why you like your own post.

Anyway, about to come to SG soon. Can you share any documents you bring with you while opening DBS My Account? Just passport? Or you need Malaysia IC, proof of residence etc.?

I am on the Work Holiday Pass scheme. https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/w...liday-programme

Also does the DBS My Account come with a debit card?

Anyone opened a Citibank account in SG too?

I am confused by their many "local currency" bank accounts.

https://www.citibank.com.sg/personal-bankin...urrencyAccounts

I wonder which one behaves like Maybank SG iSavvy/CIMB SG FastSaver/DBS My Account.

(I checked OCBC and UOB too but they all require minimum monthly balance of something like 1k-3k SGD).

Youtrip better than Wise?

As far as I checked, it's very good with no markups or fees but I question the sustainability of the business model.

https://support.you.co/hc/en-us/articles/36...-we-make-money-

Relying on small fees from merchants when you spend with you Youtrip card does not bring much revenue, especially if I am an extreme saver where all money is in IBKR.

Ok, will have a look. Youtrip may also need an SG phone number to stay activated, unlike my HK digital bank Mox which can accept Malaysian phone number (in the early days).

In case Youtrip need SG phone number, I can't apply then.

Arrived at SG
Something for you to note. Though the validity of the WHP is till the end of the 6-month period mentioned officially in the application form, should the program of the visiting period be shorter than 6 months (e.g. in my case, 2 months), you will have to cancel the WHP on your own by writing a letter to the MoM (just a formal letter directed to the MoM telling them you would like to cancel the pass, print out and sign it), and bring along the WHP card with you to the EP Service Center at the Riverwalk to cancel the pass and they will issue you a 30-day short term visit pass thereafter to replace it.

The key thing is you CANNOT just let the pass lapse automatically by leaving SG earlier. You will have to leave SG with the short-term visit pass.

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Ramjade Went to DBS branch at Tower 3 MBFC this afternoon after the WHP card issuance at the Riverwalk, the customer service manager says no more queeue open. Have to come early morning. Did you encounter "limited queeue" issues back then when you open your account there?

I have relatives in SG (a lot actually ). By the way, SG economic rice still cheap eh. 2 vege 1 meat 3.1-3.6 SGD in hawker centers.

Maybe we can meet too sgh, since we are here.

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Also for those with Maybank SG debit card, once activated, you can use it on any MRT and buses with the new "SimplyGo" system (activated by default) and hence you do not need to buy any Ezlink card if you have an activated Maybank SG debit card. I tested with the NETS feature and it works well too (no need for any special activation) when purchasing my prepaid SIM at a 7-11 store.

When you first arrive at Changi, after exiting immigration, use the skytrain (if you are not in T3) and head to T3's Arrival Hall near the north side and you will find a Maybank SG ATM there. Can try inserting your card and verify all the features are working well. The ATM can print out all the recent transactions too in a small slip.

will cimb sg saving account become dormant if there's no activity?

I better open near the branch in Woodlands, closer to where I stay. The branch in MBFC opens at 8 and the queue openings are snapped up quickly. Came afternoon today but still to no avail. The one in Woodlands and many other places open at 10 am on Saturday, timing is a lot better.

Just to confirm, can you change the address from SG to MY when you leave SG? Since I open using WHP, they will need my residential address in SG anyhow, but I have to change that to MY address when I leave SG.

Same with phone number too. Can you change your phone no. from SG to MY on the digibank online portal or it is mandatory to have an SG phone no.?

Today almost successful, except I don't have proof of residential address (need university letter to confirm) and proof of source of fund (Maybank SG and CIMB SG account statements come in handy here)

Employees there confirm that you can change your address and phone no. to MY's address and phone no. after you leave SG with the online portal.

For those who want to visit the bank to open account, make sure you arrive before the bank opens, otherwise you will encounter this problem:



(SG culture, according to my SG friend )

Not successful. Need to go again with the 2 supporting documents. Waiting for uni's lettern for proof of address and I will print out bank statements to proof source of funds.

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Another thing with using IPA letters to apply for DBS account: In case they realize that the expiry date of the letter is near, just use the notification letter with shows the actual pass validity (which is 6 months) and tell them that even after 6 months you will likely come back and work/study here (Masters/PhD etc.).

Need to convince them with anything you can think of, especially if your pass is a "one-off" issuance.

Successfully opened my DBS Multipler Account!

(Too bad, DBS My Account for Sporeans only, according to staff from DBS Woodlands branch.)

Anyway, took me 4 hours of waiting, 2 visits, and 3 attempts...

Some important takeaways:

1. As mentioned before, arrive earlier with your documents ready. I arrived 30 minutes before branch opens and you already see 15 people queuing. By the time branch open at 10 am, another 15 people queuing behind me.

2. Not all passes are strictly acceptable. Certain passes lie in the grey area. Work Holiday Pass (WHP) is one of them. It happened that when I show all the documents, including the WHP card to the bank staff, it was rejected initialy by one of the staffs (not the same staff I met last week). Just before I packed things and plan to my trip to the MBFC branch, I saw and remembered another staff whom I knew from my first visit last week. I double confirmed with her that I have provided all the documents this time and suspected of potential miscommunications among the staffs (recall last week I don't have proof of residential address and source of fund, this time the 2 documents are ready.)

She went back in with all my documents and came back telling me it is ok to open an account with a WHP pass.

So, key message: you need some luck. Try to ask other employees in case one says no. Last resort is to go to MBFC branch and finally try online digibank submission.

3. Woodlands branch is especially busy due to Malaysians coming in from JB as well (overheard a DBS banker's conversation with another client while queuing), so consider other branch further south if needed.

4. If you queue early you will be attended early. But once you leave and want to return to the queue (they use a SMS queuing system, where the queue number will be sent to your phone), you will have to wait. I received SMS at 10.30 a.m. and was only able to enter the branch and start the applications at around 2.30 pm.

5. The DBS Visa Debit card will be automatically renewed every 5 years. DBS will send a "free" card to the address registered in the system. Make sure you change the address to your Malaysia's address when you return home otherwise the card will be mailed to the existing SG address. No annual card fees. The DBS Visa debit card will have NETS features as well, similar to the Maybank SG card.

6. For Malaysians, the DBS account identity card no. will be your Malaysian IC No., NOT your passport number. The I/C No. column in the DBS system will show something like MXXXXXX-XX-XXXX (M stands for Malaysia, XXXXXX-XX-XXXX is your Malaysia IC no.).

7. A note on SG phone number. If you are just a short-term visitor who puchase "cheap" SIM cards from 7-11 like me (validity 90 days), some of these phone numbers have already been used before by other users and become inactivated or cancelled. It so happened that my current SG mobile number was used before by someone else and has been registered in the DBS system. In this case, use your Malaysian phone number to proceed with account opening. Make sure you can receive TAC and messages from DBS at the same time to verify that the Malaysian SIM can receive TAC and other important messages. 

8. For those who are interested, DBS Multipler Accounts have some "tricks" for you to earn the maximum saving account rates. You can find these tricks online in SG's HardwareZone forum: https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/...r-plan.5699929/ 

Will add more here if I can remember.

better than CIMB?
CIMB no inward remit fee, no annual /monthly account fee, good rate converting to MYR CIMB

what requirement open HSBC account for Malaysian?

Even if you are not residing in sg, they allow you to open?

Ramjade

I am planning to sign up for Youtrip. While the forex rate is nice and no commissions are charged, the problem is you can't withdraw the money out to SG or MY bank accounts but can only spend the money via Mastercard.

It is very restrictive.

Do you know of any loopholes to exploit its forex service? Or you have better suggestions to use Youtrip?

Another info for you is you can register Youtrip with any phone number, SG or MY mobile number also can. There is no restriction on country code.

The only restriction is you need proof of address in SG and also a FIN number (which means you need study, work, WHP or long-term visit pass etc.) or NRIC number (i.e. Singaporeans or SG PR).

Currently need 2-4 weeks for account approval and receival of the Mastercard.

how to play the miles game using youtrip? by reloading youtrip via cc ?

before I have ask DBS via email, if foreigner want apply must have work premit

Walked in to following banks in raffles place area :
1) Maybank - require mandatory investment commitment of $1k per month for 15 years 
2) CIMB - cannot open savings without work/student/etc pass
3) DBS -  cannot open savings without work/student/etc pass

FYI

And no, not study pass. It's Work Holiday Pass. I am a visiting student (though the uni letter addresses me as "visiting research fellow"...  ).

Maybank SG don't need any pass. Anyone can open directly from designated Maybank MY branch. Just download form and submit to the nearest designated MY branch.
Lai lai welcome. I toured pretty much a large part of SG...

Can suggest you some nice place to eat... 

Now i am waiting for CIMB SG to call me and verify my account. Hopefully will pass and not ask me 3 ask me 4 macam macam...

Anyone knows what is the best answer? I plan to tell them for putting some savings in SGD and investing in stocks and FDs. Can? What is a "good" answer?

Possible. I opened one account with DBS Vickers a few weeks back, just after I got my DBS Multipler account approved.

Note that you have to "self-declare" yourself as an SG tax resident to apply for a DBS Vickers account online (even if you are not... they won't check, since it's "self-declare", not even asking for proof or anything. WHP pass is good enough to make you an SG tax resident even with just 6-month validity  )

You can link it to a CDP account if you own one or you can use the CDP account number given to you while your application is still under review.

For my case, my CDP account linkage failed since my CDP application was rejected. So, my current DBS Vickers is like a "bare bone" service without any linkage to any CDP account.

Is it possible to open Vickers account without WHP pass? I don't think I can get it.

The tax requirement for online DBS Vickers account application is that you need to have an SG TIN number (i.e. SG tax resident).

In Singapore, TIN number is the same as FIN number(work/student etc. pass) or NRIC number (Sporean/PR).

Anyway, I am not sure how Ramjade manage to "self-declare" his SG TIN number 7 years back without any pass or NRIC. It's best you ask him.

7 years ago we just open using TIN from MALAYSIA .. with our Malaysia IC

So you opened your DBS Vickers account and (bank) multiplier account with your student pass back then?

Or you are Malaysia student? The online application needs you to enter your TIN number anyway. Not sure how you fill that column up?

If you state you don't have SG TIN, they straightaway reject your DBS Vickers application and states you need to be SG tax resident to open DBS Vickers account.

At least that's my case.

I think you brought up the key point that was 7 years ago. Bank policies could have changed along the years more stricter or more lenient whatever. TOS experience is this year 2022 so is latest info.