How to Legally and Safely Send Money Overseas

If you are looking to send money overseas to your loved ones, one concern that you may have is whether, and how, you can do so legally. Another pressing consideration, in light of the growing number of financial-related scams, is how you can do so safely, to minimise the risk of your money being lost to scammers.

To address these concerns, this article will cover the following topics:

• How can I send money overseas from Singapore?
• What should I check before sending money overseas via remittance service providers?
• Does Singapore have a legal limit for sending money overseas?
• How do I know whether the money I have transferred overseas has been received?
• What can I do if a recipient does not receive the money I transferred overseas?

How Can I Send Money Overseas From Singapore?

The process of sending money from Country A to Country B is known as a remittance. This can be further subdivided to outwards remittances and inward remittances, depending on whether it is viewed from the perspective of the sender or recipient, and where the sender or recipient is based.

For instance, if you are sending money overseas from Singapore, you would be making an outward remittance. On the other hand, if you are receiving money in Singapore from overseas, this would be an inward remittance.

Outward remittances can be performed through remittance service providers, which include licensed banks (e.g. DBS, OCBC, UOB) or licensed remittance financial institutions (e.g. Alipay Merchant Services Pte. Ltd., Amazon Payments Singapore Private Limited, Kris+ Pte. Ltd.).

The typical outward remittance process done via remittance service providers involves four parties:

1. The sender;
2. The receiver;
3. The remittance service provider in the sending country; and
4. The remittance service provider in the receiving country.

Using an example of a migrant worker in Singapore wishing to send a sum of money to their family back home, the remittance process is as follows:

• The migrant worker will go to a bank or other remittance service provider, and will give instructions to the remittance service provider to send a specified amount of money to their family overseas. They will provide the receiver’s details (e.g. the receiver’s bank account details) and pay the specified amount of money to the remittance service provider. Such payment can take the form of cash, or by debiting or crediting a bank account. This initiates the outward remittance process.
• The remittance service provider in Singapore then contacts the remittance service provider in the receiving country, and informs the latter of the remittance instructions.
• The remittance service provider in the receiving country disburses payment of the specified amount of money to the receiver, i.e. the migrant worker’s family member.

If you are remitting money through a bank or any other remittance service provider, you may wish to note the following:

What Should I Check Before Sending Money Overseas via Remittance Service Providers?

Before sending money overseas via remittance service providers, you should check the following:

• Is the remittance service provider licensed?
• Are there foreign exchange controls imposed by the receiving country?

Licensing

In Singapore, remittance service providers must be licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to provide cross-border money transfer services (i.e. remittance services from one country to another).

MAS is the authority in charge of licensing and regulation of payment service providers in Singapore. Under the Payment Services Act (PSA), a person must not carry on a business of providing any type of payment service in Singapore, unless the person has in force a payment service provider licence entitling it to carry on such a business or is exempt from needing to have a licence.

Remittance service providers must either have a standard payment institution licence or a major payment institution licence, to provide remittance services.

An easy way to check if a remittance service provider has the required licence is to search for the remittance service provider on MAS’ Financial Institutions Directory. If you want to search the full list of licensed remittance service providers in Singapore, you can use the “Filter” function on the Directory, and select the following filter options: Sector: Payments > Licence Type/Status: Standard Payment Institution/Major Payment Institution > Activity/Business Type: Cross-Border Money Transfer Service.

As the laws and regulations are directed at the remittance service providers and not consumers, it is not illegal for a consumer to engage an unlicensed remittance service provider. That said, there are significant risks with doing so, including:

• Having your money frozen or seized, and subject to investigations by the authorities. Unlicensed remittance service providers are not subject to strict anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing measures.  Hence, monies sent to unlicensed remittance service providers for remittance may become mixed with illegal proceeds from crimes, such as scams. If the mixed funds are sent to the recipient’s account, the account may be frozen or seized.
• Exposing yourself to scammers pretending to be unlicensed remittance service providers, which may lead to you being defrauded of the money intended for remittance. Common scam tactics involving unlicensed remittance service providers include:
  • The unlicensed remittance service provider asks you to transfer a Singapore Dollar amount into a local bank account, but the recipient does not receive the remittance, and the scammer becomes uncontactable.
  • The unlicensed remittance service provider asks you to transfer a Singapore Dollar amount to them, and agrees to deposit the amount in the foreign currency into the recipient’s account. However, shortly after the deposit is completed, the recipient’s account is frozen allegedly for receiving scam victims’ monies or for money laundering.
  • The unlicensed remittance service provider, as the middleman, asks you to meet with another remitter, to arrange for a mutual swap-type transaction – you want to remit the foreign currency into Singapore, whereas the other remitter wants to remit Singapore Dollars in a foreign currency abroad. Part of the transaction requires you to transfer the foreign currency amount to the unlicensed remittance service provider, in exchange for receiving the Singapore Dollar amount from the other remitter. However, you are then stopped from leaving with the Singapore Dollar amount due to the other remitter’s account being frozen.

Foreign exchange controls

You should also make sure to check and be aware of any foreign exchange controls imposed by the receiving country that you wish to remit money to, as this would affect outward remittances to that country.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples of foreign exchange controls imposed by receiving countries:

• China: In 2023, the Chinese Embassy in Singapore advised Chinese nationals in Singapore to only use formal channels, such as Singapore banks, to remit money from Singapore to China. This was in response to increasing numbers of reports of remittances through other remittance service providers being frozen by the Chinese law enforcement agencies.
• India: In 2024, the Reserve Bank of India notified that any payment to Paytm Payments Bank (an Indian payments bank) will be blocked.
• Canada: For remittances to Canada, Canadian authorities require the recipient’s full address to be provided, including complete details such as the street address, city/state/province and postal/ZIP code.

Does Singapore Have a Legal Limit for Sending Money Overseas?

There is no legal limit to how much money you can remit out of Singapore. However, receiving countries may impose legal limits on how much money you can remit to that country. These limits could be on the amount of money that can be received each day or on a per-transaction basis. The limits could also be tied to certain specific financial institutions in the receiving country.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples of legal limits imposed by receiving countries:

• South Korea: According to South Korea’s local regulations, a daily limit of USD 20,000 applies for fund transfers to individuals for personal reasons.
• Taiwan: For transfers of Taiwan Dollars to Taiwan, the maximum limit for each transaction is TWD 450,000.
• Thailand: For transfers to Thailand, there is a difference based on whether the receiving individual’s bank account is with Kasikornbank or not. The maximum limit for Kasikornbank recipients is 2 million Baht per transfer. For non-Kasikornbank recipients, the maximum limit is 49,999 Baht per transfer.

There may be consequences for non-compliance with the legal limits imposed by the receiving countries, or trying to circumvent the legal limits imposed. For instance, if the legal limit imposed is a daily limit tagged to an individual in the receiving country, and you want to transfer a large sum of money to said person, breaking up the large sum into multiple sums to be transferred over the day may be skirting the regulations. The exact legal consequences will depend on the specific laws and regulations in the receiving country, but one potential consequence may be the freezing of the recipient’s accounts.

How Do I Know Whether the Money I have Transferred Overseas has been Received?

One way to tell if the money transferred overseas has been received is to check in with the recipient as to whether they have received the money. However, this is not always applicable, especially if you are not in close contact with the recipient.

Under Singapore law, licensed payment service providers must ensure that any money accepted for money transfer services is deposited in the recipient’s accounts within 3-7 business days. Additionally, licensed payment service providers must provide proper documentary evidence to show that the recipient has received the money transmitted.

If the licensed payment service providers fail to comply with the mandatory time frame of a maximum of 7 days for remittances, they would be in breach of MAS’ requirements. MAS will investigate and potentially take enforcement action against such providers, including reviewing their suitability to continue holding their payment service provider licence. This is an additional reason for why it is advisable to engage a licensed payment service provider for your remittance needs, rather than going with an unlicensed, and hence unregulated, payment service provider.

What Can I Do If a Recipient Does Not Receive the Money I Transferred Overseas?

If you find out that the intended recipient did not receive the money which you transferred overseas, the first port of call would be to approach the payment service provider concerned, to try to find a resolution.

However, if you are unable to find a mutually agreeable resolution to the matter, you may choose to file a claim in the Small Claims Tribunal instead. One point to note is that this route is only available if the amount in dispute is under S$30,000. If the amount in dispute is higher than that, you may have to commence a civil action against the payment service provider to recover such sums.

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If you are thinking of sending money overseas, it is recommended that you do so via a licensed payment service provider, as this would minimise the chance of complications arising from the transaction. Licensed payment service providers are subject to regulations by the MAS and have to comply strictly with these regulations according to the terms of their licences. You should also take note of whether there are any foreign exchange controls imposed by the receiving country, which would affect how much money you can transfer overseas.

If you have sent money overseas, but the money has not been received by the recipient, you should first contact the remittance service provider to try to find a resolution. However, if you suspect that you may have been a victim of a scam or fraud, you should file a police report.

You may also wish to seek legal advice from a civil lawyer on your legal options. The civil lawyer can represent you in your negotiations with the payment service provider, or if things go south, assist you with commencing civil action against the payment service provider.