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Which banks are good?

Discuss the different banking options, rates, offers and perks.
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Brah
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Which banks are good?

Post by Brah » Tue, 05 Apr 2011 6:58 pm

There's probably a thread on this but it's easier to ask....

I liked my current bank until they pulled a shady move recently, so am going to pull all my savings and put that elsewhere.

Some banks with linked credit cards have better, sometimes much better, benefits such as points, airline miles, F&B discounts, etc.

Although the bank and service were ok the credit card rarely if ever had any benefits useful to me, where friends and colleagues were always using theirs for lunch discounts, etc.
Last edited by Brah on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 7:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by JayCee » Tue, 05 Apr 2011 7:01 pm

Haven't you heard? No banks are good, they're all evil and anyone who works for one is a child-eating fat cat and the human embodiment of lucifer himself

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Post by Brah » Tue, 05 Apr 2011 7:12 pm

Yeah, yeah, well I can't edit the title, you know what I mean.

Maybe it should say "Which blood-sucking leech of a bank has good benefits compared with the others?"

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Post by ScoobyDoes » Wed, 06 Apr 2011 6:34 pm

From my morning today I had problems with UOB, then HSBC, then OCBC all in the space of about 20-min so take your pick. My colleague has problems with AmEx (though i'll quantify that by confirming i know that it not a bank specifically) and Citi.

Banking service in SG is worse than in many places even some of those so called 3rd world places.
'When Lewis Hamilton wins a race he has to thank Vodafone whereas in my day I used to chase the crumpet. I know which era I'd rather race in.'

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Post by ecureilx » Wed, 06 Apr 2011 6:46 pm

ScoobyDoes wrote:From my morning today I had problems with UOB, then HSBC, then OCBC all in the space of about 20-min so take your pick. My colleague has problems with AmEx (though i'll quantify that by confirming i know that it not a bank specifically) and Citi.

Banking service in SG is worse than in many places even some of those so called 3rd world places.
Except OCBC and UOB, all banks in your list are "FOREIGN BANKS" :D :D

Just for curiosity sake, what exactly was the problem ?

if you are referring to credit card booking failing, that's because Payment gateway merchants controlling the cards use, based on regions, to avoid card fraud ..

My 2 cents ..

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Post by Brah » Wed, 06 Apr 2011 7:26 pm

Not sure if you're asking about my or Scooby's issue, but I have two -

one was a special promotion that was closed before the advertised date, the bank rep didn't tell me there was any possibility of that happening (or I would have done it earlier) - when I went in well before that date to take advantage of the offer, I was told it was too late

the other is I get really nothing by way of perks from my DBS Visa but many restaurants have discounts for just about any other card but mine

so I'm looking for a new card and a new bank

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Post by BillyB » Wed, 06 Apr 2011 10:07 pm

Brah wrote:Not sure if you're asking about my or Scooby's issue, but I have two -

one was a special promotion that was closed before the advertised date, the bank rep didn't tell me there was any possibility of that happening (or I would have done it earlier) - when I went in well before that date to take advantage of the offer, I was told it was too late

the other is I get really nothing by way of perks from my DBS Visa but many restaurants have discounts for just about any other card but mine

so I'm looking for a new card and a new bank
Try Stanchart. I have never had any issue with them. You get served swiftly in most branches, the staff are polite and the Internet banking is really good and easy to use. The only negative is that they use the atm5 in Singapore - and that means you can only use SC, HSBC, some Maybank and Citi, ANZ and SBI cash machines. If you plan ahead its not a massive issue though.

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Post by ScoobyDoes » Thu, 07 Apr 2011 4:30 pm

ecureilx wrote:
if you are referring to credit card booking failing, that's because Payment gateway merchants controlling the cards use, based on regions, to avoid card fraud ..

No i wasn't referring to that but that just adds on top of the list of my own problems, mostly relating to debit cards and atm cards.
'When Lewis Hamilton wins a race he has to thank Vodafone whereas in my day I used to chase the crumpet. I know which era I'd rather race in.'

SIR Stirling Moss OBE

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Post by ecureilx » Thu, 07 Apr 2011 5:10 pm

ScoobyDoes wrote:No i wasn't referring to that but that just adds on top of the list of my own problems, mostly relating to debit cards and atm cards.
Do you keep a large magnet in your wallet ?? :D :D

Except the times, around 3.00 AM when banks are doing procesing, I never had issues with any banks here, from UOB, HSBC, DBS, Citi, ANZ, OCBC .. ah well, don't ask why so many cards / accounts

Unless you were the guy I saw struggling to withdraw money at OT at 3 AM, trying different cards and swearing about not remembering the pin .. ;)

Over and out ..

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Thu, 07 Apr 2011 5:23 pm

ecureilx wrote: Do you keep a large magnet in your wallet ?? :D :D
Interesting. I wonder what kind of problems would arise if one carried around one of the advertising freebie address books (the type that has two of the vinyl magnetic covers and a fold out paper insert for the addresses) in their wallet along with magnetic swipe cards of various flavours, as they are all CC sized and would slip into the normal CC slots in a wallet. How sensitive ARE swipe type cards?
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by JR8 » Thu, 07 Apr 2011 5:33 pm

BillyB wrote: Try Stanchart. I have never had any issue with them. You get served swiftly in most branches, the staff are polite and the Internet banking is really good and easy to use. The only negative is that they use the atm5 in Singapore - and that means you can only use SC, HSBC, some Maybank and Citi, ANZ and SBI cash machines. If you plan ahead its not a massive issue though.

I had an account with them and am sorry to say that I did have problems.

- They have few branches, so unless you are regularly somewhere central during business hours, then you will need to travel specifically to find a branch.
- We found it tortuous setting up a monthly Giro for our rent. With having to have the forms posted to us, posting them back, a month for processing. More torture to change the payment amount after one year, only to have them stop the Giro after one month. Then they contradicted everything they had previously told us, and told us we could have managed it all online ourselves !? :x
- I had a cheque go across my account to someone I'd never heard of. Customer Service were that uniquely SGn brick-wall of 'Fraud does not happen in SG, therefore I cannot compute your inquiry', i.e. total disbelief and inability to help.
- I didn't find the ATM5 matter an issue as such. There were plenty of ATMs around. That said I found that for unknown reasons Citi ATMs would regularly refuse to give me funds.
- We had a deposit a/c linked to our cheque a/c. They issued no paper statements for that a/c, nor could they. A/C history on the online banking site only goes back 3 months, so to have any audit trail of any kind on our 'six figures' deposit activity, we had to remember to go and take screenprints from the site every couple of months.

So IME StanChart are far from efficient.

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Post by BillyB » Thu, 07 Apr 2011 5:49 pm

JR8 wrote:
BillyB wrote: Try Stanchart. I have never had any issue with them. You get served swiftly in most branches, the staff are polite and the Internet banking is really good and easy to use. The only negative is that they use the atm5 in Singapore - and that means you can only use SC, HSBC, some Maybank and Citi, ANZ and SBI cash machines. If you plan ahead its not a massive issue though.

I had an account with them and am sorry to say that I did have problems.

- They have few branches, so unless you are regularly somewhere central during business hours, then you will need to travel specifically to find a branch.
- We found it tortuous setting up a monthly Giro for our rent. With having to have the forms posted to us, posting them back, a month for processing. More torture to change the payment amount after one year, only to have them stop the Giro after one month. Then they contradicted everything they had previously told us, and told us we could have managed it all online ourselves !? :x
- I had a cheque go across my account to someone I'd never heard of. Customer Service were that uniquely SGn brick-wall of 'Fraud does not happen in SG, therefore I cannot compute your inquiry', i.e. total disbelief and inability to help.
- I didn't find the ATM5 matter an issue as such. There were plenty of ATMs around. That said I found that for unknown reasons Citi ATMs would regularly refuse to give me funds.
- We had a deposit a/c linked to our cheque a/c. They issued no paper statements for that a/c, nor could they. A/C history on the online banking site only goes back 3 months, so to have any audit trail of any kind on our 'six figures' deposit activity, we had to remember to go and take screenprints from the site every couple of months.

So IME StanChart are far from efficient.
Your case is definitely a 'one-off'!! ha ha

Guess I've been lucky so far with them in terms of not royally cocking anything major up (touch wood) but I do have to emphasis my point with the atm5. I used to be based over at Suntec which was ok, there was a SC machine outside the bank and also an SBI and HSBC should there be any issues.

I now am over in CBD so can walk to the main branch on Battery road easily. However, I live central so the nearest atm is ANZ on Orchard. If that is out of service then I'm out of luck and its a trip down to either Suntec or Dhoby Ghaut. Last night I was over near Bugis and needed cash and looked all round - not a single machine. The same for Takashimaya - nothing. And you are right about Citi - some of the machines aren't atm5 where as others are - bizarre.

For that reason I'm contemplating opening a DBS account!!

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Post by JR8 » Thu, 07 Apr 2011 6:01 pm

Ah-ha... so that's the scoop re: ATM5. I never figured it out.

I lived in Toa Payoh, so we had a StanChart ATm in the HUB building, but then also Maybank next to it. Then Maybank again by escalators upstairs in front of NTUC, and Citi ATMs in the MRT.

If I went to Cold Storage I'd go to Novena, where there are Citi ATMs in the MRT. Also a load of them at Raffles City which was a frequent meeting point.

So to avoid the 'russian roulette' of the Citi ATMs I'd take out say $500 at a time, but not carry it all on me.

p.s. The funny thing with Citi is that I think some of their ATMs dropped out of the ATM5 scheme. For example the machines at Toa Payoh and Novena used to work for me, but then running up to my departure time they simply stopped doing so.

pps See the news re: Portugal today? 'Say no more', but what a royal F up the EU and euro are proving to be lol

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Post by BillyB » Thu, 07 Apr 2011 6:18 pm

JR8 wrote:Ah-ha... so that's the scoop re: ATM5. I never figured it out.

I loved in Toa Payoh, so we had a StanChart ATm in the HUB building, but then also Maybank next to it. Then Maybank again by escalators upstairs in front of NTUC, and Citi ATMs in the MRT.

If I went to Cold Storage I'd go to Novena, where there are Citi ATMs in the MRT. Also a load of them at Raffles City which was a frequent meeting point.

So to avoid the 'russian roulette' of the Citi ATMs I'd take out say $500 at a time, but not carry it all on me.

p.s. The funny thing with Citi is that I think some of their ATMs dropped out of the ATM5 scheme. For example the machines at Toa Payoh and Novena used to work for me, but then running up to my departure time they simply stopped doing so.

pps See the news re: Portugal today? 'Say no more', but what a royal F up the EU and euro are proving to be lol
That's exactly what I tend to do - $500 at a time, but with my GF always, and I do mean always, forgetting to go to the cash point even though its right next to where she works, that soon goes very fast!!

I was so tempted to update the other post Re: The British anti-cuts / economic a-level questions tutorial / marxist / anger management debate but I think the hornets have settled down somewhat and don't want to stir them into action again!!

With Portugal; no surprise at all there. The Country is crippled. I'm now shifting more towards thinking that Spain's resistance to signal any possible requirements for assistance is futile given the likely rise in rates from the ECB, the fact that there banking system is an absolute disaster in the making, unemployment is sky high and the housing collapse is still rippling through. Higher rates simply magnify the knock on effects. Watch this space.........the jury is out.

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Post by JR8 » Thu, 07 Apr 2011 6:59 pm

What do you suggest is the most useful day-to-day tool for Joe Public to monitor stress within the Spanish economy? CDS px's, 10-year yields?

p.s. Edit to add.
A useful analogy for the EU?

Laurel & Hardy, A Haunting We Will Go. The Inflato..!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwDAPIFPggY

lol

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