Banking in Singapore

If you are looking for synonyms for a free economy, Singapore comes to mind.

This small island-city of just 5.6 million inhabitants has deep importance for global finances and has the second-highest GDP per capita with the largest amount of millionaires per capita on the planet. 

Why the success? The freest economy in the world, per the Index of Economic Freedom. This has led Singapore to have a well-developed banking system. With Hong Kong’s instability and higher taxes in Switzerland, many are going for Singapore as their safe banking destination.

So, you have a robust judiciary and regulatory compliance, a free economy led by a pro-business government, and an optimized and straightforward tax system.

That's the key to Singapore's success.

Why should Singapore be your next banking destination?

The safest banks in the world

The three main banks in Singapore are in the top-10 of safest commercial banks, per Global Finance, while most of the others are subsidiaries and branches of some of the largest foreign banks. Thus, you have the best central bank and the best banks in the same place.

A perfect storm

Singapore relies on foreign cash flow. Therefore, the banking sector must be the safest place and offer a better banking experience than anywhere else. Hence, banking regulations are transparent and meant to attract investors and accountholders. 

Untapped potential

Just see a few stats. Singapore is the third on the global list of banking sustainability and fourth in SME financing and the internal private credit has just 1.2% morosity. The central bank uses cutting-edge technology and the support of fintech startups and SMEs can lead to further innovations.

The freest economy in the world

After 25 years with Hong Kong at the top of the ranking, Singapore is now the number one country in the Index of Economic Freedom thanks to its robust macroeconomic policy which guarantees fiscal health. Plus, it has an excellent tax regime, flexible labor laws, and a strong judiciary.

Excellent online banking

Singapore banks online banking so non-residents can conduct their main operations online. Plus, they offer excellent online attention for their clients and all online banking systems work in English and you can communicate with the bank in English, which makes things easier.

Multi-currency accounts

Most banks in Singapore will allow you to open multi-currency accounts with access to around 10-12 currencies. This is excellent as it will allow you to diversify risk by investing in different currencies and receiving payments in a variety of currencies without much problem.

The banking sector has developed rapidly to attend to the needs of the thousands of foreign companies and high net worth individuals that operate in Singapore. Banks use state-of-the-art technology for their processes, platforms, and security. Innovation is the priority of the banking sector, which has led it to where it is.

This is why the Monetary Authority of Singapore won the 2019 award of the best central bank on the planet in the Central Banking Awards. It fortified its monetary and credit policy and has a solid innovation strategy. This helped the country to reach its position as one of the top financial destinations worldwide. 

Corruption is fought hard in Singapore and regulations are transparent. Plus, the country has an effective judiciary and low taxes with a 17% corporate tax rate and a personal income tax between 0 and 22% depending on the size of the income. Both taxes are territorial, which reduces the overall tax exposure. Plus, Singapore has tax exemptions for startups, offshore funds, international banks, and trading companies, which has led over 35,000 companies to establish themselves on the island and dozens of well-known foreign banks.

Singapore has 127 commercial banks. Of these, five are local and 122 foreign. Of them, 28 are completely foreign, 56 partially foreign, and 38 are offshore banks.

They offer three main accounts:

• Checking accounts for individuals
• Corporate accounts for banks
• Saving accounts and asset management, including priority banking and private banking

Of these, foreigners can access the last two. Of the third, priority banking is a top-notch service. It is offered to high net worth individuals and investors that deposit large sums of money with assets in cash and securities. In return for the heavy cash flow, banks will treat them as VIP clients, meaning they receive lower interest rates for credits, better exchange rates, lower fees, improved loan conditions, and even a personal banking manager for your transactions in Singapore. 

Of course, because Singapore is a first-level destination, this means it is not easy to open a bank account there. Non-residents must usually be present to open a bank account. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some banks are allowing you to open corporate bank accounts remotely, which is an opportunity you cannot let go of.

Thus, opening a corporate bank account in Singapore can be your first step towards taking your asset protection to the next level and expanding your business to the Far East.

Opening a bank account in Singapore

As we said before, opening a bank account in Singapore is not a simple process. It is even harder when you have almost 200 banks from which to choose. It is easy to get lost. Yet, with our top experts, it can be done without much trouble.

Banks are careful about who they allow opening a bank account. Generally, the physical presence of a director or representative of the company is required, although, during the COVID-19 pandemic, some banks have relaxed this requirement. 

Our partners offer a plethora of allied banks from which they can find the one that suits your needs the best.

What will our expert consider to find a perfect fit?

1. The country of incorporation of the company
2. The residence of the beneficiaries
3. Activities of the company
4. Volume of transactions
5. Banking residence
6. Reasons to open a bank account in Singapore

As you may know, we work with a pre-approval system. That means that, before officially starting the process, we will send your profile to different banks to see which may be interested in starting a relationship with you. This will not guarantee success but will improve the possibility of receiving a positive response from the bank.

How can you open a bank account in Singapore? It is pretty transparent. We will need the following documents to start the pre-approval process:

• Proof of residence of directors, owners, and signatories
• Certified copy of the company statutes 
• Certified copy of the commercial profile 
• Signed resolution that authorizes the opening of the account
• Certified copy of the articles of association

Here, usually, you must be physically present in Singapore to submit the documents and application, yet, due to COVID-19, banks are allowing applications without physical presence. This means you send the documents to our experts and they take care of the rest. The bank will usually take at least a month to answer the application.

Opening a bank account in Singapore can be difficult. Choosing an adequate bank is confusing and complying with the requirements can be tough. Yet, this is the perfect moment to do so as you can do it remotely. Singapore is one of the few robust, well-developed, stable, and open jurisdictions where you can do business freely and protect your money. Singapore is among them.

If you want your business to expand to the Far East and take your asset protection to the next level, contact us right now and we will help you open a bank account in Singapore.

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