The Singapore dollar is money in Singapore. Currency in Singapore Where to change dollars in Singapore
The national currency of Singapore is the Singapore dollar (denoted as SGD or S$), which consists of 100 cents. There are paper and polymer banknotes in circulation in denominations of 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 1000 and 10,000 dollars, the so-called "portrait series". Change coins are also used in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents and 1 dollar.
2 Singapore dollars
5 Singapore dollars
10 Singapore dollars
50 Singapore dollars
In addition to Singapore dollars, Brunei dollars are also freely circulating in Singapore. The Sultanate of Brunei is one of Singapore's main trading partners, and Brunei's currency is rigidly pegged to the Singapore dollar at a ratio of 1:1. Therefore, Brunei dollars are accepted in almost all Singapore outlets.
Bank cards are the main way to pay for goods and services in Singapore, they are accepted almost everywhere. They are very convenient to use, as you can pay without cash and not think about currency exchange, and you can immediately withdraw Singapore dollars from ATMs.
However, one cannot do without cash, especially small ones. Singapore dollars can, for example, be bought at the airport, immediately upon arrival in the country. The exchange office is located in the baggage claim area. Upon departure, the remaining Singaporean currency can be exchanged back in the Duty Free zone after clearing customs.
But it is better to use city "exchangers", they are more profitable. Currency exchange offices in Singapore are located on the main streets and in many shopping centers. They are easily recognizable by illuminated panels with exchange rates. The working hours of most exchange offices are from 10.00 or 11.00 to 17.00, some money changers are open until 20.00 or 21.00.
Singapore dollar exchange rate
The current exchange rate of the Singapore dollar against the ruble, as well as the US dollar exchange rate for comparison, can be found on this informer. Exchange rates are given on the basis of data from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
Before going to Singapore, any tourist from Russia needs to know what currency to take with them to this country. It also does not hurt to know the exchange rate of the Singapore dollar against the ruble. This can be done not only in the nearest bank branches, but also on the Internet online.
Basic information
The main currency in Singapore is the Singapore dollar (SGD). Tourists should take American dollars or euros with them on a trip, which can be exchanged at any exchange office or bank for local money. It is not advisable to take Russian rubles with you. In Singapore, they cannot be exchanged even with a strong desire. The residents of Kazakhstan (their currency is tenge) and many other republics that were previously part of the USSR should take the same into account.
Bank rate
Tourists traveling to Singapore will need an accurate exchange rate. Today, one Singapore dollar is equal to approximately 48.5 rubles. Future travelers will need information about larger amounts:
- 20 SGD cost about 970 rubles;
- 30 - approximately 1455 rubles;
- 50 - approximately 2425 rubles;
- 100 - about 4850 rubles;
- 200 - about 9700 rubles;
- 500 - about 24249 rubles, etc.
To exchange US currency for Singaporean money, you also need to know the exchange rate of the Singapore dollar against the US dollar. Today, one Singapore dollar is equal to approximately 0.74 US dollars. The exchange rate of the Singapore dollar against the euro today is as follows: one SGD is approximately equal to 0.65 euros.
More up-to-date information will be shown by the currency converter available on our website. To use it, you must select two currencies and enter the desired amount. The calculator will give an accurate result in a matter of seconds (the data in it is updated daily).
Where is the best place to change?
First of all, you can change dollars or euros for local banknotes at the airport immediately upon arrival. Finding a bank where foreign exchange transactions are carried out is not difficult. It is located near the baggage claim area. In this branch of the bank, tourists can also buy a SIM card for a phone. But the exchange rate is not the most profitable here, so if there is no special need, it is better to exchange small amounts at the airport, which will be used to pay for transportation to the hotel.
To purchase Singaporean banknotes at a more favorable rate, a tourist can contact any exchange offices located in different parts of the city. Most often, exchangers are located in hotels, at metro stations, in large shopping centers. You can recognize them by the luminous scoreboards, which indicate the exchange rates. The usual working hours of exchange offices are from ten in the morning to five or eight in the evening. You can also find 24-hour exchangers.
You can make an exchange at such points without worrying about fraud or deceit. Such organizations operate honestly and legally. At the same time, it must be remembered that it is most profitable to change large amounts immediately, in such cases tourists can be offered the most favorable rate.
In addition to exchangers, local banks are engaged in the sale of local currency. The course in them may be less profitable than in exchange offices. The bulk of banks work on weekdays from half past ten in the morning until half past five in the evening. On Saturday banks close at 13.00. Sunday in banking structures is a day off.
If a tourist is going to fly home, but he still has local money, it will be possible to exchange it for euros or dollars without any problems. You can get the necessary currency at the airport by going to the duty-free zone.
Cashless payments
If for some reason it was not possible to make a currency exchange, you can also pay in Singapore with a bank card. Payment by Visa and Mastercsard cards will be accepted in shopping centers, hotels, restaurants. But taxi drivers for paying by card will take an additional commission of 15%. Therefore, it is best to pay for a taxi in cash. In addition, when paying in some stores, sellers make discounts to those buyers who give paper money for goods.
If a tourist with a bank card of a Russian bank needs cash, he can always withdraw it from ATMs, which are located in Singapore at almost every step in all areas of the city. When cashing a ruble card, the ATM will issue local banknotes. The minimum withdrawal amount is twenty SGD. You can withdraw up to 2,000 SGD at a time. You should not withdraw funds in crowded places where pickpockets and petty thieves usually live.
It's important to know!
Tourists who come to Singapore should take into account a number of nuances and important details related to money that will help them not be in an awkward situation when paying for goods or services:
one). In shops, restaurant menus, various price lists, the Singapore dollar can be denoted by the $ sign, sometimes the Latin letter S (S $) is added to it. Also on the price tags you can find the U $ sign, it means that the price is indicated in US dollars. You need to look at such inscriptions very carefully.
2). In some cases, on price tags, after the cost of a product or service, additional icons may be indicated, knowing the meaning of which you can understand how much the product actually costs:
- the plus sign (+) means that a 10% service charge (tip) must be added to the cost of the product or service;
- the “two pluses” icon (++) indicates that in addition to a 10% tip, an additional 7% must be added to the price (a tax on goods, similar to what is called VAT in Russia);
- "Nett" tells the buyer that this is the total cost of the purchase or service, no additional fees will be charged.
Whatever the currency in Singapore, throughout the entire existence of this country, it has been one of the most stable in the world. And all because Singapore's money - dollars - has always been pegged to the British pound sterling.
Young is not always green
In Russian, for obvious reasons, the word "dollar" is associated with the adjective "green". This is partly true for one of the youngest (1967) currencies in the world - the Singapore dollar. The five and fifty dollar bills are green-turquoise. The rest of the banknotes in their colors are more reminiscent of the European Union. In addition to those mentioned, there are also bank notes in denominations of ten, twenty, one hundred and one thousand dollars. However, few people manage to see a thousand-dollar bill, for example, like its American counterpart - these are the customs of cash circulation.
Regardless of the peg to the British pound sterling, Singapore's money remains a stable means of payment and therefore fluctuations in the dollar's exchange rate against foreign currencies within the country are very small.
What currency to take to Singapore
The unhindered import of currency into Singapore is burdened only by filling out a declaration. And then - you only need to declare an amount exceeding 30 thousand Singapore dollars (this is approximately 24,000 US dollars).
As in almost all other countries, banknotes with portraits of American presidents are the most popular foreign currency. Historically, the British pound is also held in high esteem. So, you don’t have to think much about what currency to take to Singapore - take the American one. She can even pay in many major centers.
There are no problems and currency exchange in Singapore. Banks work all working days, many large ones even on weekends.
However, it should be noted that there is a fairly clear trend towards the transition (informal) to non-cash payments in the country. Singaporeans themselves practically do not use cash, but pay with credit cards. Moreover, a distinctive feature of the money circulation system and the financial services market can be safely called the presence of terminals for paying with cards, even in meager trading establishments and catering outlets. And almost every even a very small cafe must have an ATM.
So to the question of what currency to take to Singapore, our answer is obvious - take a credit card. And no problem.
Singapore is a magical city-state, so different, so many-sided, a little strict, a little with character. A city that does not let you get bored for a minute. There is always somewhere to go and something to see. A city that never ceases to amaze and delight guests. City of rain and umbrellas. City of greenery and concrete. City of the future. And, of course, the city of dreams!
Changi airport
They say they still haven't invented a time machine? Don't trust anyone! Everything is already there and anyone can ride it. All you need to do is make one single flight from Indonesia to Singapore, from the past to the future.
You will realize that you are in the future as soon as you leave the plane and cross the threshold of the airport. The huge, sparkling clean airport asks tourists to immediately uncover their cameras and take pictures of it, but vigilant guards immediately point to signs that say that this is not worth doing. Maybe not worth it, but we already took a photo :)
In the future, probably, people will dissolve into space. It is hard to imagine a huge airport and the almost complete absence of people. The plane has just arrived, but the people are gone.
We had to stand in line for a while at passport control. We did not have a visa to visit Singapore, but we did not need it. We fit into the 96-hour visa-free transit corridor. The border guard asked us to show our tickets and, making sure that we were really transit passengers, slapped a visa stamp :)
Currency exchange
A little bit about currency exchange in Singapore. There are exchangers in Singapore, at first it seems that they don’t exist at all, and you really have to look for the first one. But as soon as you find it, others will immediately appear :) As in a cartoon about a pipe and a jug "... I take one berry, look at the second, note the third." Tip: look for exchangers in the bowels of shopping centers. But at the airport, nevertheless, you have to change money, at least a little bit, but you have to.
Yes, cards are accepted everywhere in Singapore. But in a taxi, for example, you can pay with a card for fares above S$30 (Singapore dollars) plus 10% for a bank transfer. And, for example, in the food courts of ethnic quarters, you can only pay in cash. So you have to exchange money, without it in any way.
We exchanged $200, which sold out on the first day. dear city :)
Taxi in Singapore
At baggage belts, at exchange offices, at the exit, it is hard not to notice posters with prices for public transport and taxis. Moreover, a taxi in Singapore has a different price and depends on the class of the car. The higher the class, the more expensive the car.
We decided not to exchange for buses, and took a taxi. It was so interesting and a bit with a sediment this time with a taxi.
We leave the airport, as usual, there are taxis. A woman, apparently in control of the queue (taxi, because there were no people who wanted to use taxi services except us), shows us to the first in line. The first car was a beautiful big Mercedes.
Before we even looked back, the driver, without asking anything, grabs our suitcases and rams them into the trunk.
There is a lower class taxi nearby, I don’t even remember whether it’s KIA or Hyundai. And then the thought comes to our mind that Korean cars should be cheaper. And shouting "Wait, wait, wait!" Let's start clarifying the situation.
You should have seen with what anger and hiss (thank God, we didn’t understand what he hissed there) the Mercedes driver threw our suitcases back. Why did you have to grab it?
In general, we left in a Korean taxi :)
More taxi services, except for the way back to the airport, we did not use in Singapore. Metro, buses sometimes on foot, well there was no need for a taxi.
Public transport
Singapore's transport system is very convenient and transparent. There is a subway (MRT), light rail, buses, tourist buses, even a cable car and a monorail (well, these are from the category of entertainment). Subway and bus maps are everywhere, even at bus stops.
The fare for public transport depends on the distance travelled. In order not to bother with the fare, it is most convenient to buy an EZ-link or a tourist TOURIST PASS. These passes are valid on the metro and buses.
The difference between these passes is that you put a certain amount on the EZ-link and ride until the money runs out (plus an S$5 deposit for the card). Attach the card to the scanner at the entrance and, of course, at the exit. An amount equal to the fare will be automatically debited from your card. If you forget to attach the card at the exit, money will be debited as for the longest route. You run out of money - replenish the card and ride on.
With TOURIST PASS (deposit S$10) the situation is slightly different. These cards do not limit the number of trips, but they do limit the number of days. You can buy for one (S$8), two (S$16), maximum three (S$20) days. I bought myself such a card and your head doesn’t hurt at all, how far you have traveled, whether there is still money or is already running out. The beauty. We chose this particular way of paying for the fare - TOURIST PASS for three days.
Travel cards after use can be returned without any problems, then you will receive a deposit in your hands, and in the case of EZ-link, you will also receive the balance of funds on the card.
An incident happened with our tourist passes, or rather, only with mine, for which I am still ashamed, but I will share my shame with you anyway :)
So, as I said, on the very first day of our stay in Singapore (and it was September 1) we bought two three-day tourist passes "a. Already on the first day of skiing, we realized that we had made the right choice with this choice. If we were tired of wandering around city, we got on the bus and just rode, staring out the windows.I liked the picture outside the window - we got out, took a picture, waited for another bus and drove on.
The next day, somewhere in the afternoon, all the card readers began to react strangely to my travel card, they emitted the usual pass squeak, but their monitors lit up with a red light with the inscription September 2. Well, okay, after all, it works, you think.
Therefore, when on the third day (and we were going to the zoo with transfers) the monitor of the card reader on the bus was red and beeping, I did not pay any attention, I just walked and sat down. I was sure that my travel card was valid for three days, which means that something was wrong with the card reader itself. At the exit, having attached the card, I again heard this strange squeak and the inscription on the monitor just yelled "ERROR!".
A Singaporean woman got off the bus right behind us, and she made us think, saying that my card, in all likelihood, was not valid. And there was something to think about.
We were standing at the bus stop, no ticket kiosks, no shops, no 7-eleven (where, by the way, you could buy a new travel card). Here's what to do? The travel card is valid for THREE days, Denin works the same, but mine does not. The girl, having listened to our problem, shrugged her shoulders and left. What to do? God knows!
We decided not to twitch and continue on our way to the zoo. We got on the next bus we needed. The day goes by without problems, and the cartridge yells at my card again. Already the driver is looking askance at us, they began to explain to him, but he rested, they say, I don’t know anything, pay! Well it's good that we had cash, one, and small, two. We bought a ticket at a price of S $ 1.6 for $ S2 without change. The machine does not give change. And if we didn’t have 2 dollars, we would pay 10 or go by taxi.
On the way back from the zoo, they specially exchanged a trifle and reached the Choa Chu Kang metro station without overpayments. And there they began to clarify the situation. What the hell is going on?! First we were sent to the Ticket office, from there to the CCR Office. And here we spent an hour proving to the employee that we were buying a three-day card, but we were only traveling for two days! Here, the same one, bought at the same time, works, but this one does not! First, we were asked to show documents (what a miracle we took them with us that day, I don’t know, we usually leave them in a safe). Then the female employee raised all the employees of her cash register to their feet. Then, having found out at which metro station we bought cards, she called there. They raised all the information at the checkout. Then she asked us strange questions, maybe we still have the receipts (yes, but they are in the hotel!), Are we sure that we bought the three-day card. Well, of course, we are sure, we couldn’t buy a husband a three-day one, and a wife a two-day one!
Then, apparently, having decided something on the phone, she asked us which metro station we were going to go to, we said that we were going to Clarke Quay. She called again. She apologized for the mistake of her colleague who gave us the wrong travel card, said that with my passport and the wrong travel card, I can get to Clarke for free, and then get a new card, but already one-day.
God, how did I imagine that now series number two will begin at the entrance to the subway, and then series three at the exit ... It was easier to buy another card, but so many people were raised to their feet, and what was all for nothing ?! Okay, let's go.
But, oddly enough, everyone everywhere already knew about me :). There were no problems anywhere. The old, non-working card was seized and a new one was issued.
Already at night, when I got to the hotel, I deliberately raised my checks and from what I saw, I was thrown into a cold sweat ... We were indeed sold one three-day and one two-day travel card! We asked for two for three days! The cashier made a mistake, but we didn't check!
Singapore dollar is the official currency of the Republic of Singapore. Bank code - SGD. 1 Singapore dollar is equal to 100 cents. Denominations of current banknotes: 10 thousand, 1 thousand, 100, 50, 10, 5, 2 dollars. Coins: 1 dollar, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1 cent. At the same time, the smallest coins of 1 and 2 cents are no longer issued, but are still in circulation and are legal tender.
On the entire series of Singapore banknotes, the front side depicts a portrait of the country's first president, Yusuf bin Ishak, who headed the island state from 1965 to 1970. And on the back there are symbols of different spheres of life in Singapore. On 2 dollars - education (students against the background of the medical college, the former building of the Thomas Raffles Institute, named after the founder of the country). For 5 dollars - the gardens of Singapore (an evergreen tembusu tree and hybrid orchids Vanda Miss Joachim - the national flower of Singapore). $10 is dedicated to sports, $50 is dedicated to art (the banknote depicts reproductions of paintings and musical instruments). 100 dollars symbolize the youth of the country. For 1 thousand dollars - the government building, symbolizing the power of the country. And one of the most expensive banknotes in the world worth 10 thousand Singapore dollars is dedicated to the economy and high technologies. It depicts a girl behind a microscope next to a computer against the background of a computer processor core.
Singapore coins on the obverse contain the national emblem of the country and the name of the state in four official languages. On the reverse - tropical flora. On the 1st cent is the Wanda Miss Joachim orchid, the symbol of the country. On 2 cents - monstera climbing plant. Jasmine is depicted on 10 cents, a perennial calliander flower on 20 cents, and allamanda on 50 cents. On 1 dollar - a tropical flower of the Kurt family.
Singapore has been leading its history since the 3rd century AD. For many centuries, it was part of various Asian states, being a trading port at the crossroads of sea routes. In the 19th century, Singapore became part of the British Empire. At the same time, the main monetary unit of the country in the period from 1904 to 1939 was the so-called Straits dollar, issued by the Council of Commissioners for Monetary Circulation. In 1939, it was replaced by the Malay dollar.
At the beginning of World War II, Singapore was turned into a fortress island, despite this, in 1942 it was occupied by the Japanese.
After the end of hostilities, Singapore again became a British colony, and in 1959 independence was proclaimed as part of the Commonwealth of Nations. In 1963, Singapore joined the Federation of Malaya. During this period, he entered into a monetary union with Malaysia and Brunei.
However, in 1965, Singapore again became an independent state. In the same year, a special board for monetary circulation was created, and in 1967, the Singapore dollar appeared, which was equated at a ratio of 1 to 1 to the Malaysian ringgit and freely exchanged for the Brunei dollar.
Initially, the Singapore dollar was pegged to the British pound sterling at a ratio of 60 cents to 7 pounds. But in the 70s of the last century, the British currency ceased to be a bulwark of stability. For several years, the Singapore authorities focused on the US dollar, and since 1973 - on a basket of major world currencies.
Since 1985, the value of the Singapore dollar has been determined solely by the market, supply and demand, but under the control of the country's regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Singapore today is an amazing example of how a poor developing country, embarking on a path of economic transformation, focusing on exports and technology development, has become the most developed state in the region in just a few decades.
For the spring of 2012, the exchange rate is 1.24-1.25 Singapore dollars per US dollar, 1.64-1.65 per euro. 1 Singapore dollar can be bought for 23.61 Russian rubles.
The Singapore dollar is a freely convertible currency, there are no restrictions on the import and export of money. The only feature is that it is forbidden to import the so-called game (souvenir) money into the country. At the same time, almost everywhere in Singapore you can pay not with cash, but with bank cards.