Standard Chartered Hong Kong Business Account Review [2025]: Features, Fees & Alternative

Standard Chartered Hong Kong is one of the city’s longest-established international banks, offering a full range of business banking services for SMEs and corporates. Unlike fintech platforms like Statrys, it operates as a traditional bank with physical branches, relationship managers, and access to lending and trade-related products.

For businesses in Hong Kong, Standard Chartered provides multi-currency business accounts, local and international transfers, payroll services, and financing options. However, these advantages come with higher fees, balance requirements, and a more document-heavy onboarding process compared to non-bank alternatives.

In this review, we’ll examine Standard Chartered Hong Kong’s business account in detail. We cover account fees, features, onboarding requirements, real user feedback, and who the bank is best suited for, so you can decide whether a traditional bank like Standard Chartered fits your business needs, or whether a fintech alternative may be more practical.

Standard Chartered’s business account fees are straightforward, with options to reduce costs through balance-based waivers. However, cross-border businesses should pay attention to additional charges related to foreign currency and international transfers.

Here’s a summary of the key fees:

For a more detailed breakdown of applicable fees, refer to Standard Chartered Hong Kong’s official service charges guide.

Standard Chartered does not provide much detail on the breakdown of their business account features, even though they highlight that they have several account types on their main page. The information below is based on the limited feature details the bank has made available.

A Standard Chartered business account in Hong Kong primarily supports HKD, USD, EUR, and CNY. The account includes a range of transfer and collection tools designed for daily operations.

You can send and receive HKD or CNY through real time domestic payments.  For automated collection, the bank provides eDDA, which is a local system that lets you set up authorised direct debit instructions so payments can be collected automatically without manual approval each time.

Additional services include foreign exchange services and payroll services.

The GBA One programme is designed for businesses operating in both Hong Kong and Mainland China. It allows accounts to be opened in Standard Chartered China and Standard Chartered Hong Kong simultaneously, with both managed through a single login called “straight2bank”. The programme also provides access to support and insights for any GBA-related inquiries, leveraging Standard Chartered’s unique networks across the GBA and ASEAN.

The Standard Chartered Greater Bay Area Centre is located in the heart of the GBA, in Guangzhou.

A variety of business loans are offered to SMEs, including working capital loans, business installment loans, overdraft facilities, and business mortgages. Unsecured loans are available for amounts up to HKD 6,000,000, and financial reports may be exempted, subject to the bank’s decision. Applications can be submitted through the online application platform.

Information on the Standard Chartered account opening process is limited, but you can begin your application by providing the bank with your business information and personal contact details. You will then be prompted to upload the required supporting documents.

Once your completed form and documents are received, a representative from Standard Chartered will process your application, and you can expect to be contacted within 5 working days. The bank representative will let you know the next steps.

Standard Chartered accepts applications from most business types, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited companies, societies or associations (including non-profits), and owners’ incorporations.

There is no clear information on the required country of incorporation, but it appears that most businesses can apply.

The bank also provides specific checklists and guidance for companies incorporated in China, Taiwan, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Samoa, Bermuda, Seychelles, and Belize

• A completed Account Opening Form and Mandate
• Business Registration Certificate and Certificate of Incorporation (if applicable)
• Certified identification documents for all directors, shareholders, and authorised signatories
• The business locations
• Articles of Association
• Company’s ownership structure
• Your business nature, products/services, expected turnover, and source of funds
• Disclosure of any dealings with sanctioned or high-risk jurisdictions

Full document checklists by business type are available on Standard Chartered’s Business Banking Forms & Documents page. 

There are additional requirements depending on where the company is incorporated. As with most traditional banks, Standard Chartered may request a fairly extensive set of documents, especially when the ownership or control structure is more complex.

In comparison, opening an account with a non bank alternative in Hong Kong such as Statrys is much simpler. Statrys require only two core documents:

• Copies of the passport of each director and shareholder
• A copy of your Business Registration Certificate

While Trustpilot has a page for Standard Chartered, it is not specific to Hong Kong. For a reliable view of user experience, we instead look at Google Play and the App Store, which reflect feedback from actual customers actively using the bank’s digital services in Hong Kong.

On Google Play, Standard Chartered is rated 4.7 out of 5 from over 4,000 user reviews.

Despite the high score, many recent reviews report hurdles during login, app crashes, issues after updates, and compatibility problems on certain mobile models. Users who do not face these problems describe the app as easy and convenient to use, innovative, and fast to load.

The reviews suggest that users find the app smooth and fast when it works normally, but the main risk for customers is not how it functions, but whether it works consistently on their device. Performance can vary across Android devices, so it’s best to test it on your phone first.

SC Hong Kong has earned a 4.7/5 rating on the Apple App Store based on 105K reviews.

Despite the high rating, user experiences are mixed. Some find it user-friendly, while others report bugs, inconsistent interface and confusing setup instructions. Some reviews also compare the app unfavorably to competitor banking apps, suggesting that certain features or usability aspects are easier or more reliable elsewhere. 

For potential customers, it’s best to test the app yourself and compare it with alternatives before committing.