After incorporating your company, one of the key tasks that you should do is opening a corporate bank account. Be it a local company, or a foreign corporation –it is required for both to open a corporate bank. You also don't have to worry about what bank you should choose, because there are plenty of domestic and international banks available in Singapore that you can choose from.
While opening a corporate bank account may seem simple, there are several important factors to consider. This guide covers everything you need to know—from the basics of corporate accounts and bank requirements to key considerations when selecting the right bank and account. Plus, we have included a step-by-step guide on how to open a corporate bank account in Singapore with ease!
Why Should You Open A Corporate Bank Account?
You can think of your corporate bank account as the company’s treasure chest or vault. Below are some of the benefits of opening a corporate bank account in Singapore.
- Separation of Funds: A corporate bank account keeps business finances separate from personal funds, simplifying the management of transactions and expenses.
- Liability Protection: It helps keep business liabilities distinct from personal finances, offering legal and financial protection.
- Tax Filing: The account simplifies tax filing by clearly distinguishing business income, making it easier to calculate and file corporate taxes.
- Convenient Financial Management: Banks in Singapore offer multi-currency accounts, facilitating international transactions, trade financing, credit cards, and Internet banking.
- Accurate Financial Tracking: Detailed financial statements from banks provide insights into account balances, expenses, and the company’s financial health.
- Variety of Business Accounts: Singaporean banks offer various corporate account options with differing features and restrictions, tailored to business needs.
How To Choose The Right Bank For You
Products and Services
While Singapore is a land of many banks, the banks themselves offer different types of products and services. So, you might want to review your bank options based on their respective account types, as well as the products and services that come with them. Pay very keen attention to loan products like asset finance, risk management provisions, as well as wealth management solutions like superannuation and insurance.
Bank Rating and Reputation
With Singapore being a global business hub, both international and domestic credit rating agencies have been keeping a close eye on the performance of its banks. Hence, you can go ahead and assess the creditworthiness and reliability of various banks by their rating scores. Fitch Ratings, for example, provides a great reference point for each bank’s credit profile.
Account Access Channels and Data Security
Check and confirm the types of bank account access channels supported by the banks. The most accessible corporate banks provide online banking or channels, as well as phone and ATM banking. What’s more, businesses get to integrate their online payment gateways with the banks’ merchant accounts. And while you review all these parameters, pay close attention to each bank’s data security measures.
Branch Locations
It’s always a good idea to settle for a corporate bank with branches positioned conveniently close to your business premises. This allows you to physically access the banking products with ease, as well as work closely with the banks’ support staff when maintaining or making transactions with your bank account.
Area of Specialization
Each business field has its fair share of unique challenges and needs. So, to manage them accordingly, you might want to stick with a specialized corporate bank that knows the ins and outs of your particular niche. If you’re venturing into international trade, for instance, you should prioritize international commercial banks.
Customer Service
A good bank is one that listens to you, understands all your needs, and commits its resources to providing relevant personalized solutions. As such, you should be able to access its customer support personnel across multiple contact channels at any time of the day or night. Plus, it might help to open a bank account in a bank that offers its corporate customers a dedicated account manager.
Automated Banking Services
For increased convenience, opening a corporate bank account in Singapore should come with automated banking services. And by this, we mean that the bank ought to automate its basic day-to-day operations such as check scanning, payment processing, invoicing, and payroll processing. This translates to seamless banking for all types of businesses.
Account Charges and Interest Rates
Singaporean banks apply different charges and rates to not only their corporate accounts but also the corresponding transactions and operations. What’s more, it just so happens that the fee schedules vary extensively across the board. You’ll find different rates for loans, account deposits, account withdrawals, inter-bank transfers, foreign currency remittances, telegraphic transfers, etc. When you combine and review them, your ideal bank should offer the best value in the specific services and products you’re interested in.
Using these parameters, you should be able to point out the best banks for your Singaporean bank account. But, it doesn’t stop there. You can expect more deliberations in the subsequent account opening process.
Things To Consider When Opening A Corporate Bank Account
- Corporate Account Type: Banks in Singapore tend to offer different types of corporate accounts, each with its own set of provisions, rates, privileges, and restrictions. Hence, the best approach here would be choosing an account type based on your specific business structure and needs. Online-based businesses, for example, might want to go for e-commerce merchant accounts with competitive transaction processing rates.
- Initial Deposit Amount: Some corporate bank account Singapore come with set-up costs in the form of initial deposit amounts. This is the predetermined sum of money required in a new account to make it operational. And, as it turns out, the initial deposit amount for corporate accounts in Singapore typically ranges between S$0 and S$3,000.
- Minimum Balance: Apart from the initial deposit amount, corporate accounts come with minimum balance restrictions. You can think of this as the lowest amount allowed in an operational account at any given moment. Otherwise, you risk attracting additional fees, or possibly losing some of the account features if you fail to maintain the minimum balance. And so, what you choose here will ultimately have a huge impact on your company’s cash flows.
- Supported Currencies: While the Singapore Dollar is the city-state’s base currency, its banks are flexible enough to support corporate accounts in different currencies. And since each currency is subject to its own exchange rates and charges, you should confirm your account’s currency variables before signing the dotted line. Multinational corporations, in particular, may wish to proceed with an account that supports foreign currency transactions.
Who is Authorized to Open a Corporate Bank Account in Singapore?
Opening a corporate bank account in Singapore is accessible to both resident and foreign entrepreneurs. Typically, the responsibility of opening a corporate account falls to the company’s directors and authorized signatories, as they will be able to provide necessary information and sign documents per the bank’s guidelines.
What Are the Requirements for Opening a Bank Account?
Opening a corporate bank account in Singapore requires a series of important documents and conditions, which can slightly vary depending on the bank and the type of account. But to give you an idea, here are the standard requirements to open a corporate account across most banks!
Proper Documentation of The Company
You need certified true copies of key company documents, including:
- Certificate of Incorporation: A copy certified by one of the company directors or the company secretary.
- Business Profile: Issued by ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) and certified by a director or secretary.
- Company Constitution or Memorandum and Articles of Association, also certified by a director or secretary.
Proof of Identification
Banks typically require certified true copies of the passports or identity cards for the company's directors and account signatories. This ensures that all involved parties are properly identified.
Detail of Residential Address
Banks also require proof of residential addresses for the company directors and account signatories, typically certified copies of identification documents showing these details.
Company Detail Information
The company must provide a resolution statement from the board of directors, authorizing the opening of the corporate account and identifying the account signatories. Banks will offer a preferred format for this statement.
However, several standard requirements apply across the board when opening bank accounts in Singapore. Most banks, for instance, require all signatories and a majority of directors to be physically present for the account opening. Some banks, however, may allow remote account opening through overseas branches or in front of a Notary Public.
How Can You Open A Corporate Bank Account: A Step-By-Step Guide
Your account opening procedure depends on not only the bank’s policies, but also your selected account type, company structure, and application channel.
Now, the good thing here is that you can conduct the process online. However, this option comes with a multitude of caveats. Plus, it turns out that only a handful of Singaporean banks are open to the idea.
The rest require applicants to be physically present for all the paperwork. And sadly, there are no exceptions here — even signatories based in foreign countries are compelled to fly into Singapore, and then make their way to the bank.
In that case, here’s the step-by-step application procedure to open a corporate bank account:
- Start by registering the business with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). Once the application sails through, you’ll receive a business registration number in the form of a Unique Entity Number (UEN).
- Log into ACRA’s BizFile system and purchase your company’s physical Certificate of Incorporation along with the accompanying Business Profile.
- Appoint a company secretary.
- Hold a board meeting and appoint account signatories.
- Fill in the board resolution document, stating the identities of all the appointed signatories.
- Make copies of each account opening documentation- proof of residential address, identity cards, passports, certificate of incorporation, business profile, board resolution, etc.
- Certify each of the documents accordingly. You can have the directors or company secretaries ratifying and signing them.
- Book an appointment with your selected bank and make your way to one of its branches. Ensure other directors and appointed signatories tag along.
- The bank’s representatives will give you registration forms plus a resolution template for sanctioning the account opening.
- Fill in the account opening forms along with the resolution statement, attach all the required company documents, and submit everything to the bank’s corporate account department.
- The bank will then take some time to review and verify your personal and business information. The waiting time here varies from one bank to another- some banks take only a couple of hours to analyze and approve applications from locals, while foreigners, on the other hand, could be forced to wait for weeks.
- Once the application is approved, the business can begin using its new corporate account immediately.
Conclusion
And there you have it. All the basics of opening a corporate bank account in Singapore. Overall, you could say things here are pretty easy and straightforward for Singapore residents. Foreigners are not so lucky though — some of the requirements we’ve mentioned could potentially turn this whole procedure into a costly logistical nightmare.
But, thankfully, you can save yourself all that trouble by simply taking advantage of WealthBridge’s corporate services Singapore. Alongside corporate bank account setup, WealthBridge also offers incorporation services to establish your company smoothly, as well as ongoing company secretarial services to ensure compliance with Singaporean regulations. We can also support your financial needs with accounting and tax filing solutions, designed to simplify corporate management and reporting.