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Detailed fees and FAQs for OCBC Singapore. This article is a supplement to the OCBC Singapore Overseas Chinese Bank Remote Account Opening Tutorial.

Account Opening Pitfalls#

1. Download the mobile app (OCBC digital): It must be downloaded from the official app store. (1) It can be directly searched in the Apple Store; (2) Huawei phones need to change the "Country/Region" in the app store to Hong Kong or Singapore to download this app.
2. Register for a card: Prepare your passport and ID card, and follow the APP instructions to input your information step by step. However, note that some people's passport chips are located at the back page, so using the phone's NFC to scan the passport cover will not work; try scanning the back page of the passport with your phone.
3. Successful registration: After successful registration, you will receive an email saying "Welcome to Overseas Chinese Bank."
4. Activate OneToken: After registration, OCBC will guide you to activate OneToken, which acts as a "security verification" for your account, replacing the SMS service for sending one-time passwords (OTP) to verify online banking transactions. For example, when logging into online banking on a computer, the OCBC app will pop up a "verification message," and you need to click "verify message" to agree before you can successfully log in to online banking.
5. Verify new account: Within 30 days after successful registration, you must verify by remitting from an account with the same name. Note that starting in October, the rules have changed, and it may require remittance from mainland China (if opening an account with a mainland passport).

SGD Account Management Fees#

1. Choose the right account

• The misleading "Statement Saving Account": The account we opened online as non-Singapore residents is this one, with the highest deposit requirement (20000 SGD ≈ 100,000 RMB). If the account balance does not meet this requirement, a monthly service fee of 10 SGD will be charged. Fortunately, this fee starts only after one year of account opening, so it is recommended to close this account during the first year when the annual fee is waived. Among all OCBC SGD accounts, none are more misleading than this one!!!
• The low-cost "Monthly Saving Account": It is recommended to open this account, with a minimum deposit requirement of only 500 SGD. If the account balance does not meet the 500 requirement, a monthly service fee of 2 SGD will be charged, but this fee is waived for the first year of account opening. This account can be applied for through OCBC online banking. Note that although the fee is low, if there are outgoing transactions within a month, this account will not earn interest for that month.
• The high-benefit "360 Account": This is an account for Singapore workers, requiring an initial deposit of 1800 SGD+ and maintaining a monthly increase of at least 500 SGD through the GIRO system to achieve an annualized return of 3.2% or 4.4% (considered a demand deposit). If there are also OCBC credit card expenditures and investment product purchases, the interest rate is even higher. Moreover, this account comes with a physical card, which will be mailed to your home via registered mail after applying and filling in the address. Disadvantage: A deposit requirement of 3000 SGD is needed to waive the monthly service fee of 2 SGD, but this fee is waived for the first year of account opening. Applications can be made through OCBC mobile banking and online banking.

Summary: You can stop using the Statement Saving Account after six months and switch to the Monthly Saving Account or 360 Account. Although the 360 Account is attractive, it is difficult to take advantage of it without GIRO for continuous fund increases.

2. Ensure fund safety

For those who only want to use OCBC to save their overseas assets and are more concerned about safety, it is recommended to buy SGD fixed deposits, as each SGD deposit is insured, but foreign currency deposits are not.

Of course, SGD does not have as high interest rates as USD, so it's a matter of balancing trade-offs.

3. Account closure (3 methods)
   (1) Clear the account balance ---> Maintain no deposits for 6 consecutive months.
   (2) Fill out the account_closure_form (available for download on the OCBC official website) and feedback to OCBC through "secure email."
   (3) Close the account at the OCBC bank counter.
   Note: Closing an account within 6 months of opening requires a fee, SGD 30 for SGD accounts, USD 20 for foreign currency accounts (the aforementioned closure method 1 has already met the 6-month requirement, so it is not subject to the fee regulation).

Summary of Deposit Methods and Costs#

Correct bank information needed for remittance:

• Receiving Bank: Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited Singapore
• Bank Address: CHULIA STREET, 63, OCBC CENTRE, FLOOR 10
• SWIFT code: OCBCSGSG
• Bank code: 7339

Remember to fill in the account number for the transfer. For SGD deposits, fill in the SGD account; for other currencies, fill in the foreign currency account, and do not fill in the bank card number.

For cross-border remittances to OCBC Singapore, the costs for different deposit methods are shown in the table below:

(For currencies not listed, they are RMB, SGD/RMB = 5.3, HKD/RMB = 0.93)

Non-matching name deposit, account closure risk. Industrial and Commercial Bank and HSBC are not strictly matching names, with extra spaces and titles.

Do not transfer too many times in a month, or remittance may be rejected.

Remittance Fees#

1. Outgoing remittance

2. Avoid remitting in yen: The fees for outgoing remittances consist of 4 parts, where the commission fee and cable charge are similar to those of domestic banks in China. The agent fee will be charged for amounts exceeding 100 million yen.

3. Outgoing from foreign currency accounts - try to use the receiving bank's local currency: If the foreign currency account does not convert to the corresponding foreign currency during remittance, an additional Commission-in-lieu of exchange (a commission fee instead of exchange) will be charged.

4. Incoming remittance

5. OCBC cross-border incoming remittance fees: Both SGD and foreign currency accounts are charged 10 SGD per transaction, while fixed deposit accounts are free (I haven't tried this; if anyone has, please comment in the group).

6. Transfers between Singapore bank accounts
   Transferring to OCBC accounts from Singapore bank accounts incurs no fees upon deposit (unlike cross-border incoming remittances which require 10 SGD).

7. Deposit: If you want to deposit 1000 SGD to receive a bonus, it is recommended to use "scan to pay" to scan Wise's Singapore account "payment code," with 0 fees for deposit (you can also transfer from other Singapore bank accounts).

8. Outgoing: It is recommended to use PayNow (how to activate: OCBC digital: above, personal information and settings --> manage PayNow). When making an outgoing transaction, open the app's bottom left corner to generate a QR code, which can be scanned by Wise or other Singapore bank apps to transfer funds out of OCBC (0 fees).

You can also use OCBC digital's "scan to pay" to directly scan the UnionPay code of a domestic account, allowing you to transfer money back to the mainland at a relatively favorable rate.

4. Account closure fee
   If you do not want to use the account after opening it, you must wait until 6 months have passed before closing it. Early closure incurs a fee: SGD 30 for SGD accounts, USD 20 for foreign currency accounts.

Outgoing Remittance#

Note: The personal-banking-pricing-guide.pdf is inconsistent with the official website; here, the official website prevails.