One needs to distinguish between foreign ATM withdrawal fees and forex fees.

Most banks in Singapore charge foreign ATM usage fees. DBS/UOB charges SIN $5 per withdrawal. HSBC - SIN $8 for foreign ATM and SIN $3 even when using their own ATM in another country, and that's even for Premier customers. Citi has the similar fee structure. CIMB does not charge ATM withdrawal fees if transaction is done via VISA/Plus network.

Now, separate topic is what forex rate is used during withdrawals. It seems, (contrary to the practice of most US banks) that all banks in Singapore add certain percentage amount on top of the forex rate used during the transaction - local forum confirms this

So if the worst case scenario one can be charged ATM withdrawal fees on both side, plus add-on fee on top of the forex rate. You might end up losing 10% on fees by withdrawing $150...

All this makes me think that using money changer is not that bad an idea...

 

I'm with you, Visa set the rates and your bank loads them. From your other thread it seems there is no way to avoid it with a Singapore Bank.

Fortunately in the UK (and it appears also the USA) there are ways to avoid this, so we can still avoid the money changers.