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HSBC does not publish a price list for its Singapore business accounts on the pages we read. What it does publish is the route: five steps, three document types and an enquiry form that leads to a Relationship Manager.
You are reading an independent guide, not HSBC. We have no say in HSBC's decisions. If you use the form below, we hand your details to providers that fit, and a provider may pay us for the referral.
What are HSBC's steps to open a business account?
HSBC's business site () lists these:
- Help us understand your business.
- Submit documents.
- Make a business appointment.
- Review and account opening.
- Account activation.
Existing customers can go through their Relationship Manager instead. A new customer starts with an enquiry and waits for HSBC to review it and call.
What does HSBC ask on the enquiry form?
The form is more detailed than most banks' first page. It asks for:
- Entity name and the unique entity number or registration number.
- Place of incorporation of the entity, and of its parent.
- Whether the business has an operating office in Singapore, or plans one in the next 6 months.
- Whether it is a sole proprietorship or partnership.
- The main business industry.
- Annual turnover, including global turnover where it applies.
Prepare these before you open the form. The parent-company question is the one that trips up groups with holding companies in several countries, so draw the structure first. Our holding company guide shows how those structures usually look.
Which documents does HSBC name?
HSBC lists three groups: identification, source of wealth and source of funds. It does not publish a checklist for each. Expect questions on where the owners' money came from and where the account's money will come from.
Prepare short written answers, with proof such as sale contracts, dividend records or payslips where they apply. This follows the same pattern other banks use, see OCBC's procedure for contrast.
What does HSBC not publish?
- Monthly fees, fall-below fees or minimum balances for business accounts, on the pages we read.
- Who is eligible.
- How long review takes.
- Whether the business appointment can be remote, or who must attend.
- Which industries and countries it will not serve.
HSBC does link a commercial bank tariff document and a download centre for forms. We did not copy figures from them. Request the current tariff when you speak to the bank.
Who might this route suit?
A company with international links or a group structure, where a bank relationship with cross-border reach matters more than a low monthly fee. It is a heavier process than the instant online routes some local banks offer. For a one-person company with Singapore owners, our guides to DBS and UOB show faster-looking paths.
Want a second pair of eyes on your file before the meeting? Send the quote form and mention where your owners are based.
How can you prepare for the business appointment?
Bring or have ready your ACRA business profile, passport copies for each owner and director, and a clear one-page description of what the company sells, to whom and in which countries. Know your expected monthly turnover. Be ready to explain any owner living abroad.
None of these are HSBC's published list. They are what the enquiry questions imply, so confirm each with your Relationship Manager.
How does HSBC's route differ from an online-only account?
The steps run through a person. You send an enquiry, a Relationship Manager reviews it and contacts you, you submit documents, and you attend an appointment. That is slower to start than an account you can open in one sitting with a Singpass login. It can suit a company where the bank wants to understand the whole group before it opens anything.
What it costs you is time and preparation. A founder with a simple local company may not need this route. A group with owners and a parent in several countries may find the questions on the form a fair preview of what the bank will examine.
What should you keep on file after you open it?
Save the version of the tariff you were given, the name of your Relationship Manager and the date of your appointment. If fees change later, you can compare them against what you were told at the start. Keep your source of funds papers, because a bank can ask for them again.
Sources
- HSBC Business Singapore: account opening: the five steps and the three document types.
- HSBC Business Singapore: enquiry form fields, tariff and download centre links.
