Find best banks in Singapore for expats. If you’re a foreigner or an expat then this article will guide you to find the perfect bank in Singapore.
Contents
Reality Check
When searching for best banks in Singapore for expats, most of us have a special fondness about the services of multinational banking chains like Citibank, Bank of America or HSBC opposed to the national level counterparts. Very naturally, as an expat in Singapore, you may like opening an account with these MNC banks with a view to experience their highest level of time-honoured service excellence.
In reality, however, subsequently, you may simply get frustrated to find an ATM counter of these foreign banks and end up wandering for hours while you are in urgency. This is the key cause why the majority of expats intent to operate with banks like DBS which is a local Singaporean Bank. It is one of the largest, popular-most and fastest growing bank in Singapore and has ATM in almost all road crossings.
The whole objective of this writing is assisting expats in Singapore in finding the most suitable banks for them.
When it comes to personal banking, the most popular banking establishments in Singapore include DBS, POSB, OCBC, UOB, Citibank, Standard Chartered and ANZ. Most banks remain open from 9.30am to 3.00pm from Monday to Friday while on Saturdays they work up to 11.30am. Notably, POSB is ready to entertain you from 8.30am to 4.30pm.
POSB / DBS Banks
Basically, these two banks have combined entity.
Advantages of operating with DBS/ POSB for expats are as follows:
- DBS has been an operation with an expatriate banking package designed especially for their expat clients. Among various plus points of this package, one is enabling clients to transact with various currencies with Singapore dollars.
- The banking group offers NETS Card which acts as cashless payment cards and is accepted in most retail or merchant houses. Apart from this, it specializes in a series of cards like stores card, petrol station cards or train fare cards which are extremely helpful for foreigners in the country.
- With the telegraphic transfer service of POSB/ DBS, you can remit payment in 20 different countries.
- Boasts of having the maximum number of ATM counters spread all over Singapore. Due to a combined structure, the ATMs cards of both banks can be interchangeably used with withdrawing, deposit or transfer your money.
Most importantly, expats having plan to visit and stay in Singapore for different purposes should note that most banks based Singapore allow only those customers to withdraw cash from their ATMs, having an account with them. Thereby, it becomes difficult for you to access more ATMs if you don’t have accounts with banks that are operational with multiple cash accessing mechanisms
Enjoy Advantage of ATM5
ATM5 is an innovative interbank networking system in Singapore that connects, 8 major Qualifying Full Banks in the island and enables customers to this network in accessing 230+ ATMs counters under their control. Thus, choosing a bank with ATM5 can be helpful for you to withdraw cash from the majority of ATMs in Singapore. The primary banks included in this network include Citibank Singapore, HSBC, Maybank, Standard Chartered, Bank of China and State Bank of India.
Also Find
DBS Bank Branches in Singapore
DBS Bank Singapore SWIFT Codes / BIC
United Overseas Bank
UOB is another major banking service provider in Singapore. It’s highly popular to Singaporeans as well as expats for its widespread banking products and great services. It offers awesome credit card facilities such as UOB Lady’s Card. Similar to DBS /POSB it has been equipped with NETS facility. Other services that are appealing to expats are
- Easy transfer facility from UOB account to any other home bank;
- Highly helpful mobile banking facility
- UOB discount cards (useful for selected food points and shopping centres)
Also Find
UOB Branches in Singapore
UOB ATM Locations in Singapore
United Overseas Bank Singapore SWIFT Code
Citibank
The City group bank has an increasing presence in Singapore. Devoid of visiting a bank you can open an account. Online banking facility, Video conferencing, Biometric securities are its specialities.
With Citibank Global Transfer facility, whether you’re from the USA or The United Kingdom and having a Citibank account there, for you, opening a Citibank account based Singapore let you enjoy absolutely minimum remittance service. Those having CITIGOLD facility can make money transfer absolutely free.
Also Find
Citibank Singapore Branches
Citibank ATMs in Singapore
Citibank Singapore SWIFT Codes / BIC
HSBC
Aside from being a part of ATM 5, HSBC group in Singapore is operational with NETS friendly, QUICK CASH services in 300 + locations. To have a closer look, visit any branch and get the list of points where you can access money. One good reason that expats like HSBC are because of its Multi-Currency Savings Account. With this, expats can access 11 dissimilar currencies and can make the transfer to home banks anywhere throughout the world instantly. According to many foreigners that Global Transfer facility from HSBC Singapore is one of the best in its category.
Also Find
HSBC Singapore Branches and ATMs
HSBC Singapore SWIFT Codes / BIC
Conclusion
To conclude, the Singapore based OCBC is also a good choice for expats from America and European countries. It has many packages for expat clients and has quite a good number of ATMs. Apart from the above, you can think of Standard Chartered or Maybank. However, it is to be noted that ‘best’ bank for you as an expat varies widely on individual’s criterion. Therefore, it is finally recommended that prior to opening an account you should get the complete details of the services offered by the banker and evaluate its significance based on your needs.
