- Joined
- May 25, 2013
- Posts
- 1,405
While in SIN, I had a need for some cash. To test the cards I had on me, I decided to split it into 3 * SGD $100 withdrawals, using Wise (MC debit), UBank (Visa debit) and Bankwest (MC platinum debit). The purpose was to see how close they are to the "mid-market rate" using XE.com as the reference point.
In the test, I used an ATM operated by OCBC doing the withdrawals one after another to get the FX rate to stay as close to each other as possible. The ATM offered three options for an account: 'Current account', 'Savings account' and 'Credit account (cash advance)'. I selected the 'Current account'.
The XE.com rate at that time (22/12, 9:00 UTC) was 0.899345 which would convert SGD $100 to AUD $111.19.
Wise: Successful. My AUD account was charged for $111.81 ($111.21 + fee $0.60).
UBank: Successful. The account was charged for $111.82.
Both come to about 0.56% over the rate provided by XE.
Bankwest: Failed multiple attempts. The error message was "This transaction cannot be processed temporarily owing to technical problems". Tried a POSB ATM (operated by DBS) with the same result, then another OCBC ATM nearby. Send a chat message to the bank on the BW app and got told to use the 'Credit account'. When I mentioned that the other two cards use the 'Current account', the BW agent replied that the BW contract with MasterCard necessitates the use of 'Credit'.
The use of 'Credit' resulted in different outputs:
OCBC: minimum withdrawal $200 (not doing because it was more than needed).
POSB: Error message "Amount exceeds your available balance" (even when the balance was more than sufficient for the withdrawal).
Citibank: We'll charge you $8 for the pleasure to serve you (yeah nah...).
The cash side was sorted but as a side-effect this attempt demonstrated the value of having a back-up card / method on you in case your primary one fails, even in a highly advanced and well-functioning location. If I had travelled with the BW card only and relied on it, I would have missed out on the cash.
In the test, I used an ATM operated by OCBC doing the withdrawals one after another to get the FX rate to stay as close to each other as possible. The ATM offered three options for an account: 'Current account', 'Savings account' and 'Credit account (cash advance)'. I selected the 'Current account'.
The XE.com rate at that time (22/12, 9:00 UTC) was 0.899345 which would convert SGD $100 to AUD $111.19.
Wise: Successful. My AUD account was charged for $111.81 ($111.21 + fee $0.60).
UBank: Successful. The account was charged for $111.82.
Both come to about 0.56% over the rate provided by XE.
Bankwest: Failed multiple attempts. The error message was "This transaction cannot be processed temporarily owing to technical problems". Tried a POSB ATM (operated by DBS) with the same result, then another OCBC ATM nearby. Send a chat message to the bank on the BW app and got told to use the 'Credit account'. When I mentioned that the other two cards use the 'Current account', the BW agent replied that the BW contract with MasterCard necessitates the use of 'Credit'.
The use of 'Credit' resulted in different outputs:
OCBC: minimum withdrawal $200 (not doing because it was more than needed).
POSB: Error message "Amount exceeds your available balance" (even when the balance was more than sufficient for the withdrawal).
Citibank: We'll charge you $8 for the pleasure to serve you (yeah nah...).
The cash side was sorted but as a side-effect this attempt demonstrated the value of having a back-up card / method on you in case your primary one fails, even in a highly advanced and well-functioning location. If I had travelled with the BW card only and relied on it, I would have missed out on the cash.
