How to Choose a Bank in Singapore
Navigating the world of banking in Singapore can be overwhelming, but with this guide, you’ll gain valuable insights into choosing the right bank for your needs. From understanding the regulatory environment to comparing deposit and balance requirements, this guide covers it all. Get started with our guide and take the first step towards finding your perfect bank in Singapore.
Singapore banks have a reputation for being reliable financial institutions and provide world-class banking services to hundreds of thousands of companies from around the world. In this section, we will describe the nuances of opening and maintaining a bank account in Singapore based on the realities of the year 2021.
In recent years, implementations of anti-money laundering (AML) policies have been intensified around the world, and Singapore banks have not been an exception, by having raised KYC treshhlolds for their customers – especially for those who are non-residents of Singapore. This also applies to the owners of companies registered in Singapore who are not yet acting as Singapore residents. Nevertheless, judging by the numerous customer reviews who have the opportunity to compare banking services in Singapore and in many other countries (including Europe), Singapore banks still differ for the better in many ways. There is definitely no ways that Singapore banks give “blind eye” on any transactions, but what is important is that they do not create any bureaucratic barriers unnecessarily. As a rule, “suspicious payments” are subject to additional scrutiny – when, for example, a payment is associated with a dubious counter-party or with a country from FATF list of high-risk countries.
Despite all the difficulties, opening an account for legitimate businesses represented by non-resident clients is completely viable, and this is successfully used by thousands of businessmen from all over the world when opening their companies in Singapore.
The main criterion of the bank when accepting a client for service is the presence of business relations in Singapore, i.e. there must be some suppliers, customers or key partners in Singapore. Banks also can consider clients whose business is closely connected, albeit not with Singapore itself, but at least with other countries of Southeast Asia or with China. In other words, there should be a logical need to open a company account in a Singapore bank. The bank will definitely ask the client a question – what is the reason for the need to open an account in a bank in Singapore, and the answers like “low taxes in Singapore and a reliable banking system” will not be taken seriously by banks and treated as a legit reason for banking in Singapore.
Choosing a Bank in Singapore
Despite the fact that there are more than 100 banks in Singapore, only few of them (about a dozen) in reality will accept an average foreign business owner which have not yet fully established his footprint in Singapore. Most other banks are tailored for special clients, for example, for servicing and lending to their industry clients or regional clients from the country where the parent bank is located.
Banks that are serving all customers (retail banks), consist of two groups: Singapore banks and subsidaries of foreign banks with full banking license in Singapore.
All banks offer standard range of services: accounts in different currencies or multi-currency (DBS, OCBC), internet banking, cards, trade financing, etc.
Deposits and Balances
The majority of banks in Singapore offer quite reasonable rates and fees in relation to cost of transfers and currency exchange, which generally amount to an average of 0.125% of the amount of the outgoing international payment and/or are limited to a maximum commission of $ 50-100. Incoming transfers from overseas involve minimal fees, usually in the region of $ 10-20 per transfer.
When opening a corporate business account, the minimum deposit can be as low as $ 500-1000 (OCBC, DBS, UOB, Maybank, CIMB). But recently the conditions for foreign-owned companies have begun to change – for example, DBS Bank differentiates foreign clients from locals and therefore offers “Premium” business accounts for offshore customers, with at least 50 thousand US dollars as an initial deposit to activate the account. At the same time, the bank will charge a one-time account opening fee of $ 500. In other banks the account opening fee can vary; HSBC, for example, will charge USD 1,200 or more, and Citi will charge USD 5,000-10,000, which is the highest known business account opening fee charged by a bank in Singapore.
As for the minimum average balances, they also differ from bank to bank and can range from $ 5,000 to $ 50,000. This does not mean that this money should always be in the account or that the bank somehow blocks it, not at all. It’s just that if the average daily balances throughout the month are below these amounts, the bank will charge monthly “fall-below” fee for account maintenance – it is usually $ 50-100.
Please keep in mind that there are many nuances in working and communicating with Singapore bankers. We leave in the age when it is not the client who chooses the bank, it is rather a bank who chooses the client. This is why it is obviously much better to approach the bank fully prepared, so it will save both time and effort.
In other articles in this section, you can find information on how to best prepare yourself as a foreign company owner/director to apply for a corporate bank account in Singapore; which bank to choose (including options not in Singapore – this will suit even better for many foreign entrepreneurs nowadays) and what options are there for opening personal accounts.
INTRACORP provides the most reliable corporate services in Singapore and on this website you will find only the most up-to-date and accurate information about doing business in Singapore.
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