starlight1968sg:

Appreciate advice, pls.

I have a HKD cheque. What is the cheapest way to deposit it into our local bank accounts?
Thank you.

slmkhoo:

Thanks! I guess she will get all the necessary info from her university in the summer.

slmkhoo:

Do you know how long it takes for a student to set up a bank account in the UK (with a UK bank)? Basically, how much cash will my daughter need to bring to use until her bank account with online banking facilities is activated?

mjl:

slmkhoo:

Do you know if the DBS MCA can be a joint account?

Yes DBS eMCA can be a joint account. But having a single name (your child’s) has the advantage of no fall-below fee till child is 29 years old, else you will need to maintain S$3000 or equivalent amount to waive the monthly charge.

Note there is a service charge for depositing and withdrawing foreign currency cash into and from eMCA. If you convert the foreign currency directly from and to S$ over iBanking, then there is no charge.

slmkhoo:

Do you know if the DBS MCA can be a joint account?

Jennifer:

Elder boy asked me about his POSB Kids bank account earlier this evening, whether need to convert to adult account?

Its T&C should have something about this \"upgrade\", right?

Anyway, I told him about the DBS eMCA option.

He will be going down to DBS to check tomorrow since he has the whole day free. Possibly also set up the eMCA if he deems fit.

Btw, the scholarship awarding body will give him the first 6 months money in SGD and he is supposed to arrange for SGD-Sterling pounds himself. No idea when the money will be given. I guess after the official contract is signed? Thereafter, the money will be remitted directly into his UK bank account every 6 months.

mjl:

DBS eMCA account is quite straightforward, you can convert S$ to £ whenever the exchange rate is attractive and keep in the eMCA. When ready to remit, use UK remit which is free.


For those with child studying in UK, note that buying return air ticket from uk side is cheaper. Eg Flying by SQ Sg-London-Sg may cost about S$1500, the other way London-Sg-London may cost as cheap as £500. Most new uni students buy one way ticket to London, subsequently buy return tickets starting from London.

Zeit:

By the way, I have typed the wrong per annum figure of 5,000-10,000 pounds. It should be higher now, right? Should be 20-30k per annum for subsistence! So many new things to apply and buy, compared to 20-30 years ago! Look at U of Edinburgh's estimates:


https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/international/finance/cost-of-living

London should be slightly higher than Scotland...Sandwich prices seem to have gone up a lot. Used to be 1.79 pounds, but now it's 3.99 - 4.99 pounds.

Was surprised nowadays parents open MCA for their kids studying overseas. I opened MCA not for this purpose, but for work! :rotflmao: And these days, there are online account options that Jennifer highlighted. During our time, like ammonite and ngl2010 shared, it was just that mega once-a-year bank draft and credit card. Nothing that complicated...

ammonite:

I definitely agree on why pay more when you don’t have to! There is also the opportunity cost of the money locked up. I was intrigued enough to look up the multi currency account -not enough information on the banks websites! :pokeeye:


However there is a DBS UK remit that looked interesting, not sure if you know anything about it? I am sure there is a catch somewhere, but they are not telling online... you can put in the sum you want to transfer and they will show you the charges for different transfer methods.
https://www.dbs.com.sg/personal/support/bank-overseas-funds-transfer-fees-and-charges.html

slmkhoo:

ammonite:

Same here, i got a bank draft and a credit card. Actually i think the universities and banks are used to foreign students, it should all work out fairly easily.

What are the cost difference if you open an account with a bank draft vs a joint account to transfer? In my memory i got a lump sum and never had to top up. I didn't do any budgeting, just spent as needed.

I remember the fees to purchase a bank draft as quite a significant sum. Anyway, my view is: why pay more when you don't have to?

Opening an account in the UK was very easy as they were expecting students and were all prepared. But being able to puchase foreign currency and transfer money cheaply and more frequently seems like a better idea than all at once. In this day and age, since it's possible, I'd prefer to do it that way.

Zeit:

Thank you for your understanding, Jennifer. I had momentarily forgotten yours is a boy who should be serving NS now and thus cannot do much groundwork from camp.
...
I'm sure your ds will do very well once he's settled in. It's not that daunting seriously (because we can speak English and their system is not very diff from ours)

slmkhoo:

I feel that there is too much money involved to let an 18yo make all the enquiries and decisions, especially if they are totally unfamiliar with exchange transactions and overseas funds transfers. Scholarship-awarding bodies have been handling this for years and know what to do on the Singapore side, but parents don't. It's more our side of the equation that we are concerned about right now, in case a longer lead time is needed to open accounts, prepare documents and make other arrangements on the Singapore side. Universities will send info to the students in the summer, but we prefer to know sooner. I'm not worried about the living arrangements, buying stuff, or even opening a bank account on the UK end - as you say, the students should take charge of these things themselves.


As for joint accounts, I guess it depends on the child. Parents can monitor and reprimand if necessary. My daughter knows that it is not a small sum for our family, and my concern is that she will stinge more than necessary.

Jennifer:

For the child to set up a uk acct when he is in UK, how did your boy settle the daily expenses n hostel charges while waiting for the bank account to be operative?

ammonite:

Same here, i got a bank draft and a credit card. Actually i think the universities and banks are used to foreign students, it should all work out fairly easily.

What are the cost difference if you open an account with a bank draft vs a joint account to transfer? In my memory i got a lump sum and never had to top up. I didn't do any budgeting, just spent as needed.