You've incorporated your company with ACRA. You have your UEN, your registered address, and your first invoice ready to send. There's just one problem, you have nowhere to receive the money.
Opening a corporate bank account is the first real piece of operational infrastructure every new Singapore company needs. Yet many founders are surprised by how different the banks are on fees, minimum balances, and approval timelines and how much the process has tightened under Singapore's enhanced KYC and anti-money-laundering framework.
This guide walks you through the main options in 2026, what the opening process actually looks like, and the charges to watch out for.
No Singapore bank will open a corporate account without these basics in place:
1. An ACRA-incorporated company with a UEN. Your company must be registered before any application can be processed.
2. A local registered office address. Every Singapore company is legally required to maintain a registered address, and banks will verify it against your ACRA BizFile. If you're operating remotely or from home, an ACRA-compliant virtual office address (like VCO Office's registered address service at Paya Lebar Square) satisfies this requirement and ensures bank correspondence, tokens, and cheque books actually reach you.
3. Standard KYC documents. Expect to provide your ACRA business profile, company constitution, board resolution authorising the account opening, and NRIC or passport copies plus proof of residential address for all directors, authorised signatories, and beneficial owners holding 25% or more.
4. A resident director. At least one director must be ordinarily resident in Singapore. Foreign founders without one typically appoint a nominee director through a registered Corporate Service Provider.
Banks will also ask about your business activities, expected transaction volumes, and major counterparties. Vague answers are the number one cause of delays and rejections, be specific and consistent with what's on your ACRA profile.
DBS remains Singapore's largest bank and the default choice for many SMEs. Its Business Starter Bundle is designed specifically for companies less than three years old: no minimum balance requirement and unlimited FAST and GIRO transactions for a monthly fee of S$10. DBS is widely regarded as having the strongest multi-currency capability among the local banks.
After the starter period, companies transition to the standard Business Multi-Currency Account, where annual fees run around S$40–50, and a S$40 monthly fall-below fee applies unless you maintain an average daily balance of at least S$10,000.
Best for: Newly incorporated companies, businesses invoicing in multiple currencies, and anyone who wants the deepest digital banking ecosystem.
OCBC's Business Growth Account is the workhorse for SMEs with recurring local payments. It costs S$10 per month (waived for the first two months, with no minimum balance requirement in the first year), and most SMEs pair it with OCBC's multi-currency account whose monthly fee is typically waived when paired so the total cost stays at around S$10 per month for both. The account includes 80 free FAST and 80 free GIRO transactions monthly.
A standout feature: First-time OCBC business customers fully owned by Singapore Citizens or PRs can open an account instantly online using SingPass.
Best for: Locally-owned SMEs with regular domestic payments who want fast, low-friction onboarding.
UOB offers two tiers. The eBusiness Account is a digital-led SGD account and the cheapest sustained option among the big three once you can maintain S$1,000 of working capital annualised fees work out to roughly S$3 per month. The traditional Corporate Current Account sits at a higher tier: it requires a S$10,000 minimum average daily balance (with a S$35 fall-below fee), carries a S$35 annual fee, and charges S$50 for closure within six months.
Best for: Cost-conscious businesses with simple SGD banking needs, or companies wanting UOB's extensive ASEAN branch network.
If your business is early-stage, foreign-owned, or heavily international, MAS-licensed digital providers are worth serious consideration:
The trade-off: these are payment institutions or digital banks rather than full-service banks, so you won't get cheque books, extensive credit facilities, or branch service. Many companies run a hybrid setup, a traditional bank account for credibility and credit access, plus a digital account for day-to-day international payments.
| Provider | Monthly/Annual Fee | Min. Balance | Fall-Below Fee | Initial Deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DBS Starter Bundle | S$10/month | None | None | None |
| DBS Multi-Currency (standard) | ~S$40–50/year | S$10,000 avg daily | S$40/month | Varies |
| OCBC Business Growth | S$10/month (first 2 waived) | None in year one | S$20 thereafter (S$1,000 min) | S$1,000 |
| UOB eBusiness | ~S$3/month annualised | S$1,000 | Applies below S$1,000 | S$1,000 |
| UOB Corporate Current | S$35/year | S$10,000 avg daily | S$35/month | S$1,000 |
| Aspire / Wise / ANEXT | None | None | None | None |
Fees are indicative as of 2026 and subject to change, always confirm the current schedule with the bank before applying.
Most of these are avoidable with clean paperwork and a properly maintained corporate registration which is exactly where working with an established Corporate Service Provider pays off.
Your bank account application is only as strong as the corporate records behind it. A verified, ACRA-compliant registered address, up-to-date BizFile records, and reliable mail handling for bank correspondence remove the most common friction points before they arise.
VCO Office provides ACRA-compliant registered address and virtual office services at Paya Lebar Square, trusted by businesses across Singapore as a registered Corporate Service Provider. Whether you're incorporating your first Pte Ltd or restructuring an existing entity, we make sure the foundations including everything your bank will check are in order.
👉 Set up your registered business address with VCO Office today
This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice. Fee schedules change; verify current terms directly with each bank.
