The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which functions as both Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator, has a number of regulatory guidelines and standard requirements that CurrencyFair happily complies with in order to offer superior exchange rates and customer service to our new customers there.
The policies enacted by MAS ensures non-inflationary economic growth within the small but mighty city-state’s economy, and to safeguard against illegal activities such as money-laundering.
But what do these regulations mean for CurrencyFair customers based in Singapore?
After receiving an incredible reception following our launch in the Lion City, CurrencyFair strives to make our onboarding process for our new Singapore customers as seamless as possible.
As a financially regulated company, we thoroughly identify all our new customers before new accounts are activated. Our team in Singapore conduct a short in-person interview that is very casual; a “friendly chat”–and they encourage customers to ask questions before, during and after meeting our team.
This is also an excellent opportunity for our customers to get to know the CurrencyFair platform and for us to understand their exact needs. Meeting in person ensures a tailored sign-up experience.
Meet Calvin
Calvin Yeo is a Client Account Manager based in CurrencyFair’s Singapore office.
“To access our services in Singapore, simply go onto our website and register. You will need to add your phone number and upload an identification document.”
“From there, I reach out and send you an invitation for a face-to-face interview.”
"I’ll travel to your preferred location at a time that suits you to verify your documents."
Calvin says the verification process is quick–and meeting all customers face-to-face allows both CurrencyFair, and our new users to establish a relationship. A face-face meeting allows us to show customers how to make the most of their CurrencyFair account but would not include financial advice on the currency markets.
Having worked within the FinTech sphere for several years, Calvin explains that he is no longer surprised upon hearing how much money people are overpaying on international banking fees and premium exchange rates with traditional providers.
The entry of new online transfer providers like CurrencyFair to Singapore has highlighted the savings residents there could be making on their money transfers.
“People in Singapore are becoming increasingly aware of how much they could be paying in hidden charges when transferring money. With all of the competition between online money transfer services, people are doing more research to find out what the cheapest platform is to send money overseas - especially those who are remitting higher amounts,” he says.
"The biggest things we can provide for our customers is the ability to save - and most importantly, convenience."
“Typical banks will charge you a premium, but if you transfer through our platform instead, we can save you a lot on international money transfers. Especially when it comes to sending money for children's education, or to invest in a foreign property - the amount our customers save is huge.”
In fact, we are up to five times cheaper than typical banks in Singapore. Meaning more savings for customers to spend on what matters to them and not on unnecessary transfer fees.
What makes us different?
CurrencyFair offers bank-beating rates, quick international transfers, first-class customer support, and peace of mind. Plus, a choice in how you want to transfer money.
There are also two ways to send money overseas with CurrencyFair.
Exchange immediately at the best rate available, or if you are happy to wait for an even
better rate, choose a unique rate in our marketplace and wait for the market to match it.
“What makes us truly special is our peer-to-peer marketplace,” Calvin says.
“If someone in Singapore wants to buy Pound Sterling, and someone in the UK who wants to buy Singapore Dollars, they can both set their own rates on our marketplace. When there’s a match, your funds are transferred and everyone’s happy!”
“This way, customers can avoid the hefty fees and unfair exchange rates. To transfer the funds out of your account, we charge just 5 SGD,” he says.
The ability to choose your own rate means our customers could even beat the currency market rate that you see on Google.
Our up-front transfer fee of 5 SGD means that even large money transfers are sent with this one fair fee –and our promise of fairness means that our customers can rest assured that there are no nasty surprises hidden in our small print.
Exchange your HKD or USD into any of the 20 currencies we support. To see how we match up compared to other remittance services, check out our blog post covering everything you need to know about sending money to and from Singapore:
To celebrate our launch in Singapore, we are offering unlimited free transfers for three months to Singaporean residents who sign up with us before the end of 2019.*
*Terms and Conditions apply
