CURRENCY | BANKS | VISA

Open a Bank Account:

As you will be earning money throughout your stay in USA, it may get dangerous towards the end of your work as you will probably end up with about USD2000-3000. This can be a large sum to carry around as the biggest notes they have is USD100. Opening a bank account may be possible but do make sure that there will be no charges for closing the account. You may want to try Wells Fargo which is our POSB equivalent in Singapore.

Purchase a Debit Card:

If opening an account is not a choice for you, you may want to consider buying a debit visa/master card. This card can be purchased off the shelf in supermarkets like Walmart and allows you to deposit money into the card. Different card offer different prices and incentives. Some do not allow you to withdraw from the ATM, white others allow reloading of money. One of the best that I think is a USD5 one time fee for use within 6 months. This card does not allow withdrawal from ATMs and is not reloadable. Do read the terms and conditions before making any purchases. It will be wise to place an amount that you think you will spend during your holidays and use it for purchases like hotel stay, shopping, attractions entry fees, etc. If you are left with an amount too little for purchasing, e.g. $2.52 and your purchase is say $5, you can actually request for spilt payment meaning remaining payment via cash.

Getting a Credit Card:

If you are intending to get a credit card in Singapore, try MayBank or ABN Amro. It may seem weird to recommend these banks as they are not popular in Singapore. However their admin charges for foreign currency purchase is the lowest as compared to all other banks in Singapore.

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