Getting paid
🇮🇩→🇸🇬 Cross-borderGetting paid in Singapore: SGD accounts and getting your money home
You'll sell in Singapore dollars and want the money back in Indonesia without losing a chunk to fees. Here's how brands take payment at a booth, hold SGD, and get it home cheaply.
What this guide covers
- →Taking payment at a pop-up (QR / card)
- →Holding SGD
- →Multi-currency accounts
- →Getting it back to IDR without the bad exchange rate
Singapore runs on PayNow QR — cash is a minority, cards matter for tourists. Hold your takings in SGD rather than converting at a bad rate on day one, and getting money home to Indonesia should cost 0.3–1.5% per hop, not the 3–5% a retail bank quietly takes. The trap most brands miss: export proceeds must arrive through an Indonesian bank with the right purpose code.
- PayNow QR is essential — a booth without one loses sales.
- Card processing runs ~1.5–3.2% depending on method.
- Hold SGD if you have Singapore costs coming; convert on your own timing.
- Getting money home: target 0.3–1.5% per hop — compare what lands, not the fee.
- ⭐ Export proceeds need the right purpose code — fintech rails can break that link.
Taking payment at a pop-up
PayNow is how Singaporeans pay at markets — the national instant bank-to-bank transfer, free or near-free to receive. If you take one thing from this guide: have a PayNow QR at the booth, printed large. A meaningful share of shoppers carry very little cash.
Cards still matter for tourists and higher-value items:
| Option | Note |
|---|---|
| Mobile readers (SumUp, Square-type) | Simplest for a weekend; flat per-transaction rate |
| HitPay | Singapore SME provider — cards + PayNow in one, low fees |
| Stripe Terminal | If you already run Stripe for your webstore |
Bring a small cash float in small notes, but don't plan around it.
Holding SGD
When you're holding Singapore dollars after a weekend, the instinct to move it home immediately is usually wrong. Converting on day one takes whatever rate you get, on the full amount, with no choice — and if you're coming back, you'll convert it right back later and pay the spread twice. Hold SGD when you have Singapore costs coming (next booth fee, 3PL storage, the RP's fee, freight) and pay those from SGD to skip a conversion entirely.
Multi-currency accounts (where to hold it)
For most Indonesian brands starting out, a multi-currency account is the practical answer — it gives you local Singapore account details so payments arrive as domestic SGD transfers, and lets you convert when you choose.
We earn a referral fee if you sign up through these links. We only list partners we'd use ourselves, and it never changes what you pay them.
| Provider | Notes |
|---|---|
| Airwallex | ~48h remote onboarding for a foreign-owned SG entity; interbank + ~0.6% to IDR |
Aspire (code VXXJEUJP) |
Singapore SME-focused; similar profile |
| Wise Business | ~S$99 one-time for local account details; very transparent ~0.4–0.7% all-in to IDR |
⚠️ All are MAS-licensed payment institutions, not banks — no SDIC deposit insurance. Fine for working capital; think twice before parking large reserves. And they still need a Singapore entity — a multi-currency account solves speed, not the entity requirement.
Getting it back to IDR without the bad rate
Two separate things go wrong, and most guides only cover the first. One: the spread. Retail banks make their money on the exchange rate, not the fee — a "no fee" transfer can quietly cost 3–5% in a worse rate. Compare the amount that lands in rupiah against the mid-market rate, not the advertised fee. Target 0.3–1.5% per hop.
⭐ Two: making the money arrive correctly
Under Bank Indonesia rules, export proceeds (DHE) must be received through an Indonesian bank, and the incoming payment needs the right purpose code plus your invoice/PEB reference so the bank can tie it to the export.
The retention rule doesn't apply to you — DHE retention covers natural-resource exports, not cosmetics or fashion. But fintech rails can break the link: Wise and Airwallex typically pay out over local IDR rails, so the receiving bank may not tag the money as export proceeds against your PEB. For goods proceeds tied to a PEB, a genuine SWIFT wire with the purpose code attached is cleaner; use the cheap fintech rails for service-type payments and smaller amounts. Ask your receiving bank for its current purpose-code table before the first settlement.
FAQ
Do I really need PayNow? Yes — it's the default way Singaporeans pay at markets. No QR means lost sales.
Can I just use my Indonesian bank account? For taking Singapore payments, no — you need SG account details (via an entity + fintech account). For receiving proceeds home, yes, and the purpose code matters.
Is a fintech account safe to hold money in? Fine for working capital; they're payment institutions without deposit insurance, so don't park large reserves.
Why can't I just use Wise for everything? For small/service payments, you can. For goods proceeds tied to an export declaration, its local IDR rail can stop your bank tagging it correctly — use SWIFT there.
See if sell-through-us fits → · Do you need an entity? →
Sources: Bank Indonesia PP 36/2023 (amended by PP 8/2025), via PBI 7/2023; provider pricing. Updated July 2026. Rates indicative — confirm live pricing. Not tax advice; brief counsel before your first settlement.