DBS Multi-currency

[dreant]

So is this account free to open?

Fees & Charges - DBS Multi-Currency Autosave Account | DBS Bank Singapore

 

[stiwipl]

The *only* advantage the DBS MCA account provides, compared to other FCY deposit accounts, is the ability to deposit and withdraw foreign currency notes without charge... which, you would have to do at a bank *anyway*. Last I checked, they've not yet figured out how to deposit physical notes online yet.

I deposit/withdraw FCY free of charge with Standard Chartered. If you have World Partner status, these fees are waived. You just need to have S$20k (this it what I was told) or S$50k (officially), you can ask for the status upgrade. It is no further reviewed, which means you do not have to maintain this amount.

It's only useful if you actually need such a facility; but also bear in mind there is no easy (actually, this should be read as 'cheap') way to move FCY between banks in SG (*except* USD... which you can't do online either).

All banks charge fees to move FCY around locally. I'm not familiar with the SC facility that you used, but from what I can see, SC's TT charges appear to be similar to all other banks.

World Partner status waive all TT fees except cable fees which are S$20 or US$15 (or equivalent) for FCY transfers. So when I am sending FCY transfer to IBAN accounts as SHA, SC doesn't charge me a single cent. If I send transfer to non IBAN countries, so to another SG bank for instance, only cable fees apply if I am sending it as SHA. Then obviously DBS incoming TT S$10 apply or in case of Citibank it is free. That means moving any money from SC to Citibank essentially cost you maximum S$20/US$15.

If you want good online banking experience, I would recommend UOB or Citibank. I've been able to do *all* operations that I required with them online without too much trouble.

I've briefly banked with SC, and didn't enjoy the experience... UOB wasn't stellar either, but their internet banking was generally trouble-free.
Was not impressed with Standard Chartered either. It seemed to me that their call center was not based in SG, and was not empowered to do anything, or have basic information and couldn't answer my questions; it was always "We'll have to arrange for someone to call you soon...", and even then, the callback person was mostly clueless, and on more than one occasion didn't even know *why* they were calling me back (they were only told to call me...).

UOB has some crazy fees for foreign TT transfers and I am not even sure whether things get better/cheaper for their Privilege banking, as it is not mentioned. I agree when it comes to level of service provided by SC, it is very average.

I have just expressed my disappointment with a lack of basic feature in DBS ibanking that would allow to move FCY between SG. If you review this thread, the level of knowledge provided by DBS is also appalling. Sometimes they are saying that for DBS MCA funds will be automatically converted to SGD, while others that it will retain in the currency of the transfer. I don't know if anyone would gamble on that especially when it comes to higher amount of transfers. DBS responses just leave them a field to act as they want with your transfers. Just read earlier what I & @lcpteck were told by the banking manager and compare with the response you received from DBS.

Online banking overview for this DBS MCA account is also confusing, instead of showing you overview of currencies and amounts held, it just shows you indicative SGD total. This can even lead to confusion that you may initially think that your transfer was credited in SGD until you go to account details. This it not the way I thought it will be, but my expectations when it comes to SG banks have lowered dramatically after banking in this country for few years.

I also agree on Citibank, which has been trouble free for me. They have also quite good policy on FCY transfers to charge S$30 and often when sending online TT to Europe as SHA it was the only fee I was charged by them. Their Global Transfers also work great and I use them frequently, beneficiary gets payment instantly and it costs $0 - applies to FCY Citi Global Transfers as well. Also Citibank has ATM card that can be connected to your FCY account to withdraw EUR/USD or other currencies completely free of charge worldwide, which is not the case of DBS MCA where you can only use SGD balance.

 

[dreant]

I deposit/withdraw FCY free of charge with Standard Chartered. If you have World Partner status, these fees are waived. You just need to have S$20k (this it what I was told) or S$50k (officially), you can ask for the status upgrade. It is no further reviewed, which means you do not have to maintain this amount.

World Partner status waive all TT fees except cable fees which are S$20 or US$15 (or equivalent) for FCY transfers.

Accoding to SC's pricing guide, WP status doesn't waive FCY deposits if there is no currency conversion. Could you share a link that shows otherwise?

So, effectively, it still costs you at least SGD30 in total ($20 SC + $10 DBS) to move funds from your SC FCY to DBS MCA... Pray, tell, why would you bother to do that, if you could supposedly already withdraw FCY from SC with no charge? (Why else would you be trying to push FCY into a DBS MCA account?)

I have just expressed my disappointment with a lack of basic feature in DBS ibanking that would allow to move FCY between SG.

Erm... no. You were making a blanket statement that was incorrect. And only after several posts, that showed otherwise, did you actually clarify what you were *actually* disappointed about.

Is DBS MCA disappointing? Certainly! I had one for some time, then closed it. But that doesn't undermine the one (and only) function that it is useful for. Open this account *only* if you have a need for that function, and not otherwise; because it *is* a rather crappy account for any other purpose.

Similarly, is UOB bank great? Not at all. I've had my issues with them too. But it doesn't change the fact that their internet banking facility is great. IMO, no other online banking experience compares. I only recommended them above because it seemed that was perhaps important to you...

Different strokes for different folks. *shrug*

 

[stiwipl]

Accoding to SC's pricing guide, WP status doesn't waive FCY deposits if there is no currency conversion. Could you share a link that shows otherwise?

So, effectively, it still costs you at least SGD30 in total ($20 SC + $10 DBS) to move funds from your SC FCY to DBS MCA... Pray, tell, why would you bother to do that, if you could supposedly already withdraw FCY from SC with no charge? (Why else would you be trying to push FCY into a DBS MCA account?)
[...]

For SC World Partner see here:

"For World Partner customers:
Outward Telegraphic Transfer commission is waived. Reimbursement cover is applicable regardless of destination. Fees imposed by other banks are also applicable and will be borne by the remitter."

I am doing online FCY TT quite often from Standard Chartered, so I see exactly what I am being charged. SHA to IBAN accounts = no fees, SHA to non IBAN = cable fees ONLY (S$20 for SGD or US$15 or equivalent for FCY transfers).

I am not pushing anything. I did send FCY TT from SC to DBS MCA for testing purposes only, to see whether it will be credited in FCY or converted to SGD by DBS.

Edit: I forgot to add that I am withdrawing FCY cash in SC quite often and has never been charged for that. This is a benefit of World Partner, although it is nowhere mentioned. Don't even ask about the benefits of WP in the branch, 99.9% of employees don't know about this status, not to mention benefits related to it.

 

[dreant]

For SC World Partner see here:

"For World Partner customers:
Outward Telegraphic Transfer commission is waived. Reimbursement cover is applicable regardless of destination. Fees imposed by other banks are also applicable and will be borne by the remitter."

I am doing online FCY TT quite often from Standard Chartered, so I see exactly what I am being charged. SHA to IBAN accounts = no fees, SHA to non IBAN = cable fees ONLY (S$20 for SGD or US$15 or equivalent for FCY transfers).

I am not pushing anything. I did send FCY TT from SC to DBS MCA for testing purposes only, to see whether it will be credited in FCY or converted to SGD by DBS.

*sigh* I wasn't asking about WP TT charges; it's quite clear in the pricing guide...

Edit: I forgot to add that I am withdrawing FCY cash in SC quite often and has never been charged for that. This is a benefit of World Partner, although it is nowhere mentioned. Don't even ask about the benefits of WP in the branch, 99.9% of employees don't know about this status, not to mention benefits related to it.

...

So, we just need to take your word for it... of a secret perk that is not mentioned *anywhere* at all, and that 99.9% of SC employees don't know about.

But it seems clear from their pricing guide, regardless of status, SC charges a 1.5% fee for FCY cash deposit/withdrawals if it is done from the same currency account.

The only plausible reason why you aren't charged, is because you're withdrew FCY from a *different* currency account, and there was FX involved.

Since you do it quite often, could you show a screenshot from your internet banking?

 

[stiwipl]

[...]
So, we just need to take your word for it... of a secret perk that is not mentioned *anywhere* at all, and that 99.9% of SC employees don't know about.

But it seems clear from their pricing guide, regardless of status, SC charges a 1.5% fee for FCY cash deposit/withdrawals if it is done from the same currency account.

The only plausible reason why you aren't charged, is because you're withdrew FCY from a *different* currency account, and there was FX involved.

Since you do it quite often, could you show a screenshot from your internet banking?

I can't post a screenshot from my personal FCY withdrawals, sorry.

I am withdrawing FCY cash from the same currency FCY account, so there is no FX involved and also no charges as well. I am also not sure what you find surprising about lack of knowledge from staff in SG banks? Whenever I ask 3 non standard questions to different persons, I will get 3 different answers. For example try to make internal online FCY transfer to another SCB FCY account in the same currency and then call a hotline to tell them error number that you see why the transaction failed. Good luck

The funny thing is that I had a colleague who was working here for few years in SC. Just before he left SG I told him to convert his staff account to WP in order to retain waivers for TT transfers & free FCY withdrawals. So we went together to SC Battery Branch and the manager kept telling him that they only have Preferred and Priority status, there is nothing like WP. You should see manager's face when I stepped in and told him to go to his supervisor and ask because I have WP status for few years already.

So yes, there is WP status which majority of staff don't know about and there is a waiver on FCY cash withdrawals in the SAME currency over the counter, which is unpublished benefit. Not sure what you are surprised about?

 

[dreant]

I can't post a screenshot from my personal FCY withdrawals, sorry.

I am withdrawing FCY cash from the same currency FCY account, so there is no FX involved and also no charges as well. I am also not sure what you find surprising about lack of knowledge from staff in SG banks? Whenever I ask 3 non standard questions to different persons, I will get 3 different answers. For example try to make internal online FCY transfer to another SCB FCY account in the same currency and then call a hotline to tell them error number that you see why the transaction failed. Good luck

The funny thing is that I had a colleague who was working here for few years in SC. Just before he left SG I told him to convert his staff account to WP in order to retain waivers for TT transfers & free FCY withdrawals. So we went together to SC Battery Branch and the manager kept telling him that they only have Preferred and Priority status, there is nothing like WP. You should see manager's face when I stepped in and told him to go to his supervisor and ask because I have WP status for few years already.

So yes, there is WP status which majority of staff don't know about and there is a waiver on FCY cash withdrawals in the SAME currency over the counter, which is unpublished benefit. Not sure what you are surprised about?

Uhhh... if you say so...

 

[stiwipl]

I have already used this eMCA account for few transfers from overseas and they were always credited properly in the reemitted currency, so no FX conversion was applied.

I was complaining that it is not possible to send local FCY transfer from DBS ibanking but at least it is possible to send FCY TT overseas from FCY account. I thought the latter is or should be a standard feature for all banks until I have learnt that OCBC for instance doesn't allow to debit FCY account for TT at all (through their online banking). No idea about UOB.

I didn't like at first combination of SMS/Token for authorizing certain things, but I am slowly getting used to it. It provides extra security by using two devices instead of one.

Definitely things that could be improved is the misinformation provided during bank account opening that this account will convert incoming FCY TT to SGD by default unless specified otherwise - which happens to be not true. Second thing is that the response time from internal messaging system is not great, as it takes 3 working days to get answer from CS. I have never had to wait more than 24 hours for response in case of SC or Citi.

It is also not possible to see details of incoming TT, so you don't even know who sent you money. The same applies to local SGD transfer, I can't believe there is no info about the sender with at least name provided?

 

[audnzd]

I have already used this eMCA account for few transfers from overseas and they were always credited properly in the reemitted currency, so no FX conversion was applied.

I was complaining that it is not possible to send local FCY transfer from DBS ibanking but at least it is possible to send FCY TT overseas from FCY account. I thought the latter is or should be a standard feature for all banks until I have learnt that OCBC for instance doesn't allow to debit FCY account for TT at all (through their online banking). No idea about UOB.

I didn't like at combination of SMS/Token for authorizing certain things, but I am slowly getting used to it. It provides extra security by using two devices instead of one.

Definitely things that could be improved is the misinformation provided during bank account opening that this account will convert incoming FCY TT to SGD by default unless specified otherwise - which happens to be not true. Second thing is that the response time from internal messaging system is not great, as it takes 3 working days to get answer from CS. I have never had to wait more than 24 hours for response in case of SC or Citi.

It is also not possible to see details of incoming TT, so you don't even know who sent you money. The same applies to local SGD transfer, I can't believe there is no info about the sender with at least name provided?

I think if you send inward TT (say in AUD) in SGD and you just put your MCA account no. 123-456-789 then the amount will be auto-converted into SGD at BOARD rate if the amount is small (<200k SGD equivalent).if the amount is big, then your RM will call you firs before converting. If you want to remain in the foreign currency, must put EMCA123-456-789 (AUD)

 

[stiwipl]

I think if you send inward TT (say in AUD) in SGD and you just put your MCA account no. 123-456-789 then the amount will be auto-converted into SGD at BOARD rate if the amount is small (<200k SGD equivalent).if the amount is big, then your RM will call you firs before converting. If you want to remain in the foreign currency, must put EMCA123-456-789 (AUD)

I didn't put anything extra except a normal account number and in all three times I have tried so far, inward TT was credited properly in the currency of the transfer without any conversion. I don't know if adding (EUR) after the end of account number is possible at all, as some banks might consider that as improper account number.

 

[Izumi8]

I think if you send inward TT (say in AUD) in SGD and you just put your MCA account no. 123-456-789 then the amount will be auto-converted into SGD at BOARD rate if the amount is small (<200k SGD equivalent).if the amount is big, then your RM will call you firs before converting. If you want to remain in the foreign currency, must put EMCA123-456-789 (AUD)

No Such thing as AUTO convert for eMCA. Big or Small amount it will always credit to your respective currency. example, AUD inward TT will always goes to your AUD wallet.

 

[audnzd]

No Such thing as AUTO convert for eMCA. Big or Small amount it will always credit to your respective currency. example, AUD inward TT will always goes to your AUD wallet.

no.. if u did not indicate (aud) emca is by default sgd and they will convert it at the worst off board rate to sgd for you as thou it is autosave sgd acc... got some complain for this... from internal sources

 

[stiwipl]

no.. if u did not indicate (aud) emca is by default sgd and they will convert it at the worst off board rate to sgd for you as thou it is autosave sgd acc... got some complain for this... from internal sources

Did you read my posts above? I didn't indicate anything and it was not auto converted to SGD in all three times I have received inward TT from different countries so far.

What can happen sometimes is that greedy intermediary bank will do the conversion. I had such case once with Standard Chartered when inward FCY TT was auto-converted by intermediary bank, in that case Deutsche Bank of Singapore.

 

[audnzd]

Did you read my posts above? I didn't indicate anything and it was not auto converted to SGD in all three times I have received inward TT from different countries so far.

What can happen sometimes is that greedy intermediary bank will do the conversion. I had such case once with Standard Chartered when inward FCY TT was auto-converted by intermediary bank, in that case Deutsche Bank of Singapore.

apologies... i did not read the post earlier. wonder why is your case not auto converted as from what i know, it shld be. there had been some cases of auto convert into sgd in emca and big hooha internally...ex treasury staff

 

[stiwipl]

Apart from DBS MCA, HSBC MCA and BOC MCA, any other banks in SG allow you to have multiple currencies under single account number?

 

[SpeedingBullet]

Apart from DBS MCA, HSBC MCA and BOC MCA, any other banks in SG allow you to have multiple currencies under single account number?

Stanchart? UOB? There's so many

 

[stiwipl]

Stanchart? UOB? There's so many

Neither of them offer MCA (one account number = multiple currencies) as far as I know.

 

[ipaq4444]

I can't post a screenshot from my personal FCY withdrawals, sorry.

I am withdrawing FCY cash from the same currency FCY account, so there is no FX involved and also no charges as well. I am also not sure what you find surprising about lack of knowledge from staff in SG banks? Whenever I ask 3 non standard questions to different persons, I will get 3 different answers. For example try to make internal online FCY transfer to another SCB FCY account in the same currency and then call a hotline to tell them error number that you see why the transaction failed. Good luck

The funny thing is that I had a colleague who was working here for few years in SC. Just before he left SG I told him to convert his staff account to WP in order to retain waivers for TT transfers & free FCY withdrawals. So we went together to SC Battery Branch and the manager kept telling him that they only have Preferred and Priority status, there is nothing like WP. You should see manager's face when I stepped in and told him to go to his supervisor and ask because I have WP status for few years already.

So yes, there is WP status which majority of staff don't know about and there is a waiver on FCY cash withdrawals in the SAME currency over the counter, which is unpublished benefit. Not sure what you are surprised about?

stiwipl, i chance upon this thread,
can i ask if you are a local singaporean as i was told WP is only for Pr or EP holder

 

[stiwipl]

stiwipl, i chance upon this thread,
can i ask if you are a local singaporean as i was told WP is only for Pr or EP holder

I am not SG citizen. It could be that WP status is only available to expatriates.

 

[luckyauto]

USD foreign currency transfer between 2 locak sg bank....

hi sifu...

if i transfering my SG DBS USD$ ( in DBS usd$ account ) to other SG OCBC USD$ account by using internet USD fund transfer ( like our Local sg FAST transaction ) without using USD bank check , is it possible ?

the below , any fee incurred... someone told it is done by tele or wire transfer , it will cost a lot ?

any bank or anyway is more cheaper way , to transfer the USD$ ( both held in sg local bank usd$ account ) between two sg local bank ?

thank in advance