The Ultimate List of Best Banks for E-commerce Businesses in Singapore

You took the first step of registering your online business and making it a legal entity. As an e-commerce entrepreneur, the next step you need to take is to open a bank account for your business to separate your personal finances from your business finances.

Here we list some of the most prominent e-commerce-friendly banks in Singapore as well as alternative banking options for your e-commerce business so that you can make the best choice for your business.

1. OCBC

OCBC Bank is the oldest established Singapore bank, formed in 1932 from the merger of three local banks -the oldest of which was founded in 1912. Today, OCBC is the second biggest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets and one of the most highly-rated banks worldwide.

OCBC’s Business Growth Account is easy to set up because you could open your business account online and get your account number immediately to start receiving payments for your e-commerce business. East river has an exclusive partnership with OCBC Bank for anyone who wants to register and open up a business bank account. You can enjoy 8% off East river’s corporate services when you open an OCBC Business Account.

Account Name: Business Growth Account

Features and benefits:

• The only bank with free unlimited FAST and GIRO transactions and no initial deposit, which makes it cost-effective for your business.
• OCBC Velocity, Mobile Banking App and Business Debit Card, and digital business dashboard to help you keep track and run your business.
• Instant online account opening for Singapore incorporated companies opening its first OCBC Business Banking Account.

Fees: No minimum initial deposit or fall below fees, with a monthly service fee of SGD $10 (waived for the first 2 months).

Eligibility: All businesses registered in Singapore.

Website:

https://www.ocbc.com/business-banking/smes/accounts/business-growth-account

2. DBS

Declared the Best Bank in the World 2020 by Global Finance, DBS Bank Ltd is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Marina Bay, Singapore.

DBS offers an array of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking activities across Asia and the Middle East. If you have low initial capital and transact mostly online, DBS’s Business Digital Account is an e-commerce business-friendly bank that you should consider.

Account Name: Business Digital Account

Features and benefits:

• Free access to IDEAL DBS’ internet and online banking platform to manage your business.
• Low initial deposit of just SGD $1,000 to get your business up and running.
• You could view or download your account eStatements simply via IDEAL

Fees: Zero annual account fee and no minimum average monthly balance.

Eligibility: All businesses registered in Singapore may apply.

Website:

https://www.dbs.com.sg/sme/day-to-day/accounts/digital-account

3. Maybank

Maybank is among Asia's leading banking groups. Maybank Group has an international presence of over 2,600 branches in 18 countries including all 10 ASEAN countries, with more than 43,000 employees worldwide.

The Maybank FlexiBiz is the ideal current account for start-ups and young businesses with no monthly fees and no minimum balance.

Account Name: FlexiBiz Account

Features and benefits:

• No minimum balance requirement.
• Round-the-clock service with Business Internet Banking.
• Rebate Benefits:The More You Transact, The More You Save. There are two tiers for this rebate program, Tier 1 and 2.

If your Average Daily Balance (ADB) is between SGD $30,000 to SGD $99,999 (Tier 1), you would enjoy a 25% rebate of charges on International Telegraphic Transfer, for example. And if your ADB is SGD $100,000 and above, you would enjoy a 50% rebate of charges on the same transfer.

Fees: An initial deposit of SGD $1,000 is required with no fall-below fee.

Eligibility: Sole proprietors, Partnerships, Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP), Incorporated Companies, Charities, Societies and Associations are eligible to apply.

Website:

https://www.maybank2u.com.sg/en/business/local-enterprise/sme/manage-day-to-day/deposits/flexibiz.page

4. UOB

The UOB Group has a network of more than 500 offices in 19 countries and territories in Asia Pacific, Western Europe and North America. UOB’s eBusiness Account offers you a suite of banking services so that you can manage your business anytime, anywhere.

Account Name: eBusiness Account

Features and benefits:

• Low minimum average daily balance of SGD $5,000, and only after 12 months of opening a new account.
• With UOB BizSmart, you can manage your business on a single platform: by importing bank account feeds for automatic reconciliation and providing faster payment options to customers via PayNow QR or NETS PayCollect.
• Dedicated FX specialists support your cross-border transactions by managing foreign exchange risks.

Fees: Annual account fee of SGD $35 applies, with a minimum initial deposit of SGD $1,000 and a minimum monthly balance of SGD $5,000. Monthly fall below fee of SGD $15 is waived for the first 12 months for new accounts registered.

Eligibility: Singapore registered Sole Proprietor, Partnership and Private Limited Companies and Private Limited Companies, are eligible to apply.

Website:

https://www.uob.com.sg/business/transact/ebusiness-account.page#instantaccountopening

5. CIMB

CIMB BusinessGo is CIMB bank's Commercial Current Account for businesses, which could be opened on the same-day online, within 15 minutes -a perfect banking solution for e-commerce businesses.

CIMB leverages its extensive regional network and resources to bring relevant conventional and Islamic banking products and services to the Singapore market.

Account Name: BusinessGo

Features and benefits:

• Free FAST transactions to any FAST participating banks for free.
• Assign a Virtual Account (VA) to each of your payers/payees for easy reconciliation of your transactions.
• No transaction fees when you issue payroll payments on BizChannel@CIMB.
• Reconciling your accounts with monthly statements provided at no extra cost.
• A Shariah-compliant alternative, BusinessGo-i is also available.

Fees: No monthly or annual maintenance fee. However, a minimum initial deposit of SGD $30,000, and minimum monthly average balance of SGD $30,000 (with a fall-below fee of S$88/month) are required.

Eligibility: Private limited companies, and partnerships, limited partnerships, or limited liability partnerships that have a partnership agreement are eligible to apply.

Website:

https://www.cimb.com.sg/en/business/solutions-products/cash-management/commercial-current-accounts/cimb-businessgo-sgd-current-account.html

6. Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered offers an entire range of financial and financial services for personal, business, commercial and corporate clients internationally. It has a network of 15 branches, 5 Priority Banking centres, 1 International Banking and Priority Private Centre and 25 ATMs in Singapore.

Account Name: Smart Business$aver Account

Features and benefits:

• Low remittance cost of free 30 outgoing FAST transactions per month, and up to 75% rebate on Outward Telegraphic Transfer (OTT) charges with a Smart Business Plan.
• Make and receive payments seamlessly with PayNow Corporate UEN number and SGQR labels. Registration and generation of SGQR labels are free and fee for incoming PayNow transactions is waived..
• You would receive a Standard Chartered Business Debit Card with a 1% rebate on all spend with no rebate cap, minimum spend, or annual fees.

Fees: Minimum monthly average balance is SGD $50,000, with a fall-below fee of SGD $50 per month. Early account closure fee, i.e. closing an account within 6 months is charged at SGD $500.

Eligibility: Private limited companies, and partnerships, limited partnerships, or limited liability partnerships that have a partnership agreement are eligible to apply.

Website:

https://www.sc.com/sg/business-accounts/smartbusinessaver/

7. HSBC

HSBC Commercial Banking has an international network that serves 1.7 million customers across 54 markets to help them grow their business. Its Business Account is for e-commerce businesses seeking a personalised banking experience.

Account Name: Business Account

Features and benefits:

• You would be assigned a dedicated HSBC Relationship Manager and Relationship Associate to support your business’ your business growth and banking needs for a personal service.
• Access to Cash, Trade and FX specialists for integrated solutions that can help you discover more business opportunities.
• HSBC Global Research with online and mobile access for first-hand market insights, macroeconomic and currency research.

Fees: Minimum average balance of SGD $30,000, with a fall below fee of SGD $50. Monthly account service fee of SGD $100 (or equivalent) per company.

Eligibility: All businesses registered in Singapore

Website:

https://www.business.hsbc.com.sg/en-sg/hsbc-sme-business-banking/business-account-opening-process

8. Aspire

Aspire serves business owners in Southeast Asia with the financial tools to solve their cash flow management and working capital needs. Its Digital Business Account is tailored to SMEs and Startups’ needs that facilitates them to send and receive money for their business operations.

Account Name: Digital Business Account

Features and benefits:

• No minimum deposit or monthly fees
• Opening an account takes 5 minutes, and is done completely online.
• Smart features and integrations on the Aspire app and online such as auto-spend categorisation, scheduled and bulk payments, and integration with Xero.
• Transparent and low international transaction fees at mid-market exchange rate.

Fees:  Opening an Aspire Business Account is completely free. There are no monthly, fall-below, or hidden fees.

Eligibility:  All entities registered in Singapore with ACRA are eligible to apply. The applicant must be the director of the business, however, she does not need to be a Singapore citizen. Foreigners are eligible to apply too if their entity is registered in Singapore with ACRA.

Website:
https://aspireapp.com/business-account

9. AirWallex

Airwallex was founded in 2015 by engineering-banking friends Jack Zhang and Max Li, Lucy Liu and Xijing Dai, inspired by their real-life experiences of running their own business and expert knowledge of how money moves.

As small business owners, they recognised first-hand the impact of high FX fees and banking costs on their profit margins, and sought out to build a better solution for businesses operating cross-border, improving on the constraints of the current global financial system. Airwallex was built with a single purpose in mind – to create a world where all businesses can operate without borders and restrictions, and by doing so, propel the growth of the global digital economy.

Now, they employ 600 people across 12 international offices. AirWallex seamlessly integrates with global platforms like Amazon, eBay, Shopify and Paypal. AirWallex Online Payments is a localised payment solution for global businesses.

Features and benefits:

• It has a user-intuitive payment flow for customers around the world, across most devices and browsers.
• AirWallex accepts payments from customers in their preferred currency and with flexible settlements in up to 10 major currencies.

Fees: Zero monthly fees, with no minimum transactions.

Eligibility: All entities registered in Singapore with ACRA are eligible to apply.

Website: https://www.airwallex.com/sg

10. Wise (previously Transferwise)

Launched in 2011 as TransferWise to make international money transfers cheap, fair, and simple, this e-commerce banking solution is now known as Wise. Today, Wise serves 10 million customers who transfer $6 million globally per month -saving customers more than $1.5 billion annually.

Account Name: Wise Business

Features and benefits:

• Collect your payments like a local and manage your sales earnings from various online platforms and storefronts. You could link your account to Amazon, PayPal and more. You would have an UK account number, Euro IBAN, US routing number, and more, all in one account.
• You could convert your earnings to 56 currencies at real exchange rates and low fees.
• With Wise’s debit card, pay expenses online or in-store in multiple currencies without foreign transaction charges.

Fees: It's free to set up a Wise Business account. If you need international bank details, there is a one-time SGD $54 (or equivalent) charge.

Eligibility:  You must have a registered business name and business registration number, or be registered ACRA to set up a Wise Business Account.

Website: https://wise.com/sg/business/

11. Neat

Neat was founded in Hong Kong in 2015 with a goal of pushing the boundaries of financial services capabilities globally. It is an online banking alternative solution for an e-commerce business. Neat’s Global Account is an account for all your local and global business financial needs.

Account Name: Global Account

Features and benefits:

• You can easily receive payments in USD, EUR, GBP and HKD currencies, with seamless integrations of payment gateways like Stripe.
• Make quick, and easy transfers to bank accounts locally and internationally to over 35 countries at competitive rates.
• You are pre-approved for Neat Visa cards for your entire team, with no monthly fee – plus 1% cash back and other perks.

Fees: No monthly fees, minimum deposit or balance, or fall-below fees.

Eligibility: Limited companies and partnerships are eligible to apply.

Website:
https://www.neatcommerce.com/account/

Choose a Bank That Can Keep Up With You

Not all banks can keep pace with the fast-paced e-commerce world. Choosing the right bank will help you succeed in your business and help you grow. It will also make your E-commerce accounting simpler, since you will more accurately monitor your money and how it's growing.