Yakadir Money Changer Singapore: Your full guide

Yakadir can be found on the ground floor of Parkway Parade. Since 1981, Yakadir has been providing money exchanging and transfer services. And while they have a legacy in the business, they are not transparent on their costs or provide ways to use their services online. If you are in the area or want to know more, read on to learn about how Yakadir works.

But if you are looking for a fast, easy and cheap way to send money in more than 60 currencies right from your phone, take a look at Wise.

Compare exchange rates with Wise

How to exchange currency with Yakadir

There is only one branch of Yakadir which can be found at 80 Marine Parade Road, in Parkway Parade, right by the HSBC branch. Yakadir is a completely in-person operation and does not offer services online or by an app. Yakadir offers currency exchange and remittance services, as well as demand drafts.

Yakadir offers currency exchanges in 15 different currencies, including¹:

Other currencies may be available, so check with the branch if you are looking for a particular currency not listed.

Yakadir is open Monday-Sunday from 10 am-830am, but it may be wise to give them a call at +65 6344 9652 before you head over. Once you step into Yakadir, you will have to check the board on the wall to find the day’s exchange rates and then you can head to the counter and begin your transaction. Be sure to carry your government-issued ID with you, and your beneficiary’s bank account information if you are doing a remittance.²

Yakadir charges and fees

It can be difficult to say how much Yakadir will cost you. They are not clear on their website about how much they charge for exchanges or remittances. Customer reviews highlight that their service fees for currency exchanges can range from around 7-10.8% of the transaction³. However, the transaction charge can only be verified at the branch and is likely to be dependent on the amount you are exchanging and which currency you are exchanging into.

Now, this fee is placed on top of an exchange rate that Yakadir sets itself. Since Yakadir does not use the mid-market exchange rate, there can be a hidden fee in the exchange rate they offer, but more on that in the next section.

Wise is completely online and lets you transfer money to local bank accounts in 60+ currencies. And you can see the one low transfer fee and exchange rate upfront before you even start. So that you can make the best and most well-informed choice for you and your wallet.

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The true cost of money changing with Yakadir

Without more clarity on fees and charges, it is hard to say how much your Yakadir exchange or transfer is going to cost. What is clear is that there is likely a service charge fee as well as a hidden exchange rate fee.

Yakadir sets its own exchange rate, which means it is weaker than the mid-market exchange rate. The mid-market exchange rate is the rate that the banks use themselves to exchange different currencies. It is also the rate that you see on Google. When Yakadir sets their rate to be less than the mid-market exchange rate, they are able to sneak in a hidden fee to you in the difference.

Let’s see what that looks like in action. Here is the listed Yakadir exchange rate for Singapore dollars to Great British Pounds, compared to the mid-market exchange rate.

Checked as of May 29, 2020

As you can see, there is an inherent difference between the mid-market exchange rate and the rate you get from Yakadir of .04 cents. And while that may not seem like a lot, that difference can add up to a substantial amount of money out of your wallet over time and with large transfers.

If you are looking to send money globally at the mid-market exchange rate, give Wise a try. You will always get the real mid-market exchange rate on every transfer or exchange you do. There are no hidden markups or surprises here. You will always get the one low transfer fee and the delivery time to the local bank account you choose right on the screen.

A cheap, fast and transparent alternative: Wise

It may not be possible to get down to a branch to start a money transfer or exchange, so that’s why Wise brings global money transfers to you. With an award-winning app and an easy-to-use website, you can open a free Wise account to make transfers all around the world to local bank accounts. And the best part is that you get to do it all with one low fee and the mid-market exchange rate.

To take it one step further, Wise offers a free multi-currency account where you can hold 40+ currencies in one account. So you can exchange your Singapore dollars into USD, GBP, RMB, THB, or MYR all from your phone. Which you can then use to shop on global websites like Qoo10 or Amazon, or send and spend as you like. It is that easy.

And as always with Wise you will always know the fee and exchange rate upfront. It’s why over 7 million customers have chosen Wise for their global money transfers. Sign up today to take advantage of the low cost and convenience of TransferWIse.