DBS and $2

Check it out people....I have my very own ATM card for Singapore. Of course, this comes along with my newly opened bank account.

Today the nice lady from Cartus, Tina, picked me up and took me to open my bank account at DBS which is the Development Bank of Singapore. It was established in 1968 and was one of the key banks aiding in the economic development of Singapore. I chose it not for historical purposes but because it has the largest network of ATMs in Singapore. I found out from friends here that the banks in Singapore do not play nice with each other. Apparently you are only allowed to use ATM machines that your bank owns, the others won't accept your card. I'm guessing they haven't caught on to the "out of network" ATM fees we are all keenly aware of in the US.

The entire process was very easy. They have a check-in counter when you first walk in the bank and you have to tell them why you are there. They then assign you a number, which includes your estimated waiting time, take your mobile number and tell you to wander around the shopping center and that they will call when it's about time for your number to come up. How polite is that?

We had about 20 minutes to wait so we wandered around Plaza Singapura which is a large mall that I haven't been to before. First stop was to the electronics store called Best to check out the price of TVs. Another little known fact is that TVs are not universal around the world. Certainly the output of them is but American TVs will only work in Japan but not in any other Asian country. The prices are about the same and the staff at Best were very helpful but not too pushy so when I get an apartment I'll head back there to make a purchase.

The next stop was to a Japanese $2 store. Everything in the store is only $2...except for me...it's really only going to be $1.33. This is similar to the American style 'Dollar Store' with two major exceptions. #1 - everything on the tags was written in Japanese and #2 - the stuff was actually of decent quality. And they had everything you could think of...stationary, binders, scissors, socks, glasses, bowls, even a plastic banana carrier! I'm totally going to go back and get one of those. I mean who wants to eat a bruised banana as an afternoon snack?

Halfway through browsing the $2 store we got our call to head back down to the bank. Went in and within 20 minutes had myself a new bank account and new ATM card. All they needed from me was some cash, a couple of signatures, and copies of my passport and green card. It was such a simple process I felt silly for having Cartus bring me along.

BTW - Cartus is the relocation agency that my employer has hired to aid in my transition to Singapore. They have people in the US and here in Singapore who are there to assist me with whatever I need. The first time I met Tina she came to help me look for an apartment. She brought me a bag with an eating guide, bus routes, street directory, two books on Singapore customs and traditions, and some laminated cards with important phone numbers. She then spent two days taking notes for me while I was looking at apartments. She'd jot down the number of bedrooms, overall feel for the place, any comments I had, and would draw out the floorplan so I'd be able to remember it. I now know why people have personal assistants. I could totally get used to having one.

Be on the lookout this Christmas for banana carriers...