How to Open a Bank Account for Work Permit Holders in Singapore

Singapore work permit holders, including migrant workers and migrant domestic workers, can open a Singapore bank account to receive their salary and for day-to-day transactions and purchases. They can also choose to use their account to send money home to loved ones. Not all accounts are available to work permit holders, so selecting the right product is essential.

The process to open a bank account for a work permit holder depends on the situation, including whether the account holder is already in Singapore or yet to arrive. This guide walks through how to open a bank account for a work permit holder in both situations.

We'll also introduce the Wise account, a handy companion to make your money go further with low, transparent fees.

Bank account options for Work Permit holders

In this guide, we’ll consider the foreign worker bank account options for holders of a work permit who are migrant workers¹ or migrant domestic workers² (MDWs).

For migrant workers, Ministry of Manpower (MOM) requirements mean that the prospective employer must apply for a bank account³ - a POSB Payroll account for migrant workers⁴ - when applying for the work permit. This is in order to ensure that the migrant worker has an account to receive their salary upon arrival in Singapore.

For migrant domestic workers, the system may work slightly differently, although the MOM-recommended account remains the POSB Payroll account for migrant workers.

For a new MDW who has not yet arrived in Singapore, it’s possible for the prospective employer to apply for a bank account in advance, with the written permission of the MDW. This allows the account to be live and ready once the individual arrives in Singapore for work.

For MDWs who are already in Singapore, or who would rather open an account on their own, the POSB account is still an option. You can apply for this account online and have the debit card and other account collateral mailed to your home address for convenience.

So, can a work permit holder open a bank account in Singapore with other banks aside from POSB?

Here, the options come down to decisions made by individual banks. Some banks may offer accounts, particularly savings accounts, to work permit holders, but not all account products are available or suited to a work permit holder’s needs.

One account reported to be a good fit for MDWs, for example, is the OCBC monthly savings account⁵. This account requires a minimum balance of 500 SGD, but offers higher interest for regular savers.

If you’re interested in finding different bank account options as a work permit holder, you may need to approach banks directly to ask for their product recommendations, based on your personal needs.

Requirements to open a bank account as a work permit holder

While the requirements to open any given bank account may differ, you’ll pretty much always need to provide proof of identity and address, and proof of your legal right to live and work in Singapore.

To illustrate, if you apply for a POSB Payroll Account online, you would need the following documents and details:

• Valid Passport
• Work permit (front and back copies) or In-Principle Approval (IPA, page 1 and 2 “Helper’s copy”)
• Screenshot of SGWorkPass App
• Mobile number
• Email address

How to open a bank account for work permit holders

If you’re a migrant worker coming to Singapore, your employer may have already made arrangements to open a POSB account in your name. In this case you’ll be able to get your account collateral on arrival, or arrange for your employer to keep some of your account documents, like your passbook, for safekeeping if you prefer.

If you’re an MDW coming to Singapore, you can give your prospective employer permission to open a POSB account for you in advance - or you can open your account yourself on arrival.

Here’s how to open a POSB Payroll account for migrant workers step-by-step for MDWs already in Singapore⁶:

1. Visit the POSB migrant worker’s account landing page.
2. Tap the Apply Now button and follow the prompts to enter your personal and contact details.
3. Upload the required documents following the on-screen instructions.
4. You’ll get an SMS once your application has been successfully received.

Within 5 days, you should receive an SMS from POSB to confirm your application has been approved. Your debit card and information about your PIN and digital token registration will be sent to your registered address.

Once you have your debit card, you can activate it and complete the account set-up using the digital token details.

What to consider when opening a bank account

When you’re choosing your Singapore bank account and considering how best to manage your money here, you’ll want to consider the following:

Monthly account fees and minimum balances
The POSB Payroll account has no opening balance requirement as it’s intended to be an accessible account for new arrivals receiving Singapore salary payments. However, once it’s open, this account has a minimum balance of 500 SGD. You’ll need to maintain this balance, or pay a fee for falling below 2 SGD/month.

The OCBC Monthly Savings Account has a minimum opening balance and minimum daily balance of 500 SGD to avoid a fall below fee of 2 SGD/month.

ATM withdrawal fees and access
For convenience in Singapore, check the ATM withdrawal fees and access for your account. For the POSB account, the following rules apply:

• A 2 SGD monthly ATM withdrawal fee will apply if you make more than 4 ATM withdrawals/month
• A 2 SGD fee will apply for each cash withdrawal of 2,000 SGD or less, at any DBS/POSB branch.

International remittance costs
As many migrant workers send money home to loved ones, choosing an account with low-cost international remittances is important. The POSB payroll account lets you send payments using DBS Remit⁷, which has no upfront transfer fee. A fee may be added to the exchange rate used to convert your payment.

DBS Remit is available to send 19 currencies to 50 countries. If your country or currency isn’t eligible, you’d need to use the DBS telegraphic transfer service, which is significantly more expensive.

Using the account for daily spending in Singapore
Finally, check that your account and card can be used for convenient spending in Singapore. The POSB payroll account lets you get a linked DBS debit card, which is available for contactless NETS transactions, making it easy to use locally.

Receiving a salary as a work permit holder

If you’re a migrant worker staying in a dormitory, the MOM rules state that your employer must pay your salary into your bank account within 7 days of the end of each month. If you’re not staying in dormitories, payments can be credited to a bank or given in cash⁸.

A cheap and easy way to send money home: Wise

A Singapore bank account is essential for receiving your salary and managing daily spending locally. But for many work permit holders, an important consideration is how to send money back home affordably and reliably.

Wise international money transfers can be set up online or within the Wise app with low fees from 0.26% and the mid-market rate, to over 140+ countries. There’s no markup added to the exchange rate that’s used to convert your currency, which makes it easier to see exactly what you're paying for a transfer, and what the recipient will get in the end. Just transfer the amount indicated in SGD and let Wise do the rest.

Track your transfers easily when you create a free Wise account, and manage, hold, and convert your money in SGD and 40+ other currencies. You'll get the same great rates, and be able to track your transfers all from one place. As a bonus, you can also get 8+ local account details to be able to receive money in SGD, USD, GBP, and more.

✍️ Sign up for a free account now

Sources:

1. MOM - migrant worker work permit
2. MOM - migrant domestic worker work permit
3. MOM - open a bank account for a migrant worker
4. POSB Payroll account for migrant workers
5. OCBC monthly savings account
6. POSB - step by step guide to open a MDW account
7. DBS Remit
8. MOM - paying salary of a migrant worker