Expat Living City Guide – June 2018

Yes, because my husband took care of it! Go for a

local bank. We have DBS and it has worked out fine

for us. We went straight to StarHub and opened

up our phone line, internet services and television

package all in one, and it’s all worked smoothly for

us. Just remember to ask critical questions about the

contract.^ – Alexandra

We wouldn’t do anything differently, but I do

recommend opening a local bank account like DBS

or POSB as their ATMs are easier to locate.^ – Mel

BANKING, PHONE

AND OTHER

ACCOUNTS

Is it easy setting up a bank

account and things like a

mobile phone contract or a

home internet account? Our

panel members discuss what

they might have done differently with hindsight.

Setting up a bank account here is relatively easy.

I strongly recommend having at least one account

with a local bank like DBS or POSB because of

their vast network of ATMs and excellent customer

service. StarHub and Singtel are one-stop shops for

getting your phone, internet and cable connections.

The only thing that we didn’t find seamless was that

we had to pay our rental deposit for our apartment

via cheque. We needed a bank account for that,

for which we needed a residential address, and

it became a bit off a loop predicament.^ – Ankita

I opened my personal account with an international

bank, but in hindsight I would have gone to a local

bank like DBS as it can still be tricky to find an ATM

which accepts the international bank card. – Beth

For banking, my husband and I decided to go with

DBS as we felt they provided us more flexibility with

multi-currency accounts and overseas bank transfer

fees. Also, DBS customers can use both DBS and POSB

ATMs, which makes withdrawing cash a bit easier

when you’re out and about. As for internet, we quickly

realised that a VPN was a must when I couldn’t pay

my Victoria’s Secret credit card bill online because the

website was blocked, and when my husband couldn’t

watch college football. After much trial and error, we’ve

found ExpressVPN to be a consistent, reliable and

affordable VPN option. – Dana

All pretty easy; we didn’t have any issues. I’m with

DBS for banking and MyRepublic for internet. – Lisa

Yes, unbelievably so. It’s all very quick and efficient,

as long as you have all the necessary information

to hand.^ – Sophie

SINGAPORE HACKS

36 CITY GUIDE 2018