Opening an offshore bank account in Singapore
As one of the most financially stable countries in Asia, Singapore welcomes account openings for international companies, as well as those registered in Singapore.
Banks in Singapore can offer a private banking experience for individuals and corporate accounts.
Private offshore banking in Singapore is highly sought after, for customers who are looking for the best banking experience in Asia, or any country in the world.
Transactional and investment accounts are possible for customers interested to open an offshore private banking account in Singapore.
Banks that offer offshore account opening services in Singapore, do not require physical presence in the country in order to open the bank account.
Approximately 50% of the offshore friendly banks in Singapore, opens offshore bank accounts for transactional and investment purpose for companies.
The remaining 50% only opens accounts for investment or saving purpose, meaning it is not possible to make business transactions with the offshore account open in certain Singapore banks.
Which banks in Singapore can open an offshore bank account for private banking?
Each private bank in Singapore that opens offshore bank accounts for international customers, has a predetermined amount of minimum account balance that is to be deposited, in order to accept an offshore customer.
- Minimum deposit amount requested by offshore banks in Singapore, whether the account opening is for business or individual purpose, ranges from $25,000, $200,000, $200,000, $250,000, $1,000,000, $3,000,000 to $5,000,000 USD.
- The amount of minimum balance requested by the bank is to be constantly maintained in the bank account.
- If the minimum amount falls below the required amount requested to be maintained by the bank, additional tariff fees can be imposed on the account or even account closure.
It should be noted that, not all offshore banks in Singapore opens business accounts, while all offshore Singapore banks opens personal accounts for individuals.
Is it safe to open an offshore bank account in Singapore?
Singapore is one of the safest countries to open an offshore bank account in globally. Opening an offshore bank account in Singapore, can be considered as safe as offshore accounts that are held in Switzerland, Cayman Islands, Panama, British Virgin Island and similar jurisdictions.
Singapore has an incredibly stable financial system that is free of external influence and is respected internationally.
Offshore banks in Singapore hold customer deposits ranging from $2.8 billion USD to $2 trillion USD, making Singapore one of the largest and best countries in the world for customers looking to open offshore bank account.
Singapore offshore banks also allow online banking, which means it is possible to perform transactions directly in the offshore account opened in Singapore banks, without needing to contact the banks to perform or approved transactions.
On average, Singapore offshore bank maintain an average liquidity rate of 100 percent, which represents the total amount of customer deposits that are held by the bank and can be withdrawn by customers at a moment’s notice.
How to open an offshore bank account in Singapore?
The most important aspect is to consider the minimum account balance to be maintained in the Singapore offshore bank.
- Depending on which bank accepts the application, offshore banks in Singapore requires a minimum account balance of $25,000, $200,000, $200,000, $250,000, $1,000,000, $3,000,000, $5,000,000
1) Individual looking to open a personal account, can do so with private banks in Singapore, where a private banker would be assigned to handle customer requests.
2) Foreign business looking to open an offshore account in Singapore for their company, will need to certify and legalize their company documents prior to them being accepted by Singapore offshore banks.
Banks in Singapore charge an application fee of $2000 USD, in order to open an offshore bank account.
Services offered by Singapore offshore banks-
Most banks offer bank accounts that can send and receive payments in USD, EUR, GBP, while several select banks also offer additional currencies. in AED, AUD, BHD, CAD, CHF, CNY, CZK, DKK, HKD, HUF, ILS, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, PLN, RON, RUB, SAR, SEK, SGD, THB, TRY, ZAR.
This means it is possible to hold funds these currencies natively in the Singapore offshore account, without having to exchange them from foreign currency, which otherwise would result in additional fees paid to the bank.
Singapore offshore banks also offer a deposit insurance of $100,000 USD.
Offshore banks in Singapore that offers private banking for individuals and commercial banking for businesses offers additional services, depending on the account type, such as:
- Able to purchase and keep custody of gold within the bank’s vault and safety security deposit box
- Access to investment and hedge funds
- Bank guarantee
- Estate handling
- High interest rate on deposit
- Lombard loan
- Numbered account
Open an offshore bank account remotely without visiting Singapore
Offshore business accounts for companies as well as individual personal accounts can be opened virtually, without physically going to the country where the offshore bank is located, in this case, Singapore.
Application documents will need to be sent by email or physical mail once they have been correctly legalized.
Offshore banks will conduct a video call to verify the customer or ask the customer to perform a liveliness check via the banks online onboarding and compliance system.
Once all the necessary on boarding process have taken place, the compliance department performs their Know Your Customer (KYC) check.
- The tests checks the customer’s background for any adverse media (negative news) that may negatively impact the bank, if the bank was to be associated with the customer, as well as cross checking against sanction lists globally.
After giving the green light to proceed by the compliance department, the offshore bank’s onboarding team will contact the customers to discuss the final steps prior to the offshore bank account being operational.
Finally, account login details are shared with the customer and the account can be used in accordance with what was agreed upon with the bank.
How BUH consulting can assist
Our team will work with you to understand your requirements, eligibility criteria and apply for your business and personal bank account with the most suitable banks and assign relationship managers from various banks that can onboard your account for your company.
Contact information
For a tailored solution, contact us to discuss about your requirements.
Email: – sam@buh-consulting.com
Phone: +971585086656
Whatsapp: +971585086656
Telegram: BUHConsultingAE