Today, I had to go to the bank to receive some funds. I choose the branch because it was practically empty without any queue. There are such branches in older parts of town compared to super busy branches at newer townships.
I expected a quick dash in and out kind of thing but withdrawing a hundred USD took almost a half hour. Granted the lady at the counter was very new, and triple checked everything. Plus the supervisor checked the form again.
What I was slightly annoyed about is the type of information they required. I'm not sure it really matters.
I circled as self employed, but still insisted that I fill in a business name. Perhaps the norm for most WU transfers here is funds sent overseas for domestic helpers salaries.
Yes, there are rules to ensure anti money laundering and such, but this is only around a hundred dollars. And I do declare the income in my income tax. Some how, it makes you wonder about those that transact much, much higher amounts with less scrutiny.
It's just in comparison to that exchanging some crypto earlier today which is just so frictionless. It took less than a minute on the keyboard, with a whole lot less questions asked.
Looking forward to the day with technology to streamline business, and make things more efficient.
James Woo
