If you want to set up your own company, you have to be well-prepared, and applying for a commercial bank account is one of the necessary elements. What are the different banks in Hong Kong? What is the difference between opening a company bank account and a personal bank account? How long does it take to open a company account in a bank? How much does it cost? Read on to find out more about the requirements for opening a company bank account in no time!
There are 3 main reasons why startup companies choose to apply for a corporate bank account:
- Comply with regulatory requirements: Banks have always had stringent compliance requirements and will pay extra attention to unusual fund flows; if a merchant makes payments from a personal account and the amount involved is huge, the bank may freeze the account for investigation, which will affect the company's operation; opening a company account with a bank will prevent similar incidents from occurring.
- Convenient financial management: Start-up bank accounts have a lot of incoming and outgoing payments, so it would be too complicated and confusing for a merchant to handle both personal and company funds in a personal account at the same time. Opening a company account ensures that personal and company finances are kept separate and enhances the transparency of the company's accounts, especially when regulators require a check on the fund records of limited company bank accounts.
- Enjoy additional services: After opening a business account, the bank will provide exclusive financial services to corporate clients, such as corporate-specific interest rates and financing solutions, etc., so that the company can utilise the various banking services at a more favourable price, so a business registration bank account can be considered a must.
Institutions | Plan/discount |
|---|---|
KPay - Fast Payment Account | T+1 Express Settlement, transaction fee rebate for the first 250 HKD FPS transfer and more. Click here for details. |
HSBC | Upon opening a Sprint account, the monthly fee for the first 12 months is waived. Click here for details. |
Hang Seng | Biz Virtual+ account and Integrated Business Solutions Account are both made for SMEs. The former is offering monthly fee waiver for the first 12 months and FPS fee discount. Click here for details. |
Bank of China | Upon successful application of Business Integrated Account, enjoy account application fee waiver (original HK$1,200) via online application, up to 2.8% savings deposit rate and over HK$10,800 welcome offer. Click here for details. |
Standard Chartered | Cash incentive and transaction fee rebate are available. Click here for details. |
DBS | Waiver for account opening fee and company search fee etc. Click here for details. |
BEA | Waiver for the 36 months service fee. Click here for details. |
Dah Sing Bank | Waiver for the transaction fee in the first 3 months and more. Click here for details. |
Bank of Communications | NA |
Unlike opening a personal account, there are more stringent vetting procedures for opening a business account, so banks need more time to check the documents for opening a business bank account. Below is a summary of the time required to open a business account at different corporate banks:
Institutions | Time |
|---|---|
KPay - Fast Payment Account | from 2 working days |
HSBC | from 3 working days |
Hang Seng | from 3 working days |
Bank of China | from 3 working days |
Standard Chartered | Depends |
DBS | from 1 working day |
BEA | Depends |
Dah Sing Bank | Depends |
Bank of Communications | Depends |
In addition to the company bank account opening documents, there is also the so-called “account opening fee”, which usually includes administrative fee and service fee. Below is a comparison of company account fees charged by major local banks.
Institutions | Account opening fee |
|---|---|
KPay - Fast Payment Account | 1,200 (package fee) |
HSBC | HK-registered: 1,300 |
Hang Seng | Online application: 1,000 |
Bank of China | HK-registered: 1,200 |
Standard Chartered | HK-registered: 1,200 |
DBS | HK-registered: from 1,200 |
BEA | Special company: 10,000 |
Dah Sing Bank | HK-registered: from 1,200 |
Bank of Communications | Individual enquiry needed |
In order to attract more companies to apply for corporate accounts, corporate account opening banks will provide additional services for corporate customers, such as:
- Integrated account services
- Corporate card
- Financing program
- Corporate loan and mortgage
- Employee payroll service
- Unsecured overdraft facility
Institutions | Minimum deposit | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|
KPay - Fast Payment Account | NA | 1,200 for the first year |
HSBC | From 50,00 to 500,000 | From 200 to 450 (waiver available) |
Hang Seng | From 50,000 to 100,000 | 200 (wavier available) |
Bank of China | From 50,00 to 1,000,000 | From 120 to 200 (waiver available) |
Standard Chartered | From 200,000 to 500,000 | From 200 to 500 (waiver available) |
DBS | 50,000 | 250 |
BEA | 50,000 | From 150 to 250 (waiver available) |
Dah Sing Bank | NA | Waived |
Bank of Communications | Individual enquiry needed | Individual enquiry needed |
KPay understands the difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in doing business, and has launched a brand new Fast Payment Account, which not only provides more comprehensive services than a digital bank, but also features a one-stop merchant operation management platform and rich welcome offers. With no minimum deposit requirement and no hidden fees, your business operations will be easier and more comfortable. 10 seconds to complete the application process and no waiting time at the beginning, making the management of funds more flexible and autonomous! Open an account now and enjoy the following privileges:
✅ Handling fee rebate for the first 250 HKD FPS transfers (worth HKD 1,250)
✅ Enjoy lower handling fee for FPS / ACH transfers
✅ Upgrade to T+1 Express Settlement
Click ‘Get Started’ below to get in touch with KPay's Digital Transformation Specialist to learn more!
