This article will tell you everything you need to know about choosing the bank that fits the non-resident Singaporean’s requirements.
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As a foreigner in Singapore you can quickly get lost in a sea of financial advertising none of which may seem familiar to you. If you’re used to finding ATMs from international names like Citibank, HSBC, or American Express, you’ll find that these banks have very little presence here. Instead the best banks for foreigners in Singapore are the ones that are local and yet suitable for international payments and transfers.
This article will tell you everything you need to know about choosing the bank that fits the non-resident Singaporean’s requirements.
If you’re a non-resident, your banking needs will differ significantly from the needs of a citizen or a permanent resident. For one thing, you would need to send back remittances to your home country. So, you would need a bank that can make that transfer painless.
Listed below are the basic banking services that foreign individuals in Singapore would need on a continuous basis:
The following document list is meant for online bank account opening applications and is only valid for Singapore citizens, PRs, Employment/S-Pass holders, Students on a visa, Entre pass holders, etc. Further the information here is valid at the time of writing and may be subject to change periodically.
DBS (Development Bank of Singapore)
OCBC (Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation)
UOB (United Overseas Bank)
MayBank
Standard Chartered Bank
CitiBank
HSBC
For most banks, it takes between 3 to 7 working days to have a fully functional bank account opened.
DBS commits to 3 business days. However, SingPass holders may be eligible for instant account opening.
Note that the information given here has been taken from the official websites of each of the banks concerned and were current at the time of writing. However, they may be subject to change and human error. These figures may be taken as reference only for the purpose of choosing the best banks for foreigners in Singapore.
In Singapore, there are immutable banking secrecy laws and account holders are not required to report funds available to the authorities regularly.
However, the Corruption, Drug Trafficking, and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act of 1999 (CDSA) makes it a punishable offence to engage in such acts.
Singapore banks are required to monitor and find suspicious transactions and unverified sources of income or wealth deposited with them. However, the Singapore authorities will not punish you if the source of your funds are not from a list of 184 criminal activities elaborated in the Act mentioned above.
Note that Singapore police can detain, arrest, or charge you for these 184 offences even if they are committed overseas.
If you’re planning to launch a business as a foreigner and want to visit Singapore occasionally, you may want to open a bank account in a bank that also serves your home country.
Although it might seem that familiar banks in your home country are more suitable, there might be conditions involved because of regulations in Singapore.
DBS Bank does not require you to visit one of their branches to open your account with them in Singapore. DBS has branches in India, the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada as well, among 18 countries in all.
However, be sure to carefully check their web pages for the most current applicable interest rates, foreign exchange commissions on remittance, initial deposits, average daily balance requirements, fall-below charges, and other levies.
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Yes. Foreigners are allowed to open a Singaporean bank account provided they have valid documents to be in Singapore. For example, Singapore Employment Pass holders, EntrePass holders, and Student pass holders.
Yes. While Singapore citizens are required to quote their NRIC or PR Visa numbers, non-residents must provide more comprehensive proof of residence, passport copies, phone bills, other bank statements, etc.
Not at the moment. You may apply for the SingPass ( a digital authentication system that stores and shares your personal information such as address, passport number, contact details, and other traceable information. A SingPass may allow you to open a bank account faster with some banks.
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