Opening a Bank Account

On the morning of January 31st, Rich and I walked into the bank with not only proper identification, but a letter of introduction from his new firm, AND a personal introducer from his new firm.  Still, our application for a checking account was met with some hesitancy.  We hadn't gotten our Identification Cards yet, because Rich's job wouldn't begin until February 1st.  So he was "currently" unemployed, and couldn't get an IC without a job - and a thumbprint.  Also, we wouldn't move into our apartment or get a "home phone number" until February 1st.  In short, we were sketchy characters.  Because we had never lived outside of the US, we were unprepared for this.  Recent follies in the Banking Industry have also made banks much more cautious in their account opening procedures.  It gave us a new appreciation for immigrants to the US, trying to get established.  In the US, we've lived in our house for over 20 years, and have several other real estate holdings.  But in Singapore, we were sketchy characters with no Identification Cards!

Once we satisfied the Banker, with help from Rich's new firm, that we would be upstanding citizens, we were able to open our accounts.  The process took about 1 1/2 hours.  As an aside, during the opening process, you have to enter several codes for computer access to your account information and to use your ATM card.  When using my card to make my first purchase on Friday, I couldn't remember which code I had set for which access.  The clerk told me I should have 6 digits in my PIN, but it still didn't work.  I tried it with 4 digits,  "Incorrect Pin  Purchase Denied".  I tried it with 8 digits only to be met with the same result.  Finally, I had to call Rich at work to ask how many digits were in our PIN's.  When he told me it's 5, I figured out what I had set as my PIN, and was able to complete my transaction.  Whew!