Using foreign debit cards with magnetic strip in SG

[shag]

Thanks for the replies guys.
As for the nick, thats just something that has stuck since long time back when a dear friend gave me that name

I just intend to use my debit card to withdraw cash from the ATMs and I heard that banks in SG have set out a tight schedule for phasing out all magnetic strip cards and replace them with a EMV chip+magnetic stripe cards. in fact one of them had scheduled phase out dates of late 2010 listed on its website(I think it was DBS).

As for Malaysia, I have been in that credit card nightmare before when I went diving in borneo, and being from India I had only Indian Rupees in cash and very few ringgit. Fortunately the dive centre allowed me to make a call to my bank back home to request my bank to unblock my card. I paid for the call with my card once it was unblocked.

They had to let me call I guess, cause I didn't have any other way to pay for a $1000+ bill I had run up at my vacation there haha!

Anyway thanks for all your help in clarifying that my magnetic strip only debit cards will still allow me to withdraw cash from ATMs.
I didn't want to end up in Singapore and find out that I can't withdraw money from an ATM because they don't support magnetic strip based cards anymore.

Hope to get to know some of you once I am in Singapore

[shag]

Ohh btw sorry about the ambiguity in my use of term "debit card" against "ATM card"
Here all "debit cards" are also "ATM Cards" and likewise all "ATM Cards" are also "debit cards".

[ecureilx]

Ohh btw sorry about the ambiguity in my use of term "debit card" against "ATM card"
Here all "debit cards" are also "ATM Cards" and likewise all "ATM Cards" are also "debit cards".

ah .. ok .. maybe Singapore is much backward, compared to India ...

All ATM Cards are not DEBIT Cards here .. you can have ATM card without debit card and with debit card, as the latter entails you are tied to master card or visa .. and the corresponding advantages and disadvantages ..

[JR8]

ah .. ok .. maybe Singapore is much backward, compared to India ...

All ATM Cards are not DEBIT Cards here .. you can have ATM card without debit card and with debit card, as the latter entails you are tied to master card or visa .. and the corresponding advantages and disadvantages ..

You used to be able to get ATM cards that were not debit cards in the UK.... er, about 30 years ago.

But yes you're right. Banking in SG is backward!

[tektimesys]

In Singapore, at many places chip cards are used but thats not true, they stopped using magnetic strip cards. Magnetic strip cards have capacity to store more data and they are less expensive than chip cards.

[ecureilx]

In Singapore, at many places chip cards are used but thats not true, they stopped using magnetic strip cards. Magnetic strip cards have capacity to store more data and they are less expensive than chip cards.

right ....

its been 3 years since that last post was made ...

[Strong Eagle]

In Singapore, at many places chip cards are used but thats not true, they stopped using magnetic strip cards. Magnetic strip cards have capacity to store more data and they are less expensive than chip cards.

right ....

its been 3 years since that last post was made ...

And posting from New Delhi as well.

[PNGMK]

You may need to tell your issuer you're travelling, my wife's US cards were locked for a lot of SEA countries until she told the issuer she was living in SE Asia.

[BedokAmerican]

I know this is an old post, but I figured I'd reply.

Using a foreign debit/credit card might result in higher fees. Best to open a local bank account ASAP.

By the way, one time I accidentally took out my American debit/credit card from my wallet at a store in Singapore and the cashier looked at me like I had two heads and gave it back to me without attempting to run it. I then apologized for my error, took back my U.S. card and got out my Singapore card.

[sundaymorningstaple]

I had the same result at the chalets at East Coast for my daughters 16th birthday (that would have been 14 years ago). I had recently been upgraded, unasked for, to a US Platinum Visa card. That was before they were common as sugar ants here - in fact at that time there was only a single local bank that issued them and there were only three that I was aware of (the PM, President & one other, Doctor, I believe) and the annual spend was somewhere around 250K/annum in order to maintain it (Sure wish the US was like that and I could afford it! lol). So I whipped out the card, not thinking, and proceeded to try to pay for the chalets we had booked for the party and the girl just stood there looking at the card. Finally called her duty manager and after much too-ing and fro-ing we managed to convince her it was a legitimate card. I actually suggested that she call the toll free 1-800 number on the reverse of the card. So yeah, it does happen.

[JR8]

I once used my Coutts gold card in the local post office (London).

The Indian chap behind the counter said something like 'Dis is ver the Queen has her banking' before repeatedly almost saluting me ('yes sahib' style)' .... [me standing there blinking] ...

[taxico]

follow-up Q...

do you guys follow the credit card or hand it over blindly to joe waiter (or jane waitress)?

[JR8]

Hand it over 'blindly', but definitely keep and reconcile my receipts afterwards (always).

Any funny stuff happening in between the two is not my liability, and has been so rare (twice in 20 years?) I don't even consider it...

... But, I always have the receipts for say the past year, in an envelope in a drawer, just in case any question came up ...

[taxico]

Hand it over 'blindly', but definitely keep and reconcile my receipts afterwards (always).

Any funny stuff happening in between the two is not my liability, and has been so rare (twice in 20 years?) I don't even consider it...

... But, I always have the receipts for say the past year, in an envelope in a drawer, just in case any question came up ...

good to know... i've always followed the card - and my wife is even more suspicious of persons swiping her card into the actual POS terminal (i can't remember why they do that, but i think for a/c purposes).

i think i should relax from now on...

[aster]

i've always followed the card - and my wife is even more suspicious of persons swiping her card into the actual POS terminal (i can't remember why they do that, but i think for a/c purposes).

Had an argument about that recently. Saw a Paywave terminal and asked to pay this way, plain and simple. Everything was ok until they said they still wanted to handle my card and that's when it all began...