Singapore: corporate bank account opening

Obtain the company's registration details, constitution, business address and directors' particulars. For a Singapore company, the ACRA Business Profile supplies registered particulars and officers; obtain shareholder records for any ownership layers it does not resolve. An overseas company needs records from its country of incorporation.

Owners and authorised representatives

MAS Notice 626 requires the bank to understand the ownership and control structure, identify beneficial owners and take reasonable measures to verify their identities. Work through controlling ownership, control by other means and, where neither identifies an individual, executive authority. Record the basis for any listed-company or regulated-institution exception used.

Verify the people appointed to act for the company and their authority. A board resolution or mandate should name the account operators and say whether instructions require one or several signatures.

Funding, approval and later changes

Record the account's proposed use, expected transaction volumes and main payment countries. If initial funding comes from a shareholder loan, obtain the loan agreement and evidence of the remittance rather than an unrelated set of sales invoices.

Complete the required CDD before opening, subject to the notice's limited provisions for delayed verification. Escalate PEP relationships, sanctions findings and higher-risk structures under the bank's AML procedures; retain the evidence and approval decision. Subsequent ownership changes, unexplained third-party receipts or doubts about the original information require the relevant CDD to be revisited.