DBS’ small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers can now lock in preferred foreign exchange rates for five currency pairs up to one month in advance when making local and overseas payments.

Businesses can do so for up to $1 million of payments at any given moment, without credit lines and at no additional cost.

DBS is the first Singapore bank to offer SMEs such a service. It is enabled via DBS SecureFX – a foreign exchange service that empowers customers to lock in rates directly within the bank’s corporate banking application, DBS IDEAL.

This comes at a time when more SME customers are planning to tap global markets. According to DBS’ latest Business Pulse Check Survey conducted early this year, about 70% of SMEs intend to allocate capital towards regionalisation.

In addition, more SMEs are making transactions in foreign currencies, as they engage foreign suppliers or service providers as part of their overseas expansion. In 2024, more than 80% of SME customers executed a foreign exchange transaction when making cross-border payments.

In January 2025, the average implied volatility for the euro, Japanese yen and British pound soared to its highest in nearly two years, according to analysis by DBS Group Research. With DBS SecureFX, SMEs can expand their global reach with confidence amidst market volatility. By locking in preferred rates for future-dated foreign currency payments, SMEs – including smaller ones with no credit lines – can better manage their cash flow and foreign exchange risk.

Eileen Chia, regional head of corporate advisory, global financial markets, DBS, said: “SMEs form the bedrock of Singapore’s economy and contribute around half of our country’s gross domestic product (GDP). As a purpose-driven bank with our roots as the Development Bank of Singapore, we are committed to supporting our SMEs as they expand into regional markets to capture new opportunities across Asia. By blending DBS’ digital capabilities, financial markets expertise and client-centric ethos, we will continue to support our local businesses as they embark on a journey towards becoming regional champions.”

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker