Monday, April 22, 2019

Transferring USD from DBS eMulti-Currency Autosave account into Interactive Broker account

Scenario
The scenario here is that I have a USD dollar cheque issued by a Singapore company which I want to bank into my Interactive Brokers account.

Approach
The best approach is if the amount in USD can be deposited directly into Interactive Broker without any FX conversion, thereby avoiding any losses due to the conversion.

Based on the thread, it appears that one can set up an DBS Multi currency Account (eMulti-Currency Autosave (eMCA)) and then bank in the USD cheque at no cost. Thereafter, you can do a DBS remit which is at 0 cost currently for USD to the USA bank account for IB. I tried it on a working day and it only took less than an hour for the money to be updated!

To note
To note, IB does not accept third party transfer and for the account, there is min 6 months opening (to avoid early closure fee) and fall below fee for average daily balance under 3k sgd. Hence, if you have a cheque issued to your family member but you want to bank it into your IB account, you can create a joint account and then do the transfer (proposed to have your name as the first name to avoid issues with 3rd party transfers). I heard can create 3 names joint account from the CSO but have not tried before.

I also understand that for individual eMCA, you can just apply online if you have an existing DBS account. (Only need to go the bank if you are doing joint acc)

Steps (Press the pics to scale it up and see in higher res)
(Assuming that DBS account has been set up and the USD cheque has been successfully banked in)

1) First, create a transfer instruction in Interactive Broker, just like what you will do for a SGD inward transfer. After selecting USD as the currency, press Bank Wire

 2) Fill in the details of your DBS MCA

3) After confirming the details and pressing continue, you will get the details on where to deposit it to. Take note that it is a US account in CITIBANK US. 

4) Now, your job on IB side is done. Now to DBS ibanking to remit the money. Log into DBS ibanking and press the "DBS Remit and Overseas Transfer"

5) Select United States as the destination and make sure both the "sending" and "receiving" are in USD. Key in the amount that you want to transfer in. As the fee is $0, both amounts should be the same. Press "Start a Transfer"

6) Make sure that the right account is selected. It should be the USD multicurrency account. Increase your daily transfer limit if need be. Check that the amount is correct and the currency type is correct.

7) Fill in the recipients details as per the routing instructions created at IB side. Recipient name and payment details for recipient will be the same. "/" is not accepted, can just drop it. For the recipient address, use the Interactive brokers address and not the bank address. Make sure the account number is the unique number given to you in the routing instructions. Choose Citibank US.

8) After you press next, you will need to verify the details. Make sure all are in order. You should see something like this. When all is good, press next and the transaction will be completed.

9) The money will be immediately deducted from your DBS account. I did it on a working day and the money is immediately reflected in Interactive Broker side (less than a hr, around 30mins) 

8 comments:

  1. Hi, Thanks for the helpful article! but have you tried withdrawing money from US back to your DBS account in USD currencies? Was there any charges?

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have not tried before. Saw this on DBS but unsure which is it under:

      Inward Remittances
      Demand Draft
      Handling commission 1/8% (min. S$10, max. S$100)
      per draft
      Telegraphic Transfer
      Handling commission S$10
      MEPS (MAS Electronic Payment System)
      MEPS Receipt Free
      FAST (Fast And Secure Transfer)
      FAST Receipt Free

      Delete
  2. Helpful article, although I think that recipient name should be Interactive brokers for the USD transfer. Thanks for the effort!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you are right. I didnt realize this and had been using account number all along. haha

      Delete
  3. Hi, can u clarify what you mean by IB does not accept third party transfer?

    If my relative has USD in his bank account, can he do a TT to transfer and fund my IBKR account under my name?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Similar to what you say, it means the person who is depositing money into your ibkr account is not the same as the ibkr account holder.

      The reason I saw on ibkr website is "Just like what Third-Party Deposits - Interactive Brokers strongly discourages and in most cases, rejects third-party deposits, which have historically been viewed by the financial services industry and its regulators as being highly susceptible to acts of fraud and money laundering. "

      Delete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete