Hello all sifu,

Anyone transfer overseas fund from a personal OCBC Singapore bank account (SGD) to a personal UOB Malaysia account (RM) before?

Will the funds get queried by Bank Negara Malaysia? 🤔

say fund amount is RM 207,000 (~SGD 68,856 equivalent)

Reason: to Purchase Property in Malaysia

So scare then buy crypto lo

lol cryto high risk bro.. there is even a Shiba Inu coin now

i think only yah,...
if then money from Spore are legitimately derived,....then "should" be ok when asked by BNM

also don't forget to get ready some documentation on the details of that intended property purchase,...just in case they asked too.

Buy crypto in this case is left hand give to right hand. Buy crypto using sgd and sell it and get myr

I don't do crypto so this is just hearsay... Isn't there hefty charge from the brokers? Like:
- The spread in buy/sell,
- Commission per fee,
- Worse than usual forex rate?

And to top that off, there's also the extreme volatility risk with crypto coins. Sounds too much of unnecessary risk to me to execute a transfer of legitimately earned money.

I don't know about transferring such a huge amount, perhaps you can call your bank to check if they would offer any special rate for you - something I read in another thread by someone else, dunno if there's such a service? You can also compare to other fintech exchange rates. With enough supporting documents for your tax payment and your reason of transfer, I don't see why you'd get into any trouble...

Anyone knows if the receiver should open a SGD - Foreign Currency Account ? Since the sender is sending in SG dollars ..
or the SGD will be auto converted into RM once it reaches the receiver?
(Exchange Rates would follow the sender's bank conversion rates?)

Sender - OCBC Singapore (SGD)
Receiver - UOB Malaysia (RM)

open FCA also hassle geh. need minimum amount to open, after open, usually got maintenance fee, etc. you check it out, you know what i mean.

Just ask the sender send to your bank account in RM.

avenues such as instarem charges lower fees should be considered. Bigpay also exist in singapore right but bigpay macam big amount tak boleh la. so maybe instarem ba.

do explore... it's 2021

This post has been edited by adele123: May 14 2021, 09:19 PM

If you are Singaporean or work in Singapore use fintech. Don't bother about using banks.
Lots of fintech available for Singaporean or those working in Singpsore (Singx, instarem, transferwise, world first, world remit). Shop around for best rate.

Unlikely they will ask. If ask just show proof where money come from.

Small money, no issue.

Dont convert to crypto crap, later taxable.

U can send SGD to SGD or USD or direct MYR account.

using fintech to transfer is much better than bank route. there's an article to explain how can we use fintech to transfer money.

https://fabiantan-74561.medium.com/best-way...ia-ff02e9d66cd6

You can sell to me.

yes, the bank will ask you the reason of the funds, and might also source of the funds/ supporting documents

SGD 68,856 small in Singapore, but RM 207,000 big in Malaysia lol

Would this amount RM 207,000 (~SGD 68,856 equivalent) be safe if use Instarem ?

I used Transfer wise before .. but that was small amount only SGD 100 or less

This post has been edited by propertyfeature: May 14 2021, 10:52 PM

Just do multiple transaction. I think singx have the better rates.

Thank you bro.. actually it's funds from my fiance in Singapore to my own personal account in Malaysia ..
not sure which method would be smoothest .. as bank might query..

As long as you have proof where the fund came from no problem with them query. I kena query for transferring MYR to SGD using fintech and I provide them proof and issue settle.

I see.. I will checkout SingX & instarem.. just that RM207k equivalent .. I thought safer if use bank ?

Dont over think ba. Unless suspicious, might query but cant hold your fund. 200k ba. Not 2mil. 200k not small amount but it's not alot in the grand scheme of things.

As for me, semi active user of instarem. I believe a noticeable population on the forum are. There was a thread on this, mostly on transferring from my to sg la.

If got better avenues aside from instarem, i also dont mind getting to know more.

Thank you, I will look into both Instarem & SG X !

Seems like SingX is very competitive ..

SingX - 1 SGD 3.0929 MYR

Instarem - 1 SGD= 3.0897 MYR

I am not sure about instarem sg rates. For me instarem Malaysia rates is lousy. Use to be good. But change already. Never use them anymore.

Shop around. The products I provide some give you rates on the front page so you don't need to make account. Just key in and see the one with the most RM received.

As long as licensed by respective central bank, no problem. Use banks if you like to give banks free money. I don't give banks free money.

I cannot open singx (not working in Singapore or studying there and no sg phone number).

Hence my choices are only limited to CIMB SG and Transferwise. Both offer almost identical rates. Ciimb sg no problem cause I already have bank account with them.

TransferWise let one transfer SGD even if one is not staying in SG/working or have SG bank account.

According to the SingX website, it says one has to be a Resident in Singapore..
Meaning Malaysian working in Singapore would be able to register SingX too

You need sg phone number to open. No sg phone number = no go. I think.

This post has been edited by Ramjade: May 14 2021, 11:10 PM

yup, my fiance in Singapore has a Singapore number.. so no issue there..
I am also comparing Instarem & Transfer wise.. will choose the best & most secured option

All secured. Cause license by MAS. For me I choose the cheapest option. You want better rates do transfer during office hours on weekdays.

This post has been edited by Ramjade: May 14 2021, 11:13 PM

I just compared the rates of :

SingX vs Instarem vs Transferwise..

Seems like SingX wins hence down ..

Compare during working hours. You will get better rates.

rm200k still small, no issue to remit.

SingX rates are competive, but I read through many reviews saying the opening process is a hassle & some delay in the fund transfer.

I probably would stick to traditional OCBC SG route..
as conversion fees saved is probably not that much compared to maintaining a peace of mind ..

This post has been edited by propertyfeature: May 16 2021, 04:02 PM

If you don't want singx go with TransferWise. Everything online. Application also fast. Transfer also instant.

If want to waste good money be my guest. Before you click transfer, so check out the savings you get from OCBC Vs those fintech I mentioned. You will be surprised how much you save. How I know? I did the same with DBS just for the fun to see much free money banks earn.

Bro have you used SingX before?
The transfer limit is up to RM 150,000
Transferwise, lower transaction limit..
Hope to hear from those who have used SingX before !

I always buy SGD. Probably TS can consider to swap with me so both of us have mutual benefits.

Was in a similar situation. I used CIMB SG -> CIMB MY. There is no fee and the rate is pretty competitive.

https://www.cimb.com.sg/en/personal/promoti...sfer-promo.html

Downside:
Both the CIMB SG and MY account have to be yours.
Allows only up to 35k SGD daily, so I had to transfer the money over a couple of days.

I'm going to try SingX lol .. takes some processing time

I don't have sg phone number. Cannot open account.

Why bother helping others to save money? Let them use the bank so that they can help us bank shareholders to get more dividends this year

Uuumph,... So you are a shareholder of Affin Hwang too..... That is why you rubbished other mmf by telling the good of versa..

👍👍🙏Continue to enlighten others... Karma will be rewarded more than the extra bank's dividend you will get by helping those bank which if you are a shareholder.

Thank you Ram sifu

I have shares in all major banks in Malaysia and that fact is MMF is rubbish when the banks is paying less than OPR rates

You seriously need to learn what is OPR rates beforehand instead of letting sucking more money from you and rewarding us more

Why waste my time to seriously learnt abt opr rate when the amount I can save from it is little compared to what I can make from learning on other things...
You are very good at displaying the number of gains to 0.0000xx sen... That is good if that makes you happy by feeling smarter for spending time on that...
Not me.... For it is insignificant... For I hv more impactful things to attend to in life than the gains of versa over other mmf...
But I never ever talk down on others by telling how or what they got or did is "rubbish" compare to versa.
Just say how or what versa is good for.... Just excludes the word "rubbish"... Then that would be abit more holistically smarter... Not just smart in mmf n opr field but also ettiquiqe in open public forums. Be abit humble

From economics point of view, "Searching cost" is something retailers often forget. Same applies to choosing which SG brokers, moomoo vs Tiger vs IBKR vs etc.

The amount of time spent is higher in cost (an opportunity cost) compared to the extra savings you get from choosing another broker/MMF over the former one, since the cost savings may be too little as retailers often have small capital.

Unless you leverage, the small capital savings does not justify one's effort of searching and comparing. That time might be well spent on other stuffs that "maximizes one's utility". Maybe spend that time to analyze company's fundamentals is more worthwhile for some.

Actually you are wrong there. The time spend searching and comparing adds up over long time. It's like unit trust. If your are doing it regularly over long period of time, you want the cheapest possible.

Say one who spend USD10/month on commision Vs one who spends USD50/month on commision, over 20-30 years how much you already lose? Never underestimate fees and small change. Always maximise savings where possible is something I learned from Jack Bogle.

So still think not wise to go for extra savings?

I know. I am talking about very small difference. Obviously say for moomoo vs tiger vs etc, it's a few cents to one dollar in difference, and assuming you don't trade often.

For MMFs, the difference may be a few basis points, if you keep low cash balance, the extra few cents earned a year may be less important than a potential sell-down and you go in just once, that potential (marginal) earnings can easily outsize the (marginal) loses in risk-free interest earnings.

Of course, if interest rates are high, then the error is significant enough and deserves attention.

Search cost: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_cost



This post has been edited by TOS: May 18 2021, 11:58 AM

I just used SingX last night..
Their charges were at SGD 219.68 (for RM 149,993.45 equivalent)
SingX exchange rates were RM 3.0901
However, after factoring into their charges into the exchange rate,
the final rates came out to be approximately RM 3.0761 ..
still more competitive than banks I guess

Never look at fees. Always see the amount of final currency you will received.

yup bro, but rates feels average compared to what they claim