Withdrawing USD from FTX to DBS Singapore via Interactive Brokers

22-May-2022

dbs, fiat, offboarding, offboarding-dbs, remit, remittance, sgd

This post will guide you on using FTX to send USD to your DBS SGD account via Interactive Brokers.

The reason this post exists is due to poor FX rate DBS uses when converting USD to SGD for direct transfers.

Caveats

You will need an Interactive Brokers account
There is a 7 day lockup period after Interactive Brokers receive the funds from FTX

1. Preparation

FTX account with KYC3 to send transfer
Interactive Brokers account that is verified (apply through singpass)
DBS account to receive transfer

2. Fees

FTX’s charges
- WITHDRAWALS UNDER 100 USD WILL NOT BE PROCESSED
- Remittances above 5,000 USD are free
- First withdrwal below 5,000 USD each week is free
- Users who stake 25 FTT will have additional free withdrawal below 5,000 USD
Interactive Brokers charges
- One free withdrawal per calendar month
- Subsequent withdrawals charged at 15 SGD

3. Obtaining USD for transfer

Head over to FTX

Click Sign Up if you don’t already have an account, else login with your credentials

Note: You would have to go through identity verification before you will be able to use the platform.
Do follow the steps and provide the requested documents

After verification head to https://ftx.com/wallet

You may skip this part and move on to step 4 if you already hold USD in your FTX account.

Click Deposit to deposit USD you would like to remit back if your funds aren’t already on FTX. FTX supports a large variety of stablecoins which are all taken as 1 USD.

Click on the respective stablecoin you would like to deposit for withdrawal

You may also deposit other cryptocurrencies and swap them for USD in FTX. The key is to hold USD (not USDT) in FTX for the withdrawal

4. Obtaining remit instructions from Interactive Brokers

Head to https://www.interactivebrokers.com and Log In

Follow the flow in the GIF or read the steps below

Click on Transfer & Pay -> Transfer Funds

Select Make a Deposit

Select USD from the dropdown menu

Click Get Instructions

Enter Silvergate Bank as the sending institution and an alias that you prefer

Enter the deposit amount & click Get Wire Instructions

You should arrive at a page with info similar to the above. Leave that in a separate window

5. Making the withdrawal

Head to https://ftx.com/wallet

Click Withdraw under USD

Click Withdraw FIAT in the popup

Enter the following for withdrawal to Interactive Brokers

Note: The boxed fields should contain your information

For convenience, here are some of the values

THESE VALUES ARE CORRECT AT TIME OF WRITING ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK THE VALUES YOU COPY FROM HERE AS THERE MAY BE UPDATES

Type
US Domestic Wire

Bank Information
Account Number: 31222781
Bank Address: Citibank N.A. 111 Wall Street New York 10005 United States
Routing Number: 021000089

Beneficiary Information
Beneficiary Name: Interactive Brokers Singapore Pte Ltd
Street Address 1: 8 Marina View 40-02A
Street Address 2: Asia Square Tower 1
City: Singapore
Country: Singapore
Region: Central
Postal Code: 018960

Info provided is accurate at the time of writing. I will try to update if there are any changes.

6. Exchanging to SGD

Interactive Brokers locks funds for 7 days after sighting for settlement. In this perioud, you are able to trade on their platform but won’t be able to withdraw the funds to your bank account

Head to Trade -> Convert Currency

Key in your desired amounts and press Submit to execute the convert

7. Withdrawing to DBS

Click Transfer & Pay -> Transfer Funds

Select Make a Withdrawal

Select SGD from the dropdown menu and click Use This Method

Populate the form with the following info

For bank info, you may search via swift code of DBSSSGSGXXX

Enter the withdrawal amount and you’re done!

Do wait for a couple of days for interactive brokers to process the funds and complete the withdraw to your SGD account.

I do believe that Interactive Brokers use GIRO (NOT FAST) transfers and hence the funds would only be sighted in your Bank account after a few days.

8. Conclusion and FAQ

You’re all done, now just sit back and wait for the transfer to reflect in your DBS account

Frequently Asked Questions:
How long does the transfer take?
The transfer typically takes 1 working day in the US to clear. First time transfers may take longer.
Do note that the transfer will be sent by FTX’s bank in the US

What happens if I do not receive the transfer after a few days?
If you’re sure you’ve done the above steps correctly, then patience is key. Transfers sometimes take longer due to heavy load on either bank.

Why is domestic wire from FTX used instead of international?
International wires do work too but domestic wire are usually faster due to it being a US to US wire.

In case you would like to use international wires, you would have to input the citibank swift code as indicated on the interactive brokers site instead of routing number.

If you are certain that your transfer has been lost, you may contact FTX here. The tracking process usually takes some time (i.e weeks) as the process is very manual.

Do consider using one of my referral links or leaving me a tip if you find this useful.
Any contribution is greatly appreciated and motivates me to continue this project.

BTC: 3BTskuSQzF3PZfqFj4sUdp9tSiLMdDGLXj
ETH or ERC20: 0x65a20cDbA50b81E5fA600f4F0655907E5A87C2F5

Offboarding