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DBS offers a Business Digital Account for S$18 a month and a Business Multi-Currency Account that charges S$40 if your average daily balance sits under S$10,000. The easy online route is limited to Singapore companies fully owned by Singapore citizens or permanent residents. Everyone else applies another way.
SingaporeCompanySetupGuide.com is an independent guide, not DBS and not a bank. We report what DBS publishes. If you use our form, we pass your request to providers that fit, and some pay us when you hire them.
What account types does DBS publish for companies?
Two accounts matter for most new Singapore companies. All figures below come from DBS pages read on .
| Item | Business Digital Account | Business Multi-Currency Account |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | S$18 | S$40 service charge if under the balance target |
| Balance target | None | S$10,000 average daily balance across all wallets |
| Fall-below fee | None | S$40 |
| Annual fee | Not stated on the page I read | S$50 on the standard account |
| Currencies | Not stated on the page I read | 13 |
A Starter Bundle exists for companies under 3 years old. DBS says it waives the fall-below charge for the Multi-Currency Account. It lists the bundle's own monthly and annual amounts differently on two pages, so this guide does not quote them.
Where do DBS's own pages disagree?
The DBS BusinessClass article on opening an account says the Multi-Currency Account needs an initial deposit of S$3,000 and carries a S$35 fall-below fee. The DBS fees page shows a S$40 service charge. The same article gives S$1,000 as the opening deposit for the Digital Account.
Treat the gap as a reason to read the current pricing guide before you commit. A page you find through search can be older than the one DBS wants customers to use. If the numbers matter to your cash flow, ask DBS BusinessCare to confirm them in writing.
Who can apply online?
DBS says the online application is for Singapore-incorporated companies fully owned by Singapore citizens or permanent residents. You need the company UEN and contact details for everyone who will use the account. Companies that fit may not need to upload documents, because DBS reads company data from government sources.
One timing point trips people up. DBS says a newly registered company needs 2 working days before its details can be retrieved from ACRA. Applying on the day of incorporation will not work. Your ACRA business profile is the record DBS reads.
What if one owner is a foreigner or the company is owned from abroad?
DBS says businesses with foreign beneficiaries apply through a separate process. That is all the page says. It does not list the extra documents, the review time or the factors it weighs.
What you can do is prepare the facts any bank will ask for:
- A clear ownership chart down to the individuals who hold shares.
- Passport copies and proof of address for directors and shareholders.
- A plain description of what the company sells, to whom and from where.
- The source of the money you expect to deposit.
Our guide to registering a company as a foreigner covers the ACRA side. Our page on a nominee director explains why ownership questions come up.
How do you apply, step by step?
- Register the company and wait 2 working days for ACRA data to appear.
- Pick the account type from the DBS Business Digital Account or Multi-Currency Account pages.
- Gather the UEN and the contact details of every account user.
- Apply online and save a draft if you need to stop. DBS lets you return to it.
- Wait for the approval email with your access details.
- Set up the company's online banking and its signatories.
What does DBS not publish?
- A fixed time for the foreign-ownership route.
- A list of documents for that route on the pages I read.
- Any rule on nominee directors or on industries it declines.
- The full transaction fee list on a single page. DBS points to a separate pricing guide for the Multi-Currency Account.
I could not confirm an approval rate, and nobody outside DBS can. A provider that promises approval is promising something the bank controls.
Is a DBS account the right fit?
It suits a company that expects steady balances and wants a bank with a physical network and online banking through DBS IDEAL. It may fit less well if you hold small balances, pay in many currencies from day one or have owners outside Singapore. For a side by side with other banks, read our general page on a business bank account in Singapore and the pages on OCBC and UOB.
If you would rather have a provider assemble the documents, use the quote form on this page and tell us who owns the company and where they live.
Sources
- DBS: Business Multi-Currency Account: account types, currencies, Starter Bundle, online eligibility.
- DBS: apply online: requirements, process, ACRA two-day wait.
- DBS: fees and charges: S$10,000 balance and S$40 charge.
- DBS BusinessClass: opening a business bank account: Digital Account fee and deposit, the differing Multi-Currency figures.
