Useful Information

Money Matters

Currency used is the Singapore dollar (S$ or SGD) and can be exchange at the airport, banks, and almost all hotels or through legal money changers found in most shopping malls. Exchange rates are usually better with the money changers.

All major credit cards like Visa, MasterCard and American Express are widely accepted in Singapore except in local cafes called “coffee shops” and small eateries.

ATMs are very common and easily found in Singapore and will accept Visa Plus and MasterCard Cirrus.

Traveler cheques are accepted and can be cashed at banks and most hotels in Singapore.

Now if you're going on a bargain hunt, do state which mode of payment you are using before negotiating as you will usually get a better discount if paying by cash. Try not to negotiate first and whip out your credit card later. You are not going to be very popular that way.

It is probably still a good idea to carry some cash for just those moments.

Local calls cost 10 cents (per 3 minutes) for both coin and card operated public payphones. Card operated payphones are more common nowadays but you can still find some coin operated ones in food eateries or small local cafes.

International calls can be made from all public payphones. The IDD (International Direct Dialling) access code is 001. It is advisable to purchase a budget long distance calling card as it will be a lot cheaper than using IDD to call overseas from Singapore.

To call overseas, dial 001 + IDD Country Code + Area Code + Local Number.

If you are using a public phone to make overseas calls using the long distance calling card, remember that you will also need to purchase a local phone card to use the public payphone in the first place before you can use the access codes of the long distance calling card.

You can easily find both the local phone card and budget long distance calling card in convenient stores like 7-Eleven, Cheers, bookstores, post offices or any petrol stations.

Using a mobile phone is still the most convenient form of communications. If your mobile phone can operate at GSM 900/1800 MHZ frequency band, it can be used to auto-roam in Singapore. Of course, auto-roaming charges apply.

If most of your calls are local, you will be better off getting a local store value SIM card to use on your mobile phone. Likewise, you can purchase the store value SIM card at the same stores where you find the phone cards.

If you need Internet or email access, there are plenty of Cyber or Internet Cafes in Singapore. In fact, most hotels in Singapore do provide free Internet access.