Best Place to Exchange Money in Singapore

01Exchange

Where to change money in Singapore

Anyone changing money as a business in Singapore needs a licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Its Financial Institutions Directory, last updated on 25 August 2026, can be searched by name, so checking a shop takes a minute.

• Arcade Money Changers, The Arcade, 11 Collyer Quay ↗MAS lists this firm as a money-changing licensee at #01-18, The Arcade, 11 Collyer Quay, Singapore 049317, close to Raffles Place. The entry confirms the licence, address and phone number only, not opening hours or rates, so compare its displayed rate with a second licensed shop.
• Changi Airport, Terminal 1 departure transit hallFor spare Singapore dollars on the way home, Changi's airport map shows money changers airside in the Terminal 1 departure transit hall, at both the east and west ends, beside cash machines. Changi Travel Exchange, a MAS-licensed money-changer, also has its registered address in Terminal 1.

02On arrival

Changing money at the airport

Each of Changi's four terminals has bank cash machines in its arrival hall, all listed by the airport as open 24 hours. Terminal 1 has DBS, OCBC, UOB, HSBC, ICBC and State Bank of India machines. Terminal 2 has two groups, near the train to the city and by the coach stand, covering DBS, OCBC, UOB, Citibank, Maybank and HSBC. In Terminal 3, OCBC, UOB and Maybank stand near the train, HSBC in the centre, and Bank of China and ICBC near McDonald's. Terminal 4 has DBS, OCBC, UOB and HSBC. More machines are in the departure and transit halls and on level B1 of Jewel.

03Cash machines and cards

ATMs and cards in Singapore

With machines from local and foreign banks at every terminal, you can draw Singapore dollars on landing; look up your UK bank's charge for cash withdrawals abroad before you go. If a card machine or ATM shows a sterling total, choose Singapore dollars: MoneySavingExpert points out that the retailer sets that conversion rate, so paying in the local currency is usually the better deal.

04Getting around

Paying for transport in Singapore

On SimplyGo you need no ticket: tap a contactless American Express, Mastercard, NETS or Visa card, or one loaded into Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay, at MRT gates and on buses, and you pay the regular adult fare. Foreign-issued Visa and Mastercard cards carry an admin fee of S$0.60 for each day you travel, which LTA's visitor leaflet repeats, and your own bank may charge as well. Maestro and Cirrus debit cards are refused. Tap in and out with the same card on the same phone, or you may be charged more than once. Fares last went up on 27 December 2025, by 9 to 10 cents per adult journey.

05Local know-how

Good to know

• If you will travel by MRT and bus most days, a SimplyGo EZ-Link card avoids the daily foreign-card fee. It costs S$10, of which S$5 is the card and S$5 is fare credit, and is sold at station passenger service centres and SimplyGo ticket offices.
• MAS warns that scammers pose as regulated firms, so trust the address and phone number in its directory rather than a shop sign or a social media page.
• Carrying more than S$20,000 in cash, or its value in other currencies, into or out of Singapore? Declare it: at Customs' Red Channel when you arrive, and to immigration when you leave.