The 7 Best Ways to Transfer Money Locally and Overseas
Updated: 24 Jul 2025

Written bySingSaver Team
Team
This means overseas remittances are a necessity for many who live and work in Singapore, as well as overseas Singaporeans who need to send money back home.
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>> LEARN: Your 2025 guide to mobile wallets in Singapore
Sending money in Singapore: Explore online, mobile, or in-person methods
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Bank wire transfers: Due to associated fees, bank wire transfers are best used for sending large amounts.
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PayNow: Best for instant transfers within Singapore.
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Wise: Best for low-cost international transfers.
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Instarem: Best for competitive transfer rates.
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Revolut: Best for multicurrency accounts & travellers.
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Airwallex: Best for business money transfers.
Here’s a quick overview of the best ways to send money anywhere in the world.
Bank wire transfers: For sending large amounts between bank accounts
Why it’s our top choice
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A secure method that’s widely available from all major banks.
Bank wire
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Secure and regularly used for high-value transactions, this is often the default option for conservative users or transfers between established institutions.
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Available via all major banks like DBS, OCBC, UOB, CitiBank and HSBC.
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Although you can log onto your internet banking account at any time of day to do international wire transfers, your bank may have same-day cut-off times that apply. Check for a list of cut-off times, especially for urgent transactions.
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It’s also a good idea to check for minimum transaction amounts for overseas transfers. For example, OCBC mandates a minimum of $100 SGD or USD for each transaction.
>> LEARN: See money changers in Singapore with the best exchange rates.
PayNow: For bank transfers within Singapore
Why it’s our top choice
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Conduct instant SGD transfers with just your mobile, NRIC or UEN. PayNow transfers are free for retail customers, and for businesses till sometime in 2025.
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Available via all major banks like DBS, OCBC, UOB, CitiBank and HSBC and participating non-financial institutions.
PayNow
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Participating banks began offering PayNow services in 2017, while non-financial institutions came onto the scene in 2021.
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PayNow is free for all retail customers and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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Many retail merchants in Singapore display PayNow QR codes, allowing their customers to make easy and seamless payments with their smart phones.
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PayNow transfers give users the ability to make transfers without knowing each other’s bank account number.
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As Singapore’s most popular domestic Fast Payment System (FPS), PayNow will be interlinked with the FPS of the Reserve Bank of India and Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. The cross-border transfer system is expected to go live sometime in 2026.
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Similar to transfers between private individuals, companies can also now make use of instantaneous transfers via PayNow Corporate. This is done through linking their Unique Entity Number (UEN) to their bank account; which lets companies make transfers without knowing each other’s bank account details.
Wise: For low-cost, transparent international transfers
Why it’s our top choice
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One of the cheapest ways available for sending funds overseas.
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Supports transfers to over 60 countries.
Wise
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Formerly known as TransferWise, Wise was founded in 2011 and is a multi-currency e-wallet that allows users transfer money across borders effortlessly.
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Wise card users get complimentary ATM withdrawals of up to $350 each month.
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Wise card payments are accepted in more than 200 countries.
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Frequent travellers can convert currencies on the move with Wise, and get better rates than banks or money changers.
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Signing up for an account is free. You can also receive foreign currencies like USD, EUR, AUD, GBP and more for free and transfer as little as $1.
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Wise claims transfers arrive in seconds and has a funds transfer calculator on their site to guarantee their rates, as proof of transparency.
Instarem: For competitive exchange rates
Why it’s our top choice
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Rated 4.7 stars on Seedly.
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Earn rewards and cashbacks by linking your existing credit cards with Instarem’s amaze card.
Instarem
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Founded in Asia Pacific, Instarem was established in 2014.
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Instarem supports up to 35 currencies worldwide.
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Customers can enjoy same-day overseas money transfers with Instarem’s International Money Transfers.
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No minimum or maximum transfer limits.
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Amaze card users pay zero annual or admin fees; they can also make foreign currency transactions for free. (Domestic transactions incur a small fee, if your amaze card is linked to a debt or credit card.)
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Frequent flyers can convert their rewards, or InstaPoints, to KrisFlyer miles.
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Read our review of Instarem’s amaze card to get the lowdown on how to stack rewards.
Western Union: For cash pickups & extensive global coverage
Why it’s our top choice
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Great for sending money to recipients who prefer cash terms, or for people without bank accounts.
Western Union
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Founded in 1851, Western Union was originally a telegraph company based in New York, in the United States of America.
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With multiple physical locations available across Singapore, anybody who needs help making overseas transfers can do so easily.
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Customers may choose between cash, bank or mobile wallet transfers.
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While domestic money transfers occur within 24 hours, international transfers can take anywhere from 1-5 business days.
Revolut: For multicurrency accounts & travellers
Why it’s our top choice
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Another great pick for frequent travellers, Revolut users can transfer funds instantaneously with each other.
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Choose from 3 plans; Standard, Premium and Metal. Standard plans are free.
Revolut
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Revolut was founded in 2015, in the United Kingdom and is currently the most valuable tech company in the European Union.
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The Revolut app comes with a financial tracker that helps you manage your budget.
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Revolut’s services cover 190 countries, with no minimum amount set for transactions.
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Revolut is a powerful tool for digital natives who need convenient ways to do instant peer-to-peer transfers.
Airwallex: For business fund transfers
Why it’s our top choice
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Airwallex is perfect for businesses operating in multiple countries, thanks to multi-currency accounts and high-speed international transfers across 180 countries.
Airwallex
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Founded in 2015, in Melbourne, Australia— Airwallex is now headquartered in Singapore. Global payment services in Singapore were launched in 2022.
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Airwallex allows you to sync transactions with the accounting or e-commerce system of your choice, which is great for streamlining expense management. Some of the popular platforms supported include Lazada, Shopee, QuickBooks, WooCommerce and Amazon.
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Unlike typical corporate cards, Airwallex corporate cards are free and have no eligibility requirements. There are also no foreign currency transaction fees, so multinational Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) can use this to their advantage.
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Airwallex tackles common business-related headaches by streamlining corporate expense tracking and providing cost-effective foreign currency transactions. This makes it an ideal choice for SMEs.
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Companies can get unlimited corporate cards at zero additional cost, and choose between virtual or physical cards. This means no more time wasted on processing reimbursement claims, since employees can easily make authorised transactions on behalf of the company.
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Airwallex users based in Singapore can make both domestic transfers in GIRO, MEPS and FAST, as well as international transfers in USD, AUD, JPY, HKD, EUR, just to name a few.
Things to consider when sending money
As you have seen, there are various options available for making local and international money transfers. Depending on your provider, these methods may be:
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100% virtual—all you need is your smart phone and a working internet connection.
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A mix of virtual and in-person services. The latter is crucial for cash pick-ups or people without bank accounts.
Note that while some money transfer services may be free, some may come with service fees.
>> Learn: Here’s why multi-currency accounts are essential for digital nomads.
Know your exchange rates & transfer fees
Exchange rates and transfer fees can vary wildly. This is especially true for lower-value transactions, as per-transfer fees and margins charged by remittance services typically work out to be less expensive than unfavourable exchange rates and hidden fees implemented by banks.
Overseas bank transfers to underdeveloped countries can be slow. This is in contrast to transfers conducted via remittance service providers, which tend to be quicker.
General guidelines for international money transfers
Only make transfers with remittance service providers licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Check if your provider is listed under MAS’ Financial Institutions Directory.
Check for any foreign exchange controls that may apply. A 2023 advisory issued by the Chinese Embassy in Singapore requested Chinese nationals to limit money transfers back home to official channels, such as Singapore banks. This was due to Chinese law enforcement freezing remittance funds.
Some countries impose a legal limit on funds received in their territory. For example, Taiwan has a hard limit of $450,000 TWD per transaction.
The best way to transfer funds in 2025
We did the work for you so you can save on your local and international money transfers.
Frequently asked questions about local and overseas money transfers
For domestic payments within Singapore, you can do this through bank wire transfers and electronic funds transfer methods like PayNow and FAST.
PayNow is free for retail customers in Singapore and is available 24 hours a day.
Check if your financial institution or remittance service of choice is registered with MAS. Also, read our reviews on the best money transfer services available in Singapore to find what works best for you.
>> LEARN: Essential online banking tips for safeguarding your money.
How we evaluated local money transfer services
We covered fees, transfer amount limits, transfer speeds and perks. We also took a look at where you can transfer your money to. For local transfer services, this generally translates to bank-to-bank transfers.
Services by financial institutions surveyed include DBS Remit, SC Remit, OCBC Overseas Fund Transfer, HSBC Worldwide Transfers and CitiBank Payments and Transfers.
How we evaluated international money transfer services
We covered fees, transfer amount limits, transfer speeds and perks. Unlike local transfers, remittance services and multi-currency wallets offer more flexible transfer terms. For example, Western Union lets you do cash pick-ups and Revolut lets you transfer instantly to other Revolut users.
Remittance platforms surveyed include Wise, Western Union, Instarem, Revolut and SingX.
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SingSaver Team
At SingSaver, we make personal finance accessible with easy to understand personal finance reads, tools and money hacks that simplify all of life’s financial decisions for you.