Making Payments in Singapore
As in most countries, cash payment with currency remains the most accepted payment medium for small-value transactions in Singapore. Notes are in circulation in denominations of SGD 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000. Coins are issued in denominations of SGD 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.50 and 1.00.
Singapore has the follwoing non-cash payments facilities:
GIRO The Interbank GIRO (IBG) system
such as direct debit transfers and direct credit transfers
Payment cards such as Debit cards:
these are either PIN-based debit cards and signature-based. PIN-based debit cards allow cardholders to make payments or withdraw cash from their deposit accounts at ATMs and EFTPOS terminals. Visa Electron card and the Debit MasterCard are examples of signature-based debit cards in Singapore.
Cheques:
commonly used in Singapore by consumers for bills and small-value payments and among businesses for regular payments such as purchases of goods and services. See How to write a cheque in Singapore.
Credit cards
All major credit cards are offered in Singapore. The issuance of credit cards is subject to MAS guidelines and regulations.
Electronic money
more commonly known as “stored value cards” it is categorised into single purpose stored value cards (SPSVCs) and multipurpose stored value cards (MPSVCs). SPSVCs can only be used to pay for goods and services offered by the issuer (eg prepaid phone cards). MPSVC also allows cardholders to pay for goods and services offered by other merchants or organisations. The CashCard is a MPSVC jointly issued by the three local banks.
Automated teller machines (ATMs)
ATMs allow banks’ customers to perform routine banking transactions without having to visit a bank branch.
Electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS)
the EFTPOS service introduced by NETS is a debit card system allowing ATM cardholders to use their ATM cards to pay merchants for the purchase of goods and services through an online transfer of funds from their accounts.
See below for details.
Credit Card Application American Express, Diners, Master Card and Visa are common in Singapore. You need an employment pass valid for at least 12 months and an annual salary of at least S$ 30,000 (VISA) and $ 48,000 for a Gold Card to be confirmed by a letter of your employer or a copy of your last Singapore tax assessment. Inquire about the time for the procedure. Some banks offer online card applications.
A large number of affinity cards are now available ranging from a "ladies only" card to ones that will earn frequent flyer miles. Check each banks web site for details of the range of cards they offer.
Singapore card issuers will shortly start to share credit records so that they can assess how many other cards an applicant has before issuing a new card or deciding on a credit limit.
Note: Banks in Singapore at present do not need to disclose processing fees and how they calculate exchange rates on overseas purchases when you use your credit card. This is particularly interesting when you buy online.
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NETS/ATM/Cash Cards/ez-link Card
named after the processing company) are issued by the Singaporean banks and Standard Chartered Bank and are linked to your current or saving account for automatic debiting. NETS cards double as ATM cards and you are able to withdraw cash up to between S$ 2,000 and S$ 3,000 at over 1700 ATMS machines on the island. The NETS cards are the most commonly used cards in Singapore. The card has a five-year validity period and needs to be replaced prior to expiry. Check your expiry date:
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e-NETS options for mobile and Internet
NETS offers a suite of electronic payment services for Internet and mobile transactions for you to choose:
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Cash Cards are the most commonly accepted cash less payment method in Singapore and is a MPSVC jointly issued by the three local banks offered to consumers as a cashless payment option at a variety of retail outlets, car parks and vending machines, as well as payment of toll charges at Electronic Road Pricing gantries and the checkpoints between Singapore and Malaysia.
Photo:enterAsiaArt
The CashCard can be used for online purchases with the use of a card reader and reused by topping up its value to a maximum of SGD 500 at ATMs, 2 Development Bank of Singapore, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and United Overseas Bank. Singapore CPSS - Red Book - 2003 327 selected EFTPOS terminals and automated kiosks3 provided by NETS as well as some mobile phones.
Some banks issue combined NETS and Cash Card.
The ez-link card is used for travel on buses and the MRT is also a stored value card and can be topped up using your NETS card. Some retailers are beginning to accept ez-link cards for transactions. Since beginning of 2009 ez-link cards can be topped up at DBS' ATMs.
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Most banks have their own ATM systems, but there are two automated teller machine networks providing a link between the systems operating in Singapore :
POSB-DBS ATM network
ATMNETS network, a shared ATM service of the other two local banks (United Overseas Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation).
For the large number of Citibank ATM locations see their website here
or visit their branches listed below.
The latest system to pay for your shopping and services like buying a movie ticket or settling your parking fees uses your mobile phone to double as a sort of electronic wallet. So far four operators have started operation in Singapore. Each of them partners different retailers and this complicates the procedure as for the time being you have to sign up with all of them to be able to pay per mobile phone all over Singapore. Signing up procedures differ from operator to operator but users will either get a personal identification number or a password to make transactions secure.
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Peer-to-Peer (P2P) e-Payment System Peer-to-Peer payment systems operating over the internet are being introduced. Payments are made online and all the payee and recipient need is a name, an email address and an e-banking account or a credit card. Check on you bank's web site whether they feature a P2P option. The payee needs to key in the name and the email address of the recipient. The recipient and payee will be notified via email of the transaction, which will be processed within one day.
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Bill Consolidator View all your bills in one location. Settle on line using a variety of payment methods.
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Writing a Cheque For safety reasons, cheques should always be crossed by drawing two diagonal parallel lines on the upper left corner of the cheque. For extra safety you can write or stamp, "account payee only" between those two lines. Then the cheque can only be paid into the account of the payee stated. Cross out the words "or bearer" to ensure, that only the payee stated can deposit the cheque. Sometimes you are asked not cross the cheque enabling the bearer to cash it at any bank.
Always write the amount in words followed by the word "only" to ensure that no other words can be added. The numbers must be identical with the words. Corrections must have a full signature against them. Initials are not accepted.
The date is written as day/month/year. Visit below website to view a sample with explanations.
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