Best Business Bank Accounts for SMEs in Singapore 2023

Registering your business with ACRA is usually the first step to officially starting your business here in Singapore. A second essential step is to open a business bank account to receive and make payments as a business.

As a new startup or sole entrepreneur, you may decide to run your business operations using your personal bank account first. However, you will notice its limitations as you scale up.

Why is it important for SMEs to have a business bank account in Singapore?

Without a busines bank account, you would not be able to access payment solutions like PayNow Corporate, InvoiceNow, or even apply for point-of-sale terminals to accept card payments. Given the growing preference of consumers for easier payment solutions, offering these cashless and seamless payment methods is essential for a business to thrive.

Having a business bank account is not just advantageous; it lets you operate your business in a professional manner. Given the many different choices of business bank accounts, here are some tips on how to select the best Singapore business bank account based on your needs.

Why should you consider opening a business bank account for your SME?

1. Easy to track for bookkeeping records

   Due to convenience and habit, business owners, especially sole proprietors, often use their personal bank accounts for their business activities. However, this might become confusing and even cause a mix-up between your personal and business-incurred expenses.

   Having a business account would also come in handy when you need to file your taxes with IRAS, such as when claiming input tax because you are not allowed to claim for purchases if the tax invoice is not addressed to your company name.

2. Access to digital business solutions

   One of the benefits of a business account is getting access to digital banking solutions that are meant for businesses to track and manage your finances. For example, with any OCBC business account, you gain access to our Internet banking platform, OCBC Velocity, where you can create e-invoices, monitor your cash flow closely, and take advantage of the Payroll Management feature to send batch salaries to your employees.

   These solutions, which are not typically available to personal bank accounts, allow your company to easily visualise its past and present cash flow and forecast its future cash flow requirements.

3. Easier to secure a business loan

   A company that intends to grow and expand may need to borrow more funds (business loans) from financial institutions.

   Having a business account would help to build your credentials as a legitimate business, making it easier for a financial institution to carry out loan assessments based on your company’s financials.

What to look out for when opening a business bank account for SME?

You need to be familiar with additional fees that you may incur for maintaining an active business account. One of the things you should look out for is the minimum initial deposit that you need in order to open an account with the bank. For some business accounts, the initial deposit required could be as high as several thousand dollars or even tens of thousands of dollars. This can be prohibitive for new, small startups. Another factor is the minimum monthly balance. Should you fail to maintain your funds above this level, you may be charged a fee – also known as the fall below fee. You should also understand if there is a monthly maintenance or service fee that the bank charges to maintain your business account.

For example, OCBC’s Business Growth Account ticks highly for some of these factors. With a low initial deposit and minimum monthly balance of $1,000, it would be easy for companies to maintain this small sum in their account, while enjoying features like e-invoicing tools and cash flow management tools to keep abreast with their monthly cash flow.

The OCBC Business Growth Account also charges a low monthly service fee of $10 a month (waived for the first two months). In return, account holders do not have to pay any fees for their GIRO and FAST transactions.

Comparing the different business bank accounts from OCBC

OCBC has a few different business accounts that cater to different businesses’ needs. Here’s a closer look at the features of these different accounts.

1. OCBC Business Growth Account

   The OCBC Business Growth Account is meant to be an all-in-one business bank account for SMEs. Not only can you apply for an account online without any paperwork or queueing, but it also has less demanding conditions such as low minimum monthly balance and account fees to open and maintain the account.

   Through our award-winning digital banking platforms – OCBC Velocity and the OCBC Business app. SMEs have free access to a variety of digital tools. You can create and send e-invoices seamlessly, as well as keep track of whether the invoices are paid. This eases the load on your cash flow management. You can also manage your trade finance portfolio within a single dashboard.

   As part of the account’s features, account holders enjoy unlimited free FAST and GIRO transactions via OCBC Velocity. Additionally, you will also receive a free personalised Business Debit Card, which entitles you to unlimited cashback without any minimum spend.

2. OCBC Business Entrepreneur Account Plus

   The OCBC Business Entrepreneur Account Plus, on the other hand, is targeted at more established businesses. By simply making an initial deposit of $30,000 and maintaining a monthly average balance above this amount, you would not incur any recurring account fees or the fall-below fees of $50.

   With the OCBC Business Entrepreneur Account Plus, you also have free access to our digital banking platforms on desktop and mobile with OCBC Velocity and the OCBC Business app. However, GIRO transactions will be charged a fee of $0.10 per item, though you can get three free over-the-counter branch transactions each month (before being charged $20 for subsequent transactions). This is beneficial for businesses that handle some physical cash as part of their daily operations and need to make over-the-counter branch transactions.

3. OCBC Multi-Currency Business Account

   Whether it is because of your expansion plans or having multiple suppliers and customers overseas, your business may need to deal with a multitude of international currencies other than the Singapore dollar. Instead of holding the different currencies in multiple bank accounts, you could apply for the OCBC Multi-Currency Business Account.

   The OCBC Multi-Currency Business Account allows account holders to transact in 13 major currencies: USD, EUR, AUD, JPY, GBP, CNH, HKD, CAD, NZD, CHF, SEK, DKK, NOK. This ensures that you get the most favourable exchange rate without having to lose money due to currency conversions.

   You could set up the account to complement your main business account (in SGD) without any initial deposit or the need to maintain a minimum monthly balance. While there is a monthly service fee of $10, this is waived if you are using the OCBC Business Growth Account.

How to apply for a business bank account for your SME today?

Once you have decided on the type of business account that would best serve your company’s needs, the next step is to apply for one.

It is a simple process to apply for an OCBC business bank account. If you are a Singaporean or PR and are a registered owner, director, or partner in ACRA, you can apply online for the OCBC Business Growth Account and OCBC Multi-Currency Business Account. Have your login details for either your SingPass (MyInfo) or CorpPass (MyInfo Business) on hand.

If you prefer opening the OCBC Business Entrepreneur Account Plus, you can apply by submitting the online application form.