Like me, if you are currently working in Singapore and is a Malaysian. You would opt for the weekend trip back to Johor Bahru to sent money back to your family and probably make it a day trip too. I did that before for a few times and it gets old really fast. I ask myself “There got to be a way that is more efficient than this”.
Usual Route
I know I could remit money back home via money changer, remittance exchange, and bank remittance. All these middle men take a huge fee just to transfer your money back. The idea of using them does not appeal to me at all to due to the associated costs you need to pay upfront.
My friend told me that she can remit money back home to the Philippines via DBS easily with a minimum charge. It sounds like a great deal. So, I did my homework to see if they offer service to Malaysian currency as well. Well, they do! Bingo.
They do not have any wire charges nor currency exchange fee. However, the rate is usually 0.03 higher than the exchange rate you see on google. This is great news to me and I don’t mind the 0.03 higher rate since I don’t send a large chunk of money back. So, the extra 0.03 does not hurt me. I think of it as a convenience fee I pay.
DBS Account
I would recommend you to open a DBS eMySavings Account. Once you open this account you will get a POSB account along with this account and a debit card will be sent to you once everything is settled.
The great thing about opening this account is that you can register it online. Just prepare all the required paperwork and submit. If everything checks out and nothing is left out. You will receive an SMS and email to notify you that they have accepted your registration.
If you are a Malaysian like me. You will need to take a photo of your Malaysian IC (Front & Back), your EP/WP (Front & back) and something to verify your current residential address. I used my postpaid plan bill as proof. Then, just follow the form and fill in the required information to continue.
Best to double check here for the information you need to start.
Sending Money
Once you have everything setup. This is the juicy part. Login to DBS iBanking website, Then, move to “Transfer” and select “DBS Remit and Oversea Transfer”.
Protip: Add your favorite recipients first. So, that you don’t need to punch in the details every time you want to send money back home.
Let’s say you have your recipient all setup. You can now just insert the amount you wish to set and just a few click to schedule the remit. Then you will be done.
You save a lots more by using DBS remit service unless you are rich then you should open an account in a private bank. I did a quick example for illustration purposes below.
For instance, if you use OCBC and want to remit cash back. You will need to pay cable fee which cost $20 SGD, agent fee, commission (usually cost $5 SGD) and more. Imagine if you just want to transfer 1000 MYR back and that would cost you 318 SGD with the current exchange rate. You will need to pay an extra $30+ SGD on top of 318 SGD. Making it a final total of $348+ SGD.
Using DBS I will only need to have $320.80 to transfer $1000 MYR out as compare to using OCBC.
I would usually go in and use the service in the evening and my family will receive it in the morning the next day. It’s a pretty fast service.
For those that are not Malaysian. You can still use this awesome facility since it supports so many other currencies. Just look at the screenshot above. You could send money to Australia, China, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Philipines, United Kingdom and the United States easily.