Singapore dollar Banknotes and Coins

The current Portrait Series places Singapore's first president, Yusof Ishak, on the front and a different national theme on the back. For a traveller, the practical ladder is S$2, S$5, S$10, S$50 and S$100. Colour and the large printed value make those five notes easy to sort.

The quick answer Learn the five everyday notes by colour: S$2 purple, S$5 green, S$10 red, S$50 blue and S$100 orange. Current coin issuance starts at 5 cents and continues through 10, 20 and 50 cents to S$1. MAS stopped issuing S$1,000 notes in 2021 and S$10,000 notes in 2014, although existing examples remain legal tender.

Meet the SGD

Paper money

Singapore's Portrait Series notes pair clear colour families with the faces and stories that make each dollar value easy to recognize.

Singapore's Portrait Series places Yusof Ishak on the front and unfolds national life on the reverse through education, nature, sport, arts and community. Cash by Country artwork is an original, simplified interpretation and is not legal tender.

Read five values as five Singapore stories

S$2 / S$5Education and Garden CityS$10 / S$50Sports and ArtsS$100Youth and community

The travel set fits on one table

THE EVERYDAY SGD WALLET2 · 5 · 10 · 50 · 100

Small mealsS$2, S$5 and S$10

Larger cash purchaseS$50

High everyday noteS$100

Pocket change5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, S$1

Three small notes may feel different in the hand

Singapore has issued polymer versions of the S$2, S$5 and S$10 Portrait notes alongside paper history. Polymer feels smoother and springs back more readily, but colour and denomination remain the faster travel clues. Do not reject a genuine note merely because its material differs from another value in the wallet.

The S$1 is a coin, not an everyday note

A visitor moving from US dollars may look for a one-dollar bill. Singapore's current pocket answer is the bimetal S$1 coin. Keep one or two with the 50-cent pieces; they are more useful than turning every small purchase into another S$50 note.

The high-value notes belong to the legal past, not the travel plan

MAS stopped issuing S$10,000 notes from 1 October 2014 and S$1,000 notes from 1 January 2021 as a financial-crime safeguard. Existing notes remain legal tender, but neither belongs in an ordinary visitor's cash reserve. A shop may also set payment terms or decline impractical denominations with notice.

The missing one-cent coin is visible in the explorer

The shared coin view begins at five cents because Singapore discontinued issuing one-cent coins. Some businesses round a final cash bill to the nearest five cents, while an electronic payment can preserve the exact cent. The separate rounding guide shows how to read that difference without treating it as a hidden fee.