Singapore is a powerful banking center serving not only domestic finances but also performs monetary activity across the Asia Pacific region. The banking sector is a major player in the country’s financial market segment.

The dominance of foreign banks has made Singapore an important competitor in the global banking sector. There are more than 150 banking institutions in Singapore, including full banks, large banks, commercial banks, and financial companies.

Depending on the serving customers, all banks in Singapore can be divided into three categories:

Commercial banks

Consumer Banks

Private banks

Singapore’s Major Banks

The following is a list of the largest banks in Singapore:

DBS Bank of Singapore Development Bank

POSB Bank or Sberbank Post

UOB Bank or United Overseas Bank

OCBC Bank or Overseas Banking Corporation

Standard Charter Bank Singapore

Citibank Singapore

HSBC Singapore

The three largest local banks in Singapore (DBS, OCBC, and UOB) have total assets of more than $ 1 trillion and employ around 80,000 people.

Banking Hours

The banks in Singapore are usually open from Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. However, some offices may be open in the evenings and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m.

Customers can also use other convenient self-service channels such as ATMs, telephone banking and internet banking that are available around the clock.

Currency

The Singapore dollar (SGD, known on the street as the “sing-dollar”) is Singapore’s official currency. It is divided into 100 cents. The Monetary Authority of Singapore issues the banknotes ($1, $2, $5, $10, $50, $100, $500, $1,000 and $10,000) and coins of the Singapore dollar (5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, and 50 cents).

Some shopping centers and hotels accept US dollars, Australian dollars, Japanese yen, and British pounds.

Currency exchange

Licensed currency exchange points can be found at Changi Airport in Singapore, in Orchard Road shopping centers, in the central business district near City Hall and other important commercial areas (Little India, Chinatown, etc.).

Currency exchange rates are competitive with bank rates (even better because exchangers do not charge a service fee). Many exchangers sell a lot of currencies except Singapore dollars, but you must first report this.

Banks also exchange your dollars for local currency. In every corner, there is a bank with which you can conduct business, although banks may charge a fixed amount of 3.00 Singapore dollars per transaction.