Borderless Braking

VISITING A MONEY CHANGER IS A THING OF THE PAST. TRAVELLERS ARE NOW OPTING FOR DIGITAL MULTI-CURRENT ACCOUNTS. WE WEIGH THE PROS AND ICONS OF THE TOP THREE ACCOUNTS IN SINGAPORE.

When Shana Singh, owner of a communications and content company, was in London for vacation last December, her family was targeted by a gang of robbers. Both the 35-year-old and her mother's wallets were snatched from their bags, and they ended up losing about £8,000 ($13,000) in cash.

Prior to that incident, Shana had assumed that you could only get the best exchange rates at “old-school” foreign exchanges. But ever since the robbery, she has changed the way she travelled: No more cash, only cards. Fortunately, she no longer has to deal with high exchange rates and hefty transaction fees with the recent surge of digital multi-currency accounts from fintech companies and online specialists. “I feel that digital payments are less conspicuous, and will probably draw less attention compared to carrying actual cash,” says Shana.

WHAT IS A MULTI- CURRENCY ACCOUNT? 

A multi-currency account allows you to hold and exchange a wide range of currencies, and also comes with features that include a linked debit card, as well as international remittance.

Traditional multi-currency accounts offered by commercial banks in Singapore, such as DBS, UOB and OCBC, function similarly to regular savings accounts, with the added perk that you would get to save, invest, and transact in multiple currencies.

Compared to traditional banks, digital multi-currency accounts, such as Youtrip, Revolut and Wise, have similar features, but with no foreign transaction (FX) fees, better exchange rates, and a larger range of available currencies.