Ugh. I think that sums up my two recent experiences opening bank accounts here in Singapore. It is so strange how some parts of the process are high-tech yet others are so far behind the times it makes me squirm and even lose it! (Almost).
Two weeks into our stay here (and we just ended Week 7), we opened an account at the #3 bank United Overseas Bank. Actually easy enough because we only had to sign 3 to 4 forms, maybe one or two times, and some of the application was on the computer as the lady got our information. We had to wait several weeks until we could get an account because they won’t allow it without our government employment passes. Well, actually mine is a dependent pass but still. That actually brings up something funny. As we sat there and added my name to the account, the lady asked me what I did for work. I said unemployed. Her face said it all – “Unemployed”? Singapore has less than a 4% unemployment rate and I was a MALE expat. She paused and you could tell she did not know what to write on the form. Then YAW reminded me I still teach online for UCI and therefore I am technically not unemployed and can be called a Professor! Day saved.
But the second time the lady was at a loss was when I said I did not need my own online logon and password for the account. I could just use my wife’s, I said. I think she thought I was crazy. I let me wife do the finances? Hello, I don’t work here! lol. Actually YAW is so busy I do the finances anyway! We were in and out within an hour and even got ATM cards with our names on them immediately at the bank. A week later, we go the small token device that we need to do the banking online other than just an inquiry. That is very cool and that is the high-tech piece. The fact we get a paper monthly statement, and there is no other option, well that is the funny low-tech piece. Paper? In this decade? Really?
But yesterday, well that was the kicker! My most frustrated banking experience ever.
Because we may need to move money back and forth to pay our US credit cards (which we use here because some banks won’t give an American working here temporarily a credit card – something to do with US tax laws), we went to Citibank to open a 2nd account. Citibank allows the transfer of funds between US Citibank and Singapore Citibank with no fees, therefore I had opened one in the US before we left knowing this would come up.
At the small Citibank branch, we sat down with our customer service guy at a small table with no computer. We filled out a 4-page form by hand with all of our information, even our US addresses and phone numbers, and we also filled out a US tax form. This took about 30 minutes. At the end, the guy says to YAW, please sign in these 4 boxes and your signature has to match across all four. Easy enough. Except for the new, added pressure of signature matching. We sign our name somewhere everyday. Well, it turns out we (maybe just her and I), don’t actually sign the same way each time.
They, Citibank SG, take the signature match very seriously. If we need to change our address or phone# in the future, we have to go to the branch, show our photo IDs, and still sign the exact same way we do on that form! To even open the account, we have to ensure all four signatures are the exact same (4 for her, 2 for me). Well guess what, she does not sign her name the exact same each time. There is a small mark, like crossing a t (and yes, there is no ‘t’ in her name), that shifted as she signed and therefore the first form was not accepted. She also doesn’t do this the 2nd time with a new blank form that the guy will fill in the rest of the information, manually, later if the 4 signatures were to match. It doesn’t work the 3rd time. It does not work the 4th time – again wasting a new 4-page form each time.
I am frustrated enough that I say “who cares if they don’t match?” We’ll just never change our phone# or move until we go home. And if they won’t accept that, I’ll drain the account through the ATM so that there is no money anyway! That is when he says they won’t even open the account if the signatures don’t match. Now I am figuring the wire transfer fees we’ll have to pay with no Citibank account but it is not worth YAW’s stress, nor mine, for this stupid paper form!
Well, then we say what if I am the primary? I figure I can do pretty well with matching my 4 signatures!! Eventually, after 2 more forms, I get it close enough to pass inspection. And guess what? One of the signatures is for the credit card application. I guess Citibank doesn’t have the same rules as UOB around credit cards therefore we hope we may get a local card. We actually can use our no-fee US cards just fine but there are certain things here you can not pay for, related to utilities, with a US-based card. All in all, it took just over an hour to open our account. Or I should say to get our signatures right because the account still won’t even be created until Monday – one of the drawbacks to using a Saturday branch.
We should see our Citibank ATM card within about 10 days. Not immediate with this bank! Like UOB, there are no fees for the account providing you maintain a minimum balance at all times. UOB wants $500 and Citibank wants $2,000. Otherwise, Citibank charges $10/month. This happens to be the same as the US if you don’t use direct deposit but here they just need the minimum. Why doesn’t the US do that actually instead of making me change or split a direct deposit of payroll anytime I might want to try a different bank?
It was much easier, and cheaper, to open the UOB account and if we did not want to move money for certain bills and savings, I would have walked out of Citibank after the third failed signature attempt. At least we’ll get our monthly statement electronically…
KAW