{"id":1202,"date":"2018-12-21T01:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T17:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/en-SG\/?p=1202"},"modified":"2019-06-19T14:34:03","modified_gmt":"2019-06-19T06:34:03","slug":"singapore-overseas-spending-survey-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/sg\/blog\/singapore-overseas-spending-survey-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Singapore Overseas Spending Survey 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

Among 1,396 frequent Singapore travellers, 7 in 10 do not understand how they are charged Overseas Transaction Fees and almost half of travellers are at risk of 5%+ extra card fees. Are you one of them<\/b>?<\/b><\/h2>\n

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We all love holidays! Adventures with friends, annual family trips, or even that spontaneous trip we decide to take two days prior.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the past year, Singaporeans made\u00a0an average of 3 overseas trips, spending up to S$1,800 per trip. Throughout our travels, many worry about overseas card fees<\/a><\/span> and sometimes we are not even aware of the extra charges.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nTravel Money Woes<\/b><\/h3>\n

“For a cashless city like New York, I was making so many transactions a day\u2026 I never really thought about the fees that would add up.\u201d <\/em>– Yang (25)<\/em><\/p>\n

85% of Singaporeans agree that Exchange Rates are their biggest concern, while a good 71% also lament about Overseas Transaction Fees charged by banks for overseas card payment.\u00a0Despite the large numbers, 7 in 10 Singaporeans<\/strong> do not understand <\/b>how\u00a0Overseas Transaction Fees work and how much they are being charged when making card payments abroad.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, 9 in 10 Singaporeans are not willing<\/strong> to pay any more than 2% in Overseas Transaction Fees.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the current average fees are between 2.5% to 3.5%, or even over a whopping 5% when the card payment is made via Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC).\u00a0\u00a0DCC occurs when a card user pays for a foreign currency transaction in the card issuer\u2019s home currency (i.e., SGD). This is a service provided by the merchant\u2019s payment solution provider, which comes at a relatively poor exchange rate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"YouTrip<\/p>\n

In addition<\/span>, almost half of us <\/b>are at risk of being overcharged <\/span>due to DCC.<\/b> \u00a0When asked if a purchase should be paid in SGD or USD while travelling in the United States, 4 in 10 chose SGD \u2013 a choice that would come with a hefty price tag.<\/span><\/p>\n

While this is not indicative of Singaporean’s knowledge on DCC, this highlights the need to implement further education to reduce potential overcharges imposed on Singaporeans abroad.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nCards vs Cash<\/b><\/h3>\n

Are you an old-school tourist or a digital traveller?\u00a0<\/span>Singaporeans are a good mix of both, with card payments contributing to 48% of a single trip\u2019s total spending.\u00a0Even though 9 in 10 Singaporeans are not willing to pay more than 2% of card fees, many still turn to card payments nonetheless to avoid the hassle and risks of cash.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"YouTrip<\/p>\n

\u201cWe end up with not enough (cash) or we end up with excess of it. As much as we try to avoid incurring card charges, for convenience we end up using our credit cards for certain purchases overseas.\u201d <\/em>– Alex (29), Daphne (27)<\/em><\/p>\n

Read: Fake Foreign Currencies & How to Avoid Them<\/a><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n


\n#GenYOLO and Gen X-ers<\/b><\/h3>\n

Singaporeans are willing to save\u00a0around a quarter of our annual savings <\/b>to travel, no wonder we made an average of 3 trips last year!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Top <\/b>Countries<\/b><\/td>\nBy <\/b>Popularity<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Malaysia<\/span><\/td>\n15%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Thailand<\/span><\/td>\n13%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Japan<\/span><\/td>\n12%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Indonesia<\/span><\/td>\n7%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Australia<\/span><\/td>\n7%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Collectively, Singaporean travellers are proven creatures of habit and prefer destinations closer to home, such as Malaysia and Thailand.\u00a0Millennials, however, are seeking<\/span> off-the-beaten-track destinations, such as the Middle East (Turkey, Egypt), Africa (Kenya), South America (Peru), and South Asia (India, Sri Lanka).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"YouTrip
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Other Interesting Findings<\/b><\/h3>\n