Intracorp Singapore

Applying for a Corporate Account With Singapore Banks

Are you planning to open a bank account in Singapore but feeling unsure about the process? Then you have come to the right place! This guide is designed to help you through every step of the way. With helpful tips and recommendations, you’ll be well on your way to a successful account opening application. Learn which documents you need to prepare and the different available banking options.

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Business owner using his laptop to apply for a corporate account with Singapore banks

Despite the fact that a bank account is the most natural and necessary attribute for any company, opening a bank account is no longer a taken-for-granted process, unless you and your company are permanently landed in Singapore and have a very good reputation here. In recent years, all banks, including Singapore ones, have strengthened internal procedures for checking their clients. Due-diligence, compliance and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) procedures became the new world order in the banking industry the banks are striving to minimize their risks when they onboard new clients. This leads to a large number of rejected applications for corporate accounts opening.

In order to increase your chances of opening a business account with a Singapore bank, you need to prepare yourself thoroughly.

General Recommendations for a Positive Outcome of Application for Account Opening

There are some general rules that should be observed for successful account opening: 

  • The company must be registered in Singapore. Even though banks in theory can open an account for an offshore company, in reality it almost never happens, unless the company is a division of a well-known international firm.
  • The company should not have any directors or shareholders with a bad history (for example, if the same director had a position with another company, whose account was previously closed; such persons are blacklisted and the bank will not open a new account with them on the record).
  • The company’s business must be associated with Singapore; for example, it has ongoing or secured relationships with local partners, or at least with counterparts from the nearby region. It will be a plus if the partners are companies with a history, or have relationships with the same banks. They should be found through their websites and other open sources.
  • The company should not engage in a high-risk business (such as online casinos or investments in cryptocurrencies) – no bank will consider such an application.
  • At least one director of a company who becomes a bank account signatory is expected to have experience in a similar line of business (you can show your business history, past projects, etc.).

What Documents Need to Be Prepared to Apply to the Bank

  • A passport copy for every director and shareholder (as well as for the Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO), if this person is different from one of the shareholders with majority control).
  • Proof of address: A copy of the document confirming the place of residence. This can be an utility bill or a bank statement with a clear address in it. If this document is not in English, it must be translated by an authorized translator.
  • Contracts or draft contracts with your company’s suppliers or customers. If none of those is available, since yours is a new company, even your email correspondence with potential partners, where planned transactions are discussed, can be acceptable.
  • Company presentation, which clearly and intelligibly describes the company’s business, the goods and services offered, the regions of operation.
  • The company should have a website.
  • It is also advisable to have resumes handy for the main players in the company.
  • If there is a corporate entity shareholder among the members of the company, then it will be necessary to provide documents for such shareholder, as well as a copy of the documents for the persons behind the company (Ultimate Beneficial Owners).
  • Filled-in bank forms for account opening, which also contain a resolution for approval of the account manager (Account signatory) and the assigned roles for Internet banking (roles can be divided between different users for creating and approving transactions, payment limits, etc.)

It is also worth noting that in order to successfully open an account, it is necessary to correctly and clearly present your business to a bank manager. Professionally prepared documents and clear, competent answers to the questions from the bank manager are decisive factors for a positive result. Our experts with extensive experience and relationships with many banks in Singapore will be happy to assist you in the process of account opening. 

Applications Review Timelines

After submitting you application and supporting documents to the bank, the application is usually reviewed within 2-4 weeks. In some cases, where the application is done by the local director, the approval timing can be much faster. But in some cases, it can take even longer, depending on the bank and reviewing process.

Remote Account Opening

Is It Possible to Open a Bank Account in Singapore Remotely?

Singapore banks differ from each other in their approach to the requirements for opening an account, as well as in the requirements for verification of foreign members of a Singapore-registered company (directors and shareholders). We can loosely put them into these three categories:

1
Banks that can open accounts remotely, including for companies with foreign participants (DBS, HSBC and Citibank)
2
Banks that can open accounts remotely, but only if all directors and shareholders of the company are citizens or permanent residents of Singapore (OCBC, UOB and the banks mentioned in the first column).
3
Banks that do not open accounts remotely. In fact, these are all the other banks.

Since our audience is mainly foreign citizens registering a company in Singapore with the future plans of doing business in Singapore, or internationally via their Singapore company, it is worth discussing in details the first category – the banks that allow remote account opening and include DBS, HSBC and Citibank. Next, we will discuss in greater details the requirements for account opening in each of these three banks.

DBS

This largest Singapore bank is open to consider applications for remote account opening. It is necessary to fill out a questionnaire and send it to the bank manager, along with the copies of the necessary documents. Application processing time is 4-6 weeks. Upon receiving approval for account opening, it will be necessary to notarize the signatures on bank forms and send the originals to the bank. After the bank receives the hard copies, it will arrange a video call with the client. After these steps the account will finally be opened and the bank token will be mailed to the company. Next, you will need to make the initial deposit (usually at least 50 thousand dollars or equivalent in any currency), from which the bank will deduct its account opening fee of 500 US dollars.

HSBC

It is one of the largest international banks with several branches in Singapore. At the beginning of the process of opening an account, the bank will send to the client a bunch of questionnaires to get acquainted with the business details and the expected turnover. Application process takes 2-3 weeks. If the bank gives preliminary approval, then the signed original documents must be certified by a notary or HSBC branch in the country where the client is located and then sent to the bank manager in Singapore. A video interview is usually not required, although a phone call with a manager may be required to clarify details. The bank charges at least of USD 1,200 as an account opening fee and the same amount for each year of service. The amount of balances and initial deposits is discussed with the client in the process of application. There may be some monthly fees as well, usually 100 dollars.

Citibank

Also one of the largest international banks with a full banking license in Singapore. Like HSBC, original documents can be certified by a notary or Citi’s branch staff in the country where the client is located before being sent to the bank. The rest of the process is not much different from those described above. The review takes about 4 weeks. The initial payment to the account is usually 50,000 US dollars. But this bank has the highest cost of opening an account – $ 5,000, which is charged once upon the account opening.

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