According to Malaysia’s Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister, who said that there over 10 million tourists from Singapore visited Malaysia in the first half of 2025. That means, on average, Singaporeans made about 2.4 trips to Malaysia in the first half of 2025 alone.
As you may potentially make 5 trips to Malaysia across the year, getting a good exchange rate is relevant. And because exchange rates are never stagnant, many Singaporeans may be asking whether it makes sense to exchange for Ringgits now, or wait till you actually travel?
The Malaysian Ringgit Has Soared In The Past 2 Years
In the past 2 years, the Singapore Dollar (SGD) has appreciated against many major global currencies, including the US Dollar (USD), Japanese Yen (JPY) and Chinese Yuan (CNY).
While this should make overseas travel feel more affordable for Singaporeans, you may not think so. That’s because the Ringgit has outperformed the SGD.
From enjoying an attractive exchange rate of around SGD1 : MYR3.5 in early 2024, you will find yourself getting less than MYR3.16 for each Singapore Dollar today. In other words, your SGD is worth roughly 11% less against the Ringgit compared to early 2024.
Source: Google Finance
Looking at the exchange rate trend in the chart above, we may conclude that the MYR will continue to appreciate against the SGD.
Already, the current SGD1 : MYR3.16 exchange rate feels much poorer compared to what it was in early 2024.
But, Are You Getting A “Bad” Exchange Rate Historically?
If you zoom out, though, you will see that the Ringgit has been range-bound in the past decade. Between 2016 to 2026, you would get between MYR3 to MYR3.5 for each of your SGD. And so, today’s rate of SGD1 : MYR3.16 doesn’t look too bad.
The rate that you are getting today is similar to the rate you would have received in 2022, and even better before that. And, it’s even better than the rates before 2016.
Source: Google Finance
From this perspective, the ultra-favourable rates above 3.50 in early 2024 start to look more like an outlier, and the current rates are closer to the average rate in the past 10 years.
So, Should You Exchange For All The Ringgits You Will Need Now?
Even though the SGD has performed commendably against other major currencies, the MYR has done even better. This makes travelling to Malaysia more expensive today.
If you are looking at the recent trend, the MYR is on the up against the SGD. If this continues – and the SGD weakens further – the exchange rate will become worse and worse across 2026. That’s why some of you may consider exchanging all the Ringgits you will need in 2026 and maybe even beyond that – to try locking in a better rate today.
The answer, though, is never clear-cut.
If the current trend continues, then obviously you should exchange as much MYR as you’re going to need in the foreseeable future. This will give you the best bang for your buck, as the MYR continues to do better than the SGD.
But, what if the trend breaks down in 2026 and the SGD starts performing better over the year? Then you’d be locking in all the Ringgits you need in 2026 at the worst exchange rate now.
From our perspective, accurately predicting currencies is extremely difficult as they react to central bank policies that are themselves outside of its control, such as geopolitical events, global sentiments and growth rates.
So, whether you make your currency exchange today should depend more on managing uncertainties rather than predicting the best rates.
If you already know that you will be travelling to Malaysia multiple times in 2026, and have some big-ticket scores in mind to buy, there may be logic to locking in some Ringgits now to ensure price certainty.
So, whether the Ringgits go up or down, you’re comfortable spending the SGD equivalent amount on the relatively large purchase.
Alternatively, you can opt to exchange for some MYR in advance, so you lock in some of the better exchange rates if the SGD does continue to depreciate.
This way, you avoid predicting the exchange rates (i.e. don’t make the full lump sum exchange), but spread your exchanges over time to reduce the risk of you regretting.
If the Ringgit continues on the current trend and appreciates more than the SGD, then you would have made a good decision to capture some of the more attractive exchange rates earlier in the year. At least part of your spending in Ringgit is already locked in at today’s rate.
If the Ringgit weakens, instead, you would not be stuck with a very poor exchange rate today.
Opportunity Cost Of Holding Ringgits
A final consideration is what your money would otherwise be doing. Leaving some of your money in SGD may allow you to earn interest in high-yield savings accounts or money market funds. Exchanging too early means giving up that yield for a period of time, as you just hold the Ringgit in your multi-currency wallet.
As outlined above, a mix of strategies might make the most sense – exchange some MYR today and the rest gradually across the year. This ensures you lock in some Ringgits at today’s exchange rate, while also enabling you to earn interest on your funds kept in SGD and reduce regret if the SGD appreciates instead.
To deploy this strategy, you first need a multi-currency wallet that allows you to hold MYR. One convenient option is YouTrip – which allows you to hold up to 13 different currencies.
Not only that, YouTrip gives you real-time access to wholesale exchange rates that typically are only used by banks, large corporations and public & private institutions for large volume currency transactions.
DollarsAndSense Exclusive:
Use the promo code DNS5 during your YouTrip registration to receive a welcome credit of $5 in your YouTrip account.
With YouTrip, you can also monitor exchange rates and store MYR in your wallet. You can instantaneously transfer your SGD into your YouTrip multi-currency wallet when you see a favourable exchange rate.
Finally, you can use your YouTrip physical or digital card to spend cashlessly in Malaysia, and in over 150 foreign currencies globally.
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