably don't--so tell me, lah.

posted by tapir-whorf to Work & Money (5 answers total)

Best answer: I don't know about your second question, but for the first, POSB/DBS and OCBC are indeed your best bets. POSB/DBS is what most people start with growing up, but the rates for leaving money in your account aren't that great.

https://www.ocbc.com/personal-banking/accounts/360-account.html

This gives a decent return for a savings account. You could probably pair it with the 365 card and/or credit cards from other branches

For more details you can check out: http://www.moneysmart.sg/credit-cards/cash-back

Transferring large sums of money...you could probably ask the bank for advice on this. There will be a fee for this additional peace of mind.

Paying for things depends very much on where you are. If you're eating at the local hawker centres (which you should!) then payment is by cash. Most restaurants accept NETS (which takes money from your bank account directly), Visa, and possibly something called the Cashcard, which is where you store money in a card and it get deducted. The cashcard is important for driving (not really recommended since public transport is cheap, if occasionally less reliable than us pampered Singaporeans expect) - read this https://www.onemotoring.com.sg/content/onemotoring/en/on_the_roads/ERP_Rates.html

There are also things like the Kopitiam card which is only relevant if you're eating at the Kopitiam chain of outlets because it gives you a 10% discount. http://www.kopitiam.biz/kopitiam-card/

So essentially, payment by:

Cash
NETS/Visa (as long as you have a local bank account, this is straightforward)
Cashcard (relevant if you're driving but otherwise you don't really need it)
Contactless payment cards like Kopitiam for select places.
posted by appleses at 9:06 AM on August 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

For more help, you might want to seek advice from other expatriates on other fora such as https://www.reddit.com/r/singapore/ or google "expat singapore" too!
posted by appleses at 9:09 AM on August 1, 2017

HSBC operates banks in many countries, including USA and Singapore. However, I have no idea if international borders are transparent when accessing an account, e.g., deposit in SGD in Singapore, withdraw USD in the US.
posted by Homer42 at 9:20 AM on August 1, 2017

HSBC no longer does much consumer level business in the US.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:17 AM on August 1, 2017

Best answer: Also you should consider that bank cards do not work at all ATMs in Singapore. i.e - HSBC cards only work at HSBC ATMs. This can be a surprisingly large PITA. If you see ATMs of different banks around where you expect to be on a regular basis I would choose one of those banks.
posted by troll on a pony at 11:01 AM on August 1, 2017