Overseas Transaction Fees – ATM Cards

In the context of Singapore. Updated 20 February 2016, added BOC info on 29 June 2016.

I will bring at least one credit card (CC) when I travel, because then I wouldn’t need to carry too much ‘spare’ cash. Also, it’s a good-to-have for big expenses and when I am running low on cash! CC will stop me from depleting much of my cash on hand. Although I will try to use it sparingly because of it’s not-so-good exchange rates and other CC admin fees.

Cash is still king after all! So another good back up is to bring along my ATM card to withdraw cash. Just in case some shops or transportation don’t accept cards. Read on to know more about the charges for overseas cash withdrawals.

Important:

• Activate your credit and ATM cards for overseas transactions. (Singapore-issued ATM cards)
• ATM Card Activation links: Citibank, CIMB, UOB, DBS/POSB, Standard Chartered, OCBC, Maybank, Bank of China (online banking)
• Credit Card Activation links can be found here.

Scroll down for overseas ATM withdrawal fees or charges.

DBS / POSB

Overseas ATM Withdrawals

Free:

• Plus/Cirrus Card at DBS Hong Kong, DBS Taiwan and Westpac Group ATMs in Australia (Westpac, St. George Bank, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA)
• Plus Card at DBS India and DBS Indonesia ATMs.
• UnionPay Card at DBS Hong Kong and Westpac Group ATMs in Australia (Westpac, St. George Bank, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA).

Flat Service charge:

• S$5 per cash withdrawal at other overseas Plus/Cirrus ATMs
• S$2 per cash withdrawal if you use your
  • Cirrus Card at the ATMs of Bank of Central Asia (BCA, Indonesia) and Bank of Philippines Island (Philippines)
  • Plus/Cirrus Card at the ATMs of HDFC (India).

Overseas Debit Card Transactions and Cash Withdrawal

Transaction Fees shall not exceed 3.25%:

• Visa/MasterCard: Up to 2.65% bank admin fee + 1% conversion fee charged by Visa/MasterCard
• Union Pay: Up to 2.65% bank admin fee + 0.6% conversion fee charged by Visa/MasterCard

For overseas cash withdrawals using debit card, the service charge as mentioned above applies.

(www.posb.com.sg/personal/cards/cards-posb-terms-conditions.page#cash-withdrawal)
(www.dbs.com.sg/personal/cards/cards-rates-fees.page)

UOB 

Overseas ATM Withdrawals

• Free at all UOB ATMs in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
• S$5 service charge per withdrawal will be charged on non-UOB ATMs (Cirrus/Plus). Amount withdrawn is subjected to foreign exchange rates.

Overseas Debit Card Transactions and Cash Withdrawal

Transaction Fees shall not exceed 3.25%:

• Visa/MasterCard: 2.5% bank admin fee + 1% conversion fee charged by Visa/MasterCard
• Union Pay: Up to 2.65% bank admin fee + 0.6% conversion fee charged by Visa/MasterCard

For overseas cash withdrawals using debit card, the service charge as mentioned above applies.

(www.uob.com.sg/personal/ebanking/atm/cash_withdrawal.html)
(www.uob.com.sg/debit/fees/debit_card_fees.pdf)

OCBC

Free:

• Hong Kong and Macau: OCBC Wing Hang ATMs
• Malaysia: OCBC Malaysia ATMs
• Indonesia: OCBC NISP ATMs

Service charges:

• S$5 per cash withdrawal for MEPS participating banks’ ATMs in Malaysia (include Maybank, RHB Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Bank Rakyat, Ambank, CIMB, Public Bank, MEPS’ ATM and Affin Bank).
• Other ATMs in China and other countries with Visa/PLUS service:
  • 3% is levied on the S$ equivalent of the amount withdrawn (min S$5 and max S$20 per transaction)
  • Administrative fee of 1.8% of the foreign currency transaction^
  • Additional service fee, which may vary from bank to bank, may be imposed by the ATM bank

^Costs incurred by the Bank due to this currency conversion and administrative fee will be debited to your card account as part of the foreign currency transaction.

(www.ocbc.com/personal-banking/Help-and-Support/ATMs.html)

Citibank

• Free if you withdraw from Citibank ATMs using Citibank ATM & Debit Card; standard foreign currency exchange rates apply. Subjected to a pre-set daily cash withdrawal limit of S$3,000.
• Not mentioned on website if able to withdraw from non-Citibank ATMs.

(www.citibank.com.sg/gcb/otherservices/global_citibank_atm.htm)

Credit: singaporestockmarketnews.com

Standard Chartered

Overseas ATM Withdrawals

Free:

• World Partner customers: Free first cash withdrawal per month, at Standard Chartered and Cirrus ATMs worldwide with World Partner Platinum Debit Card.
• Priority Banking: Free at Cirrus ATMs (worldwide) with Standard Chartered ATM, Debit, Credit card.

Service charge for (Overseas Cash Withdrawal / Transactions at Cirrus ATMs (worldwide)):

• 2% of amount withdrawn 
  • subject to a min. S$5, Max. S$60
  • subject to a min. US$5, Max. US$60 for USD accounts

Overseas Debit Card Transactions

• Transaction fee up to 3.5% of amount transacted via MasterCard

Important: All overseas cash withdrawals will also be subject to additional fees imposed by the other bank, VISA/MasterCard.

(Pricing Guide Feb 2019: www.sc.com/sg/important-information/pricing_guide_28feb2019)

Bank of China

If you are thinking of making cash withdrawals in China, you might want to consider using a UnionPay debit card.

Overseas ATM Withdrawals

• MasterCard at its own ATM network: 2% of withdrawal amount per transaction (min. S$5, max. S$60)
• UnionPay at its own ATM network: RMB20 / S$4 per transaction

Overseas Withdrawals (CHINA)

• UnionPay card at BOC ATMs in Mainland China:
  • RMB 5 per transaction.
  • Free for BOC UnionPay Dual Currency Debit Card (limited time only) 
• Cash withdrawal through BOC branches: 1% of withdrawal amount. (min. S$5, max. S$20.)

The amounts will be converted at prevailing exchange rate. But for BOC UnionPay Dual Currency Debit Card, it’s a dual currency account of RMB and SGD. Hence, there will be no currency exchange fees for all RMB transactions through RMB account (just make sure you have sufficient balance inside).

(www.bankofchina.com/sg/bocinfo/bi4/201407/t20140722_3658150.html)

CIMB

• Free when withdrawing from CIMB ATMs regionally or any overseas ATMs with the PLUS logo.
• For withdrawal at non-CIMB ATM, there may be a charge levied by the bank that owns the ATM. You will be notified on the ATM screen if there is a charge.

(www.cimbclicks.com.sg/faq_Overseas.htm)

Maybank

• Free for withdrawal at Maybank ATM (RegionLink). However for Maybank Manchester United Platinum Visa Debit card, there’s a S$5 fee per transaction.
• S$5 per transaction for non-Maybank ATM

(info.maybank2u.com.sg/personal/deposits-banking/bank-charges/sd-atmcard-services.aspx)

[Update from a reader: In Thailand, there is usually a fee of 150 Bahts for each ATM withdrawal using a different bank card. Hence if you are withdrawing from a UOB ATM, make sure you use a UOB card, same for other banks.]

Phew that’s a lot of numbers and information! Hope you are able to decide which bank/card is best for you. You can also refer to my next post for Overseas Transaction Fees for Credit Cards. :)

So, are there other banks you are interested in? Otherwise, what other fees do you like to find out more? :) Tell us below or on our Facebook Page or Instagram.