After your successful business registration and incorporation, your next immediate step should be to open a business or corporate bank account. A business bank accounts gives a boost to your credibility as well as allows you to transact with stakeholders such as your customers and suppliers.
Read our comprehensive guides covering the different banks, fees, as well as factors you should consider before signing up with a bank.
Documents to prepare before opening the bank account
The following are documents that must be prepared and ready prior to your business bank account opening. In some cases, the bank may request for future documentation.
- Account opening forms - must be signed and acknowledged
- A director's resolution to open the bank account
- Company's business profile
- Company's Memorandum and Articles of Association (MAA)
- The certificate of incorporation
- Passport or NRIC copies of the director(s) and signatories
- Proof of residential address of the director(s) and signatories that cannot be later than 3 months
Included in our Private Limited Company Incorporation service, Leftright Corporate would prepare the above documents, with the exception of the identification and residential documents for smooth processing.
Who can, and is authorized to open the bank account?
Only the directors and/or authorized signatories are allowed to open the company bank account.
Can I open the Singapore bank account from overseas?
Most banks require the physical presence of the bank signatories and most of the director(s). On the other hand, some of the international banks such as HSBC and Citibank may allow you to sign the necessary documents at their overseas branches, or in the presence of a notary.
How long does the bank account opening take?
The duration of the processing of the bank account opening varies greatly. Usually for fully Singaporean businesses without any foreigners and with clean personal records, it may be completed within the day, or week. In some cases, banks may need further verification which may delay the process to weeks and in some cases months.
This processing time is ultimately dependent on the bank’s own verification procedure. Although in most cases, with proper documentation and process should be reletively seemless.
General considerations before selecting a bank account
Some important factors to help you select the right banking partner would be:
- Is online banking provided?
- How many branches are there on Singapore? More branches would be more convenient for you should you ever need to head down to a branch for specific transactions.
- Is there a monthly or yearly service fee?
- Is there a minimum balance amount?
- What is the fall below fee?
- Are there charges for online banking transactions? GIRO, FAST, telegraphic etc. If your company is expecting to make transfers overseas, you should consider the banks charges as well as fx spread
- Are cheque books included? How much is the processing fee?
Which bank to choose?
The most popular choices for newly incorporated businesses in Singapore are:
Our Company, Leftright Corporate have chosen both OCBC and DBS to be our banking partner.
The banks above offer a plethora of company bank account for your choosing. We have linked them above for your perusal. Remember to read through the general considerations mentioned above and take note of pointers prior to making a decision!
