Bank and payments in Singapore: an account on your FIN, PayNow and what the Netherlands keeps doing

You open a bank account in Singapore as soon as you have a FIN, the number on your work pass, and that is also why it cannot be done before your arrival. The government does not prescribe to banks which documents they ask for, but it does give you the tool: with Singpass you share your data from government sources directly with the bank via Myinfo, so that the application is largely filled in before you start. Paying then works the way Dutch people know it, only faster: PayNow and FAST make transfers between banks almost instant. The trap is in the weeks before, without an account, and in what you cancel too quickly in the Netherlands.

What do you need to open an account?

Two things that come from the same source: your pass, issued by MOM, with your FIN on it, and a Singpass account. The Singpass registration guide names as conditions that you are at least 15, that you are a citizen, permanent resident or FIN holder and that the address on your card is correct; how you get the pass and the account is in registration and numbers. With Singpass you log in at the bank, fill in forms automatically with Myinfo using your data from government systems and sign digitally. Which supporting documents a bank asks for besides that, for example of your address, the bank decides itself; expect them to ask.

What	What the source says
Singpass account	for FIN holders from age 15; approval 2 to 5 working days according to the ICA
Salary payment	into your bank account or by cheque, within 7 days after the salary period
Deposit insurance	up to S$ 100,000 per depositor per bank, via the SDIC
Bringing in cash	declare above S$ 20,000 to the ICA
PayNow	transfer to an NRIC number, phone number or company number
Foreign income in your account	generally not taxed according to IRAS

How do you pay in Singapore?

The Monetary Authority of Singapore describes the building blocks. GIRO has existed since 1984 for direct debits, such as your rent or your phone. FAST is the system with which customers of participating banks transfer Singapore dollars almost instantly from bank to bank. PayNow builds on that and lets you pay to someone's NRIC number, phone number or an organisation's company number, without an account number. And SGQR is the single QR code with which shops and stalls have accepted all e-wallets and banks since 2018. In practice that means: link your phone number to your account as soon as it exists, because friends, landlords and government counters pay and collect via PayNow, and even the ICA's fees can be paid with it.

In the first weeks you have no account. Your FIN only exists once your pass is issued, and for that you already need an address. So count on a period in which you pay the deposit, first rent and groceries from the Netherlands or settle in cash, and do not bring an unexplained stack of banknotes for it: above S$ 20,000 you must declare it to the ICA. Keep your Dutch debit card active and ask your employer whether the first salary can wait until the account is there.

Is your money safe, and is it taxed?

The Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation insures your balances at a member bank up to S$ 100,000 per depositor, aggregated over all your accounts at that bank. Whoever holds more spreads it. Tax on the money itself does not exist in the form you know from the Netherlands: IRAS generally does not tax foreign income you bring into Singapore, even when it is deposited into your Singapore account, and a gain on shares counts as an untaxed capital gain. What is taxed, your salary, and how the return works, is in AOW, pension and tax.

What do you keep in the Netherlands?

Your Dutch bank account and your DigiD. NederlandWereldwijd puts it briefly: with DigiD you handle your affairs with the Dutch government, healthcare institutions and pension funds from abroad too. The Belastingdienst, the SVB and your pension fund keep working in euros and the M-form return for your year of departure is still to come. How you arrange that before departure is in keeping your bank account and DigiD. Whoever wants a car has, by the way, one more reason for a specific bank: as an individual you can only bid for a COE via a DBS or POSB ATM, see car and driving licence.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Singapore or go straight to step 5.2 in the open plan.