DBS Remit: Why It Makes Sense For People Living In Singapore To Transfer Money Internationally Using A Local Bank

This article was written in collaboration with DBS. All views expressed in this article are the independent opinion of DollarsAndSense.sg based on our research. DollarsAndSense.sg is not liable for any financial losses that may arise from any transactions and readers are encouraged to do their own due diligence. You can view our full editorial policy here.

As a melting pot of Asian and western cultures, there are many groups of people in Singapore who require overseas remittance on a regular basis. One of the largest would be the 1.2 million-strong foreign workforce in Singapore – many of whom are working here to support their families back home.

As one of the world’s most open economies, locals also have strong global links. Statistically, about 25% of Singaporeans are married to a non-resident spouse in 2020. Many Singaporean students also study overseas, either on overseas programmes or enrolling in foreign universities. Investing overseas directly is another growing trend. We would also be more than willing to aid our trusted helpers – numbering 250,000 – access good exchange rates to safely send their hard-earned money back home.

You get the point – there are numerous reasons why people in Singapore, both locals and foreigners, have to transfer money overseas.

Trust – The Biggest Factor In Choosing A Remittance Service

If we do not fully trust the remittance service to send our money overseas, there’s little need to compare other factors. We should just avoid using it.

While the market for overseas remittance is crowded with many players, there’s no financial brand in Singapore that is more synonymous with security than DBS.  

DBS also leverages technology to enable us to easily track the live status of our overseas fund transfer to Hong Kong and India via our DBS digibank app. This reduces anxiety about where our funds are, especially if our recipients have not received it.

Other Important Considerations When Sending Money Overseas

Coverage is another factor. If the remittance service does not provide access to many countries, we may find ourselves going to many different services. Even if there is a cheaper way to send money to a few destinations, we may not use it out of inconvenience.

Through its overseas fund transfer service, DBS Remit enables us to send money to over 50+ destinations, including majority of the major territories that we would find ourselves having to send money to.

When sending our money overseas, we also want to incur as little costs as possible. This means paying a low transaction cost and getting an attractive exchange rate. Here is where DBS stands out.

DBS Remit charges $0 in fees and offers competitive rates that are locked-in once we approve the transaction. This way, there’s no nasty surprises waiting for us (or our recipients) after sending our money.

Can we all agree that sending money more quickly is always better? Speed definitely matters because some of our recipients may need the money urgently. DBS Remit solves this by providing same-day transfers – that are made within the cut-off timing for the day. Even if we don’t make the cut-off timing, being able to send our funds within two days is still quick enough for the majority of our transactions.

DBS Remit Offers A More Convenient Way To Send Money Overseas

Since the majority of us already have a DBS or POSB account, we don’t have to open any new accounts or research a new provider to start sending our money overseas. This also eliminates the additional steps of having to transfer funds from our bank account to the new service provider’s account and waiting for the transaction to go through, before remitting it.

Send In 3 Steps, Zero Fuss

DBS has also made the process incredibly simple with just three steps on our DBS digibank app. This way, we can make overseas money transfers even on the go, at our own time, own convenience.

Step 1: Tap on Overseas Transfer on our digibank app login screen.

Step 2: Input the amount, currency and recipient that we want to send to.

Step 3: Tap on review and send!

If we are new to DBS Remit, we also have to add a new recipient. After the transaction has been made, we can keep track of exactly where our money is with an option to “Share Transfer Details”. We will also receive regular status updates on our funds transfers. This way, we can share payment details with our recipients on a timely basis. This service is currently only available for transfers to Hong Kong and India, and local currency transfers to DBS Indonesia, DBS China and DBS Vietnam accounts.

While the entire process was fuss-free, what’s even better is that all DollarsAndSense readers now get to enjoy S$5 cashback with an exclusive promo code REMITDS upon your first DBS Remit transaction! This is on top of DBS’ current promotion, offering S$30 one-time cashback for remittance of above S$300. The DBS promotion is limited to the first 1,500 monthly transactions in November and December 2021.

Note: The above promotion ended on 31 December 2021.

If you ask us, getting $35 cashback for a remittance transaction (of $300 or more) that we had to send in the first place is a pretty sweet deal!

Connect With Your Loved Ones – Even Though Borders Are Restricted

Even though borders have been restricted for almost two years now, there’s no reason why we cannot continue to connect with our family and friends overseas.

As we mentioned, many Singaporean families have overseas ties today. While we may not be able to travel or want to take the risk to travel even if there are existing routes, we can stay in touch via technology.

DBS Remit also allows us to connect with family and friends who are overseas with an “ang pow”. Whether it’s for a wedding, birthday or the upcoming Christmas celebrations we have a low-cost and efficient way to send our best wishes to the people dearest to us, who are overseas. Of course, getting the $35 cashback in the process is also not too shabby a deal either.

One common misconception is that using a local bank to make overseas remittances is more expensive, and that we should find cheaper alternatives. DBS Remit highlights the fact that local banks actually offer very competitive exchange rates and $0 fees.

With DBS Remit, we have our own personal money changer in our pocket – and it’s quite convenient to make overseas transfers within the same day.

Here’s a quick overview of why you should consider using DBS Remit to transfer money internationally:

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