Setting up a bank account in Singapore is easy!

Setting up a bank account in Singapore was surprisingly easy. We traveled over from Australia with a lot of cash, I'm talking cold hard cash. The reason we did this is because our bank in Australia charges ridiculous fees to withdraw overseas (we discovered this when traveling Asia last year). So basically the first thing we wanted to do was set up a bank account over here because I personally don't like walking around with so much cash on me, no matter how safe Singapore is. We thought we might have difficulty setting up an account as we did not have our work passes at the time, but it was fine. We were given from Sean's company our 'Confirmation Slip/Letter for Appointment at M.O.M' and this was enough plus passports to set up an account. Unfortunately though we could only set it up under Sean's name as he will be the work pass holder. As I am on a Dependant Pass I had to wait until I actually had my card to be added on to the account. We also thought we would have to go into the city to the main bank to set up an account, but it was no problem at the local bank. Besides waiting for about half an hour to be served (we were there at lunch time) there really was no issues, other than me having to run up to the money changer to change the Aus Dollar to SG dollar as the bank didn't do exchange. Sean was given a bank card and passbook. Passbook? Very oldschool way of recording your account debits and credits. To update the book they have machines that look just like ATM's where you insert the book and it prints all your account transactions. Check out the pic.

The only other thing we had to do was set up our online banking by using the ATM and after doing this we were given a little digital security key ring, so every time you log into the bank from the internet you press the button on this and it produces a specialized code to access your account (so safe!). Check out the passbook, key ring and card.

 
Also, every time we use our bank card as a debit credit card, the bank sends us a text telling us the transaction details so if we didn't make the purchase we know it was fraudulent.

Even though we have had our work passes for a week now, we finally got the chance yesterday to go into the bank together to add my name to the joint account, so I could have my own bank card. Again, we waited quite a while for this whole process to take place (I think every thing just gets done slower here or more security checks get done?). We were meant to produce our marriage certificate to prove our relationship and unfortunately I had forgotten to bring it. But, luckily they decided it would be fine to use just my passport and dependent pass (I'm pretty sure we have to be married to get a dependent's pass anyway right?). I then had to fill out a form stating the purpose of me using the bank account, considering I do not get paid a salary. The form was hilarious, I had to state that I would be receiving funds from my husband and exactly how much per month he would be giving me and how often I would be withdrawing per month. So, according to the bank my occupation is housewife and I am paid $2000 a month. Not a bad salary for doing nothing all day :-) So there you go, for those new to Singapore, setting up a bank account is very easy, but remember you must have at least SGD$1000 to start a new account. Anyway, I am off to spend my allowance!