There are plenty of benefits to having a multi-currency account. If you’re considering signing up for one from a local bank, here’s a guide to bank multi-currency accounts in Singapore.
A multi-currency account is generally considered to be a useful addition to your personal finance and spending tools. For one, it allows you to exchange and store currencies at preferential rates. A multi-currency account also lets you spend in foreign currencies without the traditional credit card fees.
Several major Singapore banks offer multi-currency accounts as a feature for customers. There are also standalone multi-currency accounts like YouTrip.
| Number of Available Currencies (including SGD) | Account Fees & Requirements | Overseas ATM Withdrawal Fee | |
| YouTrip | Spend in 150+ countries Lock in 10 wallet currencies | No fees | Free monthly withdrawals of up to S$400 with a 2% fee thereafter |
| DBS MCA | 12 currencies | Fall-below fee: S$5/month Account Fee: S$2/month | S$7 per cash withdrawal |
| UOB Mighty FX | 11 currencies | Card annual fee: S$18/year Fall-below fee: S$5/month | S$5 per cash withdrawal |
| OCBC Global Savings Account | 10 currencies | Min initial deposit: S$5,000 | Min S$5 (3% of withdrawal amount) |
| Standard Chartered FCY$aver Account | 9 currencies | Min. deposit: US$2,000 or equivalent Fall-below fee: S$5/month | S$0 at Standard Chartered ATMs |
| Citibank Global Foreign Currency Account | 14 currencies | Min initial deposit: US$10,000 or equivalent | S$0 at Citibank ATMs |
| HSBC Everyday Global Account | 10 currencies | Min initial deposit: S$100 or equivalent Min balance requirement: S$2,000 Fall-below fee: S$5/month | S$0 at HSBC ATMs |
Bank Multi-Currency Accounts Guide 2024: UOB MightyFX, DBS MCA & More — Check out our guide to ATM withdrawals with YouTrip in Malaysia
What To Consider When Choosing A Multi-Currency Account
With any finance-related product, factors like security, customer service, and the overall convenience of using the product will definitely come into play. But when you’re selecting a multi-currency account, you should take into additional consideration these three fees:
- Foreign Currencies Available For Your Multi-Currency Account
- Exchange Rates Offered By Your Multi-Currency Account
- Fees Charged By Your Multi-Currency Account
1. Foreign Currencies Available For Your Multi-Currency Account
Firstly, look back at your spending habits over the last year, and identify where you could have reduced costs if you had simply used a multi-currency account instead!
While multi-currency accounts were previously associated solely with travel, people are now increasingly noticing that the benefits of using one extend online as well.
For example, if you love the regular promos over at ASOS, did you know you could be saving even more by making your purchase in British Pounds (GBP)? Similarly, if you’re a frequent shopper at iHerb, you could save loads when you checkout in United States Dollars (USD). Or if you’re paying for subscription services that charge in foreign currencies, a multi-currency account can help with those recurring payments as well.
For a more comprehensive list of online stores that are cheaper when you pay in foreign currencies, refer to our Ultimate Overseas Online Shopping Guide!
Once you’ve identified the currencies that are useful based on your spending habits, you’ll be able to decide which multi-currency account best suits your needs!
While most bank multi-currency accounts cater for up to 15 currencies, YouTrip allows you to pay in over 150+ countries with zero fees and real-time rates.
Bank Multi-Currency Accounts Guide 2024: UOB MightyFX, DBS MCA & More — Find out how to use Alipay in China
2. Exchange Rates Offered By Your Multi-Currency Account
Using a multi-currency account allows you to transact directly in foreign currencies and avoid any pesky fees. Therefore, any account you select should provide access to the best exchange rates.
Banks typically provide exchange rates that come with additional markups. On the other hand, YouTrip allows you to access real-time Wholesale Exchange Rates – similar to Google or xe.com rates. You’d be surprised by how much you could save once you start to pay attention to the fluctuations of exchange rates. Here’s a primer on how to use real-time exchange rates to your advantage when shopping online.
Bank Multi-Currency Accounts Guide 2024: UOB MightyFX, DBS MCA & More — Find out how to use WeChat Pay in China
3. Fees Charged By Your Multi-Currency Account
Most banks’ multi-currency accounts are generally offered as an additional feature to existing customers. However, many of them have extra fees — such as fall-below fees and monthly account fees. These are particularly important to consider if you’re just looking for an option that allows you to spend in foreign currencies, instead of one that functions like a savings account.
YouTrip doesn’t have any of such fees, so you can make top-ups, currency exchanges, or transfers without worrying about minimum account balances or other account-related expenses.
Bank Multi-Currency Accounts Guide 2024: UOB MightyFX, DBS MCA & More — Check out the best multi-currency cards in Singapore 2024
Popular multi-currency accounts available in Singapore in 2024:
1. DBS MCA
Image Credits: lunfardo.com.ar
DBS offers several multi-currency accounts like the Multiplier Account and My Account. The features available are pretty much consistent across the various options. You can transact directly with the currencies held in the account by linking the multi-currency account to a DBS Visa Debit Card.
Available foreign currencies to hold and transact with:
The 12 foreign currencies available to hold in DBS multi-currency accounts are: Australia Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Euro, Hong Kong Dollar, Japanese Yen, New Zealand Dollar, Norwegian Kroner, Renminbi Offshore (CNH), British Pound, Swedish Kroner, Thai Baht, and US Dollar.
The Renminbi Offshore (CNH) is not available for payments.
What are the fees associated with DBS MCA?
You may incur the following fees among others depending on the account associated with the multi-currency account:
- Fall-below fee on an average daily balance below S$3000: S$5/month (for DBS Multiplier)
- Account fee: S$2/month (for accounts with hardcopy statements)
- Overseas cash withdrawal fee: S$7
Bank Multi-Currency Accounts Guide 2024: UOB MightyFX, DBS MCA & More — Read: DBS Multi-Currency Guide
UOB MightyFX
Image Credits: SingSaver
UOB’s multi-currency account options are branded under the umbrella term MightyFX, and can be added to accounts such as the One Account or the KrisFlyer UOB Account.
Available foreign currencies to hold and transact with:
The 11 foreign currencies available to hold in DBS multi-currency accounts are: Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, Renminbi Offshore, Euro, British Pound, Hong Kong Dollar, Japanese Yen, New Zealand Dollar, Singapore Dollar, and United States Dollar.
The Renminbi Offshore (CNH) is not available for payments.
What are the fees associated with UOB Mighty FX?
The UOB MightyFX card has an annual membership fee of S$18 that’s waived for the first 3 years. Subsequently, this fee is waived only when a minimum of 12 Mastercard transactions are made in a year.
Other fees you may incur are:
- Fall-below fee on an average monthly balance below S$1000: S$5/month (for UOB One)
- Overseas cash withdrawal fee: S$5
Bank Multi-Currency Accounts Guide 2024: UOB MightyFX, DBS MCA & More — Read: UOB Mighty FX Multi-Currency Account Guide
OCBC Global Savings Account
Image Credits: Accredit Loan
OCBC’s Global Savings Account is the main multi-currency account option for personal banking customers, which allows for transactions with any linked OCBC Debit Card.
Available foreign currencies to hold and transact with:
The 10 foreign currencies available are: Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Renminbi Offshore, Swiss Franc, Euro, British Pound, New Zealand Dollar, United States Dollar, Japanese yen, and Hong Kong Dollar.
What are the fees associated with OCBC Global Savings Account?
Other than a minimum initial deposit of S$5000 to the Global Savings Account, there aren’t any major fees associated with OCBC’s multi-currency products. Overseas ATM withdrawal fees apply.
Bank Multi-Currency Accounts Guide 2024: UOB MightyFX, DBS MCA & More — Read: OCBC Global Savings Multi-Currency Account Guide
Standard Chartered FCY$aver
Image Credits: Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered has a few options of multi-currency accounts such as the FCY$aver account, which is a multi-currency savings account. For spending in foreign currencies, it’s Multi-Currency Feature can be enabled on the Bonus$aver account and used with a multi-currency enabled Bonsu$aver debit card.
Available foreign currencies to hold and transact with:
The 9 foreign currencies available are: United States Dollar, British Pound, Euro, Hong Kong Dollar, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Swiss Franc, Japanese Yen, and Canadian Dollar.
What are the fees associated with Standard Chartered FCY$aver?
The Bonus$aver account, which is required to enable the multi-currency feature, include these fees:
- Fall-below fee on an average daily balance below S$3000: S$5/month
- Min. deposit: US$20,000 or equivalent
Bank Multi-Currency Accounts Guide 2024: UOB MightyFX, DBS MCA & More — Read: Standard Chartered FCY$aver Multi-Currency Account Guide
Citibank Global Foreign Currency Account
Image Credits: Citibank Singapore
Citibank’s multi-currency account option can be linked to the Citibank Debit Card to make payments in the available foreign currencies. While there’s the added perk of withdrawing cash overseas at Citi ATMs worldwide with no fees, the initial minimum deposit required of US$10,000 (or equivalent) may be too steep for those looking for a fuss-free multi-currency account.
Available foreign currencies to hold and transact with:
The 14 foreign currencies available are: Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Euro, Hong Kong Dollar, Japanese Yen, New Zealand Dollar, British Pound, Swiss Franc, United States Dollar, UAE Dirham, South African Rand, Swedish Krona, Norwegian Krone, and Danish Krone.
What are the fees associated with Citibank Global Foreign Currency Account?
Beyond the required US$10,000 monthly deposit, there aren’t any major fees associated with this multi-currency account.
Bank Multi-Currency Accounts Guide 2024: UOB MightyFX, DBS MCA & More — Read: Citibank Global Foreign Currency Account
HSBC Everyday Global Account
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HSBC’s multi-currency account can be used with the Everyday Global Debit Card and currencies can be exchanged anytime with the HSBC Singapore app.
Available foreign currencies to hold and transact with:
The 10 foreign currencies available are: Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Euro, Hong Kong Dollar, Japanese Yen, New Zealand Dollar, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Renminbi Offshore, and United States Dollar.
What are the fees associated with HSBC Everyday Global Account?
While the initial minimum deposit to the account is S$100, there is a S$5 monthly fall-below fee if the average daily balance falls below S$2,000. There’s also a minimum balance requirement of S$2,000.
Bank Multi-Currency Accounts Guide 2024: UOB MightyFX, DBS MCA & More — Read: HSBC Everyday Global Account
Which multi-currency account suits me best?
If all you need is an uncomplicated multi-currency account and card for overseas spending and online shopping, consider YouTrip instead! There are no minimum account balances or annual fees required.
You’ll be able to pay in over 150+ countries with no fees and make in-app exchanges on 10 popular currencies at real-time rates without markups. Plus, you can also now transfer any of your currency wallet balances to other YouTrip users!
If you still haven’t gotten your free YouTrip card yet, use promo code <YTBLOG5> to sign up and receive a free S$5 in your account. 😎
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