Transcript for:
Best Ways to Exchange SGD to MYR in 2023

So last year, I made this video about the three  best ways to exchange your Singapore dollars to   Malaysian Ringgit. But you know what is different  now? I’ve been living in Malaysia for the past   10 months, and I found that even though credit  cards are widely accepted, at least where I stay,   most of the time I still have to rely on cashless  payment codes from e-wallets or even cash. And I’m sure for those of you who are watching  this video and those who regularly go to Johor   Bahru for your weekend escapes, be it for  shopping, dining, massage, and whatever,   you are looking for the best ways at the best  rate to exchange your Singapore dollars to   Malaysian Ringgit. I visited so many social media  channels; all they talk about is YouTrip, Trust,   even Wise. But today, I'm not going to talk about  these apps because all these have been covered   by a lot of other people already. I’ll talk about  those apps that are less covered by other people. But of course, I'm not saying they're not good.  It’s just that if you want to sign up for YouTrip   and Trust, I still have the referral codes, which  I'll put in the description. But the fact is,   I'm not using YouTrip or Trust for my Malaysia  spending right now. Also, the fact that YouTrip   and Trust cannot hold Malaysian currency inside  them makes it different from what I’m going to   discuss today. But to be clear, even though you  cannot hold Malaysian Ringgit in YouTrip or Trust,   you can still use this card at merchants which  accept credit or debit cards because it will   just automatically convert your Singapore dollar  to Malaysian Ringgit to pay at the same day’s   exchange rate. I'm not saying you cannot  use it; it’s just that it’s not favorable. And if you want to learn about more  credit card strategies and the best way   to optimize your travel spending,  be it in Singapore or overseas,   then join us with over 16,000 members  in the HoneyMoneySG Telegram group. Let’s start with the first contender, which is  IChange. I briefly introduced IChange last year   when they had one of the best exchange rates  for Singapore dollars to Malaysian Ringgit,   especially for digital currency exchange. In  fact, if you compare IChange digital currency   exchange rates to Google's spot rate, it is  fairly close; there isn’t much difference, and   it is a very fast conversion, almost instant. You  just put in the amount that you want to convert,   and it will convert within the next few seconds.  And the good thing about IChange Wallet is that   you can store Malaysian currency. So if you  expect to hold a lot of Malaysian currency,   then you can just convert one shot all  your Singapore dollars and hold it in   Malaysian Ringgit. Of course, whether that’s  the right move or not, I’m not here to debate. But another good thing about IChange is  that it comes with its own Mastercard,   which means that you can use this Mastercard debit  card, whether physically or you can add it to your   Apple Pay wallet and then use it contactlessly.  This card can also be added to Google Pay,   so for those Android users, good news for you.  But one downside of this card compared to last   year’s review is that this card can no longer  be used to top up Touch ‘n Go e-wallet or,   in fact, any other kind of e-wallet apps  in Malaysia like Grab. So in order to use   the IChange Wallet credit, you really have  to use the Mastercard and pay at merchants,   and that is assuming your merchant  accepts Mastercard. So it’s much more   limited usage compared to in the past  using the Touch ‘n Go e-wallet credit. And if you're a new user to IChange, you may  use my referral code CHONG268 to get $5 of   wallet credit when you fulfill the requirements  of IChange. 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Also,   Webull does not charge platform fees.  Start trading options with Webull by   using my exclusive link or scan the QR code  right here to get your Webull account today! Moving on to the next contender, that is Amaze  Wallet. And I want to be very clear here,   I’m not going to talk about the Amaze  linked credit card transaction because   this is something different. It’s about the  Amaze Wallet conversion from Singapore dollars   to Malaysian Ringgit. So I know that a lot of  you are already using the Instarem Amaze card,   but what you may not know is that Amaze has  very good conversion rates from Singapore   dollars to Malaysian Ringgit in the Instarem  app itself, and it is very close to the spot   rate even during weekends. I’ve tested this  multiple times, and Instarem Amaze is one   of those few multi-currency wallets that  can allow you to hold Malaysian Ringgit. So assuming you want to store a lot of Malaysian  Ringgit, just convert it via Singapore dollars   to Malaysian Ringgit in the Amaze app. And the  good thing about this Malaysian Ringgit currency   is that it can be used to top up e-wallets like  Touch ‘n Go, so quite different from IChange,   right? Even though both have very  good close-to-spot FX exchange rates,   but Amaze Wallet allows you to top up e-wallets,  so that’s a main difference compared to IChange   already. Then for the card, I think most of  you already know you can save it under your   Google Pay wallet but not Apple Pay wallet. So for  Apple Pay users, you can use the physical card;   just bring it around with you. For Android  people, you can either use the physical   card or pay through your Google Pay on  your mobile phone; that works as well. But I want to remind you of the recent  development of Amaze because right now,   Amaze is going to charge you for topping up  the Amaze Wallet even, so there’s going to   be top-up fees whether you top up from credit  card or debit card. So best to just pay out the   top-up Amaze Wallet if you want to avoid all the  fees together. And you can use my Instarem Amaze   referral link to sign up and apply the code  to get some rewards as a new user for Amaze. Now let’s come to the final contender, and  that is through CIMB Singapore dollars to   Malaysian Ringgit bank transfer. Now  you know CIMB is a Malaysian bank,   but they do have a Singaporean bank branch as  well, CIMB SG, and I’m sure you have seen some   of these credit cards from CIMB SG. But today  I will talk about the bank account, and if you   look at the CIMB exchange rates between Singapore  dollars to Malaysian Ringgit, it is really quite   competitive. There’s just a very small spread,  and you know it’s a bank-to-bank transfer,   so it’s considered much safer than any other  third-party apps if you have more faith in banks.   And from my experience, it is instant transfer as  well, so you can do it within the CIMB mobile app. But the big question is, how do you get  the Malaysian bank account, right? In fact,   you can sign up for both the CIMB Singapore  account and CIMB Malaysia account in one   appointment. So what you have to do is to book  a physical appointment via the CIMB website and   click on askEva. There will be some options for  you to book a physical appointment because you   have to be physically present to present your IDs  and documents in order to set up your account in   both countries. Then on your appointment date,  bring along your NRIC and passport and whatever   documents to the Rafols Place CIMB branch during  your time slot. Then once you have completed all   the administrative forms, wait up to 2 weeks  for the CIMB Malaysia account to be set up. Okay, and the thing is you can only open the CIMB  Malaysia account from the Singaporean CIMB bank   branch. You don’t go to Johor, Malaysia, and ask  to open because they will not be able to accept   your application without a valid work permit  or resident visa. After your account is fully   set up and activated, all you need to do is to  download the CIMB mobile app, and from the mobile   app itself, you can already do instant transfers  once both your CIMB SG and CIMB MY accounts have   been linked up. And now with a Malaysian bank  account, you just have to convert your Singapore   dollars to Malaysian Ringgit, and then with your  CIMB mobile app, you can pay via DuitNow to all   these cashless QR merchants. You don’t have to  top up TNG Wallet anymore; you can just use the   CIMB mobile to pay directly to Malaysian merchants  with the QR code. So quite powerful, right? CIMB   Singapore and Malaysia really offer very good  deals to Singaporeans to open a Malaysian bank   account without a work permit or residence  visa, so that’s good news for some of you. Wrapping up all three of my ideas: Number one, IChange Wallet, but  you have to use the Mastercard. Then number two is Instarem Amaze,   where you use the Amaze Wallet and convert  Singapore dollars to Malaysian Ringgit,   but make sure you top up through PayNow  instead of card; otherwise, there will be fees. Then thirdly, there’s CIMB Singapore  dollars to Malaysian Ringgit transfer,   and just make an appointment to go to the bank  branch to open your CIMB Malaysia account. And   now you can just use your Malaysian Ringgit  freely within the country. But take note,   all these strategies are really for  Malaysia only. If you go to other countries,   I’m not sure if these strategies work, but if  you really want to know the best strategies   for your overseas travel, like you want to  go for a two-week holiday, one-week holiday,   then I can show you how I will plan and  strategize my travel strategies right here.