Transfer money from Canada to Singapore

[melvados]

Hiya all, was wondering if anyone knows what is the best bank to use over at Canada, Vancouver? And also what is the best way to transfer money from there over to here at Singapore?

I did tried to check out HSBC, but apparently the accounts they have - Premiere, Advance etc seems to require at least a fixed amount within the account in which it is something I will not able to come up with. And it does seems that other banks (POSB, OCBC etc) do not have branches over there at Canada..

Care to share any tips in such scenarios?

 

[IronMac]

Are you moving to work or study there?

I'm not sure about students but it's dead easy for someone who is going to work and live there to set up an account. CIBC is really gunning for new immigrant accounts. TD has very good customer service.

Never really liked RBC, Scotia nor BMO.

 

[melvados]

Are you moving to work or study there?

I'm not sure about students but it's dead easy for someone who is going to work and live there to set up an account. CIBC is really gunning for new immigrant accounts. TD has very good customer service.

Never really liked RBC, Scotia nor BMO.

I am going there for work. Right now I am trying to do all my homework to the best that I can. At least I will not be in a mess etc once I got there..

Cool, I will try checking out CIBC then. Just wondering though - you worked there before?

 

[IronMac]

I am going there for work. Right now I am trying to do all my homework to the best that I can. At least I will not be in a mess etc once I got there..

Cool, I will try checking out CIBC then. Just wondering though - you worked there before?

I'm actually a Canadian with SG PR status. It's dead easy to transfer online money from a Canadian account to a Singaporean bank account as long as you make sure to have your account and transfer numbers. Your SG bank should be able to provide you with all of the details.

If you are in SG and you want to withdraw cash from your Canadian account, you can use your C bank's debit/bank card at a local ATM. A fee will be incurred and there are weekly limits. When you set up your Canadian bank account, try to get them to give you the highest weekly or daily withdrawal limit possible.

I know some people who have withdrawal limits as low as $500. The highest is $12-1400 I think.

Are you emigrating or are you simply working there for a period of time?

And CIBC has been after immigrants for well over a decade. They've got huge ads at points of entry now.

 

[melvados]

I'm actually a Canadian with SG PR status. It's dead easy to transfer online money from a Canadian account to a Singaporean bank account as long as you make sure to have your account and transfer numbers. Your SG bank should be able to provide you with all of the details.

If you are in SG and you want to withdraw cash from your Canadian account, you can use your C bank's debit/bank card at a local ATM. A fee will be incurred and there are weekly limits. When you set up your Canadian bank account, try to get them to give you the highest weekly or daily withdrawal limit possible.

I know some people who have withdrawal limits as low as $500. The highest is $12-1400 I think.

Are you emigrating or are you simply working there for a period of time?

And CIBC has been after immigrants for well over a decade. They've got huge ads at points of entry now.

Hey, thanks for the info! I am going there to work for a year or two.. I will most probably be transferring money from Canada to SG, easier for me (I guess the only time I will be back at SG is most probably after my work ends or I terminates it.. anyway flight tickets are not cheap either to be flying back and forth..)

Just check out CIBC and its plan does seems decent.. Most probably I will go down to one of the branch for queries rather than opening an account online.

 

[IronMac]

Hey, thanks for the info! I am going there to work for a year or two.. I will most probably be transferring money from Canada to SG, easier for me (I guess the only time I will be back at SG is most probably after my work ends or I terminates it.. anyway flight tickets are not cheap either to be flying back and forth..)

Just check out CIBC and its plan does seems decent.. Most probably I will go down to one of the branch for queries rather than opening an account online.

I believe that Delta is cheapest right now to SG to CA flights. Be prepared to go through a US entry point and accompanying hassles. Hate it but you save a lot of money over AC.

Air Canada (AC) is a middle of the road choice. QoS is much better than it was before although you will find few Canadians of the older generation believing it ever to be possible or credible.

SQ does not have a direct flight to Canada. Cathay or CX is great if you can afford it. I've flown all of the above and more.

The CIBC branches in Vancouver will give you all the info you need to know. Be aware that no Canadian bank has a retail branch in SG AFAIK.

If you have further questions, just ask.

 

[melvados]

I believe that Delta is cheapest right now to SG to CA flights. Be prepared to go through a US entry point and accompanying hassles. Hate it but you save a lot of money over AC.

Air Canada (AC) is a middle of the road choice. QoS is much better than it was before although you will find few Canadians of the older generation believing it ever to be possible or credible.

SQ does not have a direct flight to Canada. Cathay or CX is great if you can afford it. I've flown all of the above and more.

The CIBC branches in Vancouver will give you all the info you need to know. Be aware that no Canadian bank has a retail branch in SG AFAIK.

If you have further questions, just ask.

Thanks mate, you are right on the banks and so far HSBC is the only bank that I found which exists in both Canada and Singapore, unfortunately I do not think I will not use it. (Not that rich though )

Not so sure what flights my company will be providing me but I don't think I will know until the date for me to leave is nearer... Any chance if you know of any links for finding house rental over at Vancouver, other than craiglist/kijiji?

 

[IronMac]

Thanks mate, you are right on the banks and so far HSBC is the only bank that I found which exists in both Canada and Singapore, unfortunately I do not think I will not use it. (Not that rich though )

Not so sure what flights my company will be providing me but I don't think I will know until the date for me to leave is nearer... Any chance if you know of any links for finding house rental over at Vancouver, other than craiglist/kijiji?

You need over C$250k in assets with HSBC before using their Premier plan. I would have gone with them if I had known beforehand how many issues that that would have solved. Unfortunately, their brokerage arm is terribly expensive.

Nope, CL or kijiji is your best bet AFAIK. Be prepared to be shocked at the rental cost. Vancouver rivals TO for most expensive Canadian city.

 

[melvados]

You need over C$250k in assets with HSBC before using their Premier plan. I would have gone with them if I had known beforehand how many issues that that would have solved. Unfortunately, their brokerage arm is terribly expensive.

Nope, CL or kijiji is your best bet AFAIK. Be prepared to be shocked at the rental cost. Vancouver rivals TO for most expensive Canadian city.

I was told of HSBC as well, however I could hardly maintain nor provide the minimum balance required, unfortunately. Just thought that it would be easier for me to transfer money between Canada and Singapore, since HSBC exists between the 2 countries.. Seeing how impossible that may be, I will have to open an account using the banks over there..

Was told that CL took a while for the owner/lister to get back late (like 3 weeks), not so sure how true is that, but I will probably need to check it out later. As for kijiji, maybe I am still not that familiar with the area/ neighborhood (still quite confused which part I am working in, but definitely within Vancouver) I am living in, as my search results either came up empty or I was given high cost rental fees!

 

[IronMac]

Was told that CL took a while for the owner/lister to get back late (like 3 weeks), not so sure how true is that, but I will probably need to check it out later. As for kijiji, maybe I am still not that familiar with the area/ neighborhood (still quite confused which part I am working in, but definitely within Vancouver) I am living in, as my search results either came up empty or I was given high cost rental fees!

I've used CL before for other things and some posters come back within minutes. YMMV.

I am not surprised at the high rental costs. Brace yourself...

 

[melvados]

I've used CL before for other things and some posters come back within minutes. YMMV.

I am not surprised at the high rental costs. Brace yourself...

Okay.. For now, I am trying to keep my rental budget at 1.5k. And I am trying to keep a look out for rentals with room mate within which may decrease the cost in total..

Oh well, even before that, I need to know which neighborhood my workplace is in first before finding any houses..

 

[Shiny Things]

Not so sure what flights my company will be providing me but I don't think I will know until the date for me to leave is nearer... Any chance if you know of any links for finding house rental over at Vancouver, other than craiglist/kijiji?

Be very careful of Craigslist. There's any number of rental scams running there - basically anything that says "you have to wire money for a deposit upfront" is a scam. Bank wires are basically irreversible, and they're going to run off with the money.

 

[melvados]

Be very careful of Craigslist. There's any number of rental scams running there - basically anything that says "you have to wire money for a deposit upfront" is a scam. Bank wires are basically irreversible, and they're going to run off with the money.

Hey there, thanks for the heads up! That is something that I will take note of.
I will most probably be setting up an appointment and have a tour first.

 

[jarvis]

Anyways, these days, you don't need to send money through the traditional banks. you have a lot of these financial services type of companies who provide services for transferring funds. Find one that's regulated by the relevant authority in that country (I know my colleagues use Transferwise for UK to SGD transfers - I don't know about Canada). They usually don't charge any fee, and the exchange rates they give are usually a heck of a lot better than the banks - just a little worse off than the rates you see on XE.

Unfortunately, most of these providers only work 1 way - XXX to SGD but not SGD to XXX probably because MAS regulations are stricter and protects the banks more as this all eats into their profit margin.

As usual, do your own due diligence about the service provider you choose.

 

[IronMac]

Anyways, these days, you don't need to send money through the traditional banks. you have a lot of these financial services type of companies who provide services for transferring funds. Find one that's regulated by the relevant authority in that country (I know my colleagues use Transferwise for UK to SGD transfers - I don't know about Canada). They usually don't charge any fee, and the exchange rates they give are usually a heck of a lot better than the banks - just a little worse off than the rates you see on XE.

Unfortunately, most of these providers only work 1 way - XXX to SGD but not SGD to XXX probably because MAS regulations are stricter and protects the banks more as this all eats into their profit margin.

As usual, do your own due diligence about the service provider you choose.

I had to check this out because I do USD to SGD all the time. I don't know about the exchange rate but the fee that they wanted to charge me was twice what Visa (I think that that's the platform TD Bank is partnered with.) charges. And this fee goes up as the amount increases.

I'll definitely have to play around with this.

 

[pclow59]

Anyways, these days, you don't need to send money through the traditional banks. you have a lot of these financial services type of companies who provide services for transferring funds. Find one that's regulated by the relevant authority in that country (I know my colleagues use Transferwise for UK to SGD transfers - I don't know about Canada). They usually don't charge any fee, and the exchange rates they give are usually a heck of a lot better than the banks - just a little worse off than the rates you see on XE.

Unfortunately, most of these providers only work 1 way - XXX to SGD but not SGD to XXX probably because MAS regulations are stricter and protects the banks more as this all eats into their profit margin.

As usual, do your own due diligence about the service provider you choose.

I am using WorldFirst for transfer SGD to AUD for my kids Aus study. I saw GBP (also CAD) in their common currencies listing, so should be able to transfer SGD to GBP and CAD.