Singapore Expats

Hiya,

I just got here and am about to start a job (originally from Australia), and was wondering which bank would be the best to sign up with.

My workplace said Standard Chartered would be good because they don't require an opening balance so it might be easier.

But this is not an issue, IF in fact it is possible to get money out at an ATM from my Australian bank (Commonwealth Bank) without getting reamed by international fees.

I'm after a bank that would let me sign up with my MoM in-principle approval letter (I haven't started work yet or got that green work pass thingamajig) + passport. I'd also be partial to good saving interest rates (since I won't be regularly depositing into my Aussie account, its % rate is now horrible) as well as easy access to ATMs with no withdrawal fee.

Thanks!

Citibank, OCBC, DBS/POSB should all let you sign up like this. They need nominal minimum balances. I forgot what Citi's was, but they actually had me open it with only S$100 and then put the rest of the money in later at my convenience.

You can search other posts, but I'm personally a fan of Citi since they make it extremely easy (and at relatively fair rates) to transfer money between Citibanks in different countries instantly through their website. Note that you'd still have to open a separate Citibank account in Australia, but after you can link the two pretty painlessly.

I imagine ANZ would allow something similar, but I've heard their online services are pretty shitty/non-existant. Some people don't care, but that's pretty important to me.

Shodan wrote:Hiya,

I just got here and am about to start a job (originally from Australia), and was wondering which bank would be the best to sign up with.

My workplace said Standard Chartered would be good because they don't require an opening balance so it might be easier.

But this is not an issue, IF in fact it is possible to get money out at an ATM from my Australian bank (Commonwealth Bank) without getting reamed by international fees.

I'm after a bank that would let me sign up with my MoM in-principle approval letter (I haven't started work yet or got that green work pass thingamajig) + passport. I'd also be partial to good saving interest rates (since I won't be regularly depositing into my Aussie account, its % rate is now horrible) as well as easy access to ATMs with no withdrawal fee.

Thanks!

There are no 'good' interest rates for the SGD. You're lucky to get 0.1%. The banks are basically split into two or three tiers. 4 x local banks all pretty much the same (POSB/DBS,OCBC,UOB) and then a bunch of foreign banks that are allowed to trade here (SCB, Maybank, Citi, HSBC etc) and then some rarer beasts like ANZ, SBI etc. I'd suggest an account with one of the local four as they have the most ATM's although in practise I really prefer my local Maybank - never crowded and not having a lot of ATM's or Netpay stops me spending money!

POSB / DBS has the most number of ATM.

For good saving interest rate, I will use CIMB. However, close to impossible to get ATM. If you are working in Raffles Place or Orchard road, you can withdraw money from their office with ATM.

For additional information, you can refer to the following.

http://www.askdrmoney.com/

I just came over from AU as well, and I bank with CBA there.

They do ream you with fees in taking money out from an ATM - anywhere from 5-8 percent, I haven't worked out the formula.

Interest rates here on deposits are significantly lower than back home, so you might need to rethink that strategy.

I opened a Citibank account in Aus, and one here in SG - both fee free, and no minimum deposit. They both also came with Visa debit cards. The reason I did this is that you can transfer money between the two instantly in netbanking and fee free (the exchange rate is probably 1.5% off the current market rate quoted by Google) as I have a mortgage to pay back home.

For other reasons I also opened a DBS account here - again, no minimum deposit, and the ATM card was printed on the spot. It too came with a Visa debit card that is also Nets (seems to be the equivalent of EFTPOS).

DBS ATMs are everywhere. Citibank are in many MRT stations, and are starting to spread out as well.

Sorry I can't help with the in principle approval issue - I opened both of mine with my EP (which only took about 4 days to generate after the appointment which was made a couple of days in advance - i.e. about a 1 week turnaround after you get here).

Shodan wrote:Hiya,
I'm after a bank that would let me sign up with my MoM in-principle approval letter (I haven't started work yet or got that green work pass thingamajig) + passport. I'd also be partial to good saving interest rates (since I won't be regularly depositing into my Aussie account, its % rate is now horrible) as well as easy access to ATMs with no withdrawal fee.

Opened my UOB account with Employment Contract & In-Principle Letter.

Savings interest rates are a thing of the past, in the majority of countries.

Pick a local bank from POSB/DBS/OCBC/UOB with ATMs all over the island. Queues at POSB/DBS machines and in branches may induce suicidal tendancies so I would stick with OCBC or UOB. Maybe then keep another account with a foreign bank you can also find back home.