Standard Chartered Group is a leading international banking institution headquartered in London, England, with an extensive global network of over 1,750 branches in more than 70 countries in the Asia Pacific Region, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the United Kingdom, and the Americas.
Since 1859, Standard Chartered bank has been operating in Hong Kong and they are one of the three commercial banks authorized by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to issue banknotes in Hong Kong. They provide services in trade finance, cash management, lending, securities services, foreign exchange, debt capital markets, and corporate finance.
But how does your company fair in opening a business account with Standard Chartered bank?
In this guide, we will take a closer look at the Standard Chartered Business Account opening process. For more recent and important updates, please visit the Standard Chartered website.
What is a Standard Chartered Business Account?
Standard Chartered bank doesn’t have a specific name for their business accounts, but we saw that they can be found under ‘Cash Management’ services on their website.
With Standard Chartered’s Cash Management service, you have access to features such as savings, current deposit, and time deposit accounts in HKD, RMB, and a range of foreign currencies. You also get access to Lending solutions, Investment & Insurance, and Market Insights, which can be accessed through online banking, to help you better manage your business.
Although Standard Chartered doesn’t mention a specific name for the accounts, they do provide different tiered services depending on the stage of where the business is at.
- Business banking: most basic services for Startups/SMEs
- Commercial banking: businesses experiencing more growth and willing to expand internationally
- Corporate banking: More advanced services for established businesses
Every business account is a multi-currency account supporting 11 currencies: AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, SGD, USD, and RMB together with foreign exchange services. Credit card applications are also available. You will also be assigned a relationship manager in case you need some expert advice.
Each type of business banking service comes with different features and pricing to support your business needs, but they all provide the basics for any business. You may need to contact Standard Chartered to help decide which services would be best for you.
How to apply for a Standard Chartered Business Account?
You can apply for an account in one of the following ways:
- Complete the application form (provided online) and submit it to a Standard Chartered Business Banking Centre branch in Hong Kong.
- Submit an online form to book an appointment
If you submit the online form to book an appointment, Standard Chartered says they will reach you within 2 working days to continue the process.
Eligibility to open a Business Account?
You should have your company incorporated in Hong Kong to apply for a business account with Standard Chartered bank.
The business should be registered in one of the following forms:
- Sole-Proprietorship,
- Partnership,
- Limited Companies,
- Society / Association,
- Owners Incorporation
Companies incorporated outside of Hong Kong may also apply if they are registered as one of the above, however additional fees, documents, and information will be required.
Requirements to open a Business Account
It has and is becoming increasingly difficult to open a business account in Hong Kong.
Once you've decided to open a business account with Standard Chartered bank, these are the next steps.
- The account opening form: You start by filling out the bank account opening form provided by the bank.
- Mandate: The main purpose of the document is to confirm that the provided Resolution of the meeting of shareholders or managers (where the decision was made to open a corporate bank account) is true and comes into force from the date specified in the document.
- Application for banking services: this is a document that lists the services and the desired banking products/services.
You must gather all documents that the bank needs, and note that the documents requested will vary depending on the entity type of your company.
Once you have all the necessary documents prepared, you can take them together with the completed application form to a Standard Chartered Business Banking Centre to submit the documents.
On top of an account opening fee and initial deposit, there are monthly maintenance fees, and there must be a minimum balance in the account required by the bank.
Be sure to determine that you can financially support opening a business banking account in Hong Kong.
You can read about Standard Chartered's service charges here.
You may consider hiring a professional such as a certified public accountant to help interpret the bank jargon throughout the application process.
Documents needed
As mentioned, the documents that you need when applying for one of Standard Chartered’s business products vary according to the structure of your business, but some documents needed will be:
- A resolution by the board of directors. This is a way of documenting a decision made by a corporation's board of directors or shareholders.
- All documents proving your company was correctly incorporated and registered.
- A chart showing the shareholding and management structure of the company.
- Copies of IDs and passports of the directors, shareholders, and ultimate beneficial owners.
- Proof of residence.
- The company's business plan, as well as projections for the upcoming year.
- A Certificate of Incumbency and Certificate of Good Standing. A Certificate of Incumbency is an official document with a list of names of its current directors, officers, and key shareholders. A Certificate of Good Standing is a document that states your company is officially registered in your state.
For a detailed breakdown, we have prepared an overview of the required documents per entity type. You can also refer to the checklist provided by Standard Chartered bank.
Sole-Proprietorships
- Copy of individuals’ identity documents
- Copy of Business Registration Certificate
- Account Opening Form, Mandate and Schedule (Signatories)
- Account Opening Supplement
Partnerships
- Copy of individuals’ identity documents
- Company with multiple layers of ownership
- Copy of Business Registration Certificate
- Partnership deed (if applicable)
- Account Opening Form, Mandate and Schedule (Signatories)
- FATCA Form
- CRS Self Certification Form – Entity
Limited Companies
- Copy of individuals’ identity documents
- Articles of Association
- Corporate Directors
- Copies of Particulars of directorship and company secretary
- Company with multiple layers of ownership
- Copy of Business Registration Certificate
- Copy of Certificate of Incorporation/Registration
- Account Opening Form, Mandate and Schedule (Signatories)
- FATCA Form
- CRS Self Certification Form - Entity
Society/Association
- Copy of individuals’ identity documents
- Copy of Certificate of Registration
- Copy of Application for Charges of Particulars of Registered and Exempted Societies
- Copy of Constitution / By-laws
- Account Opening Form, Mandate and Schedule (Signatories)
- FATCA Form
- CRS Self Certification Form – Entity
Owners Incorporation
- Copy of individuals’ identity documents
- Copy of Certificate of Registration
- Copy of subsequent notice of change of particulars of office-bearers of its management committee
- Account Opening Form, Mandate and Schedule (Signatories)
- FATCA Form
- CRS Self Certification Form – Entity
Some additional documents may be required depending on the type of business account you choose. And you will only need to provide the documents that are applicable to your company.
It is worth highlighting, all documents must be in English or Chinese. If there is any consistency or conflict between the English and Chinese versions, the English version shall prevail.
What to do if your application is declined?
Once all the documents necessary are submitted at a bank branch, your application will be reviewed, which can take anywhere from weeks to months according to Standard Chartered.
If your application is approved, you can pay the necessary fees and start using the business account.
On the other hand, there is also the possibility of Standard Chartered rejecting your application.
There can be multiple reasons for this including the submitted documents or the nature of your business.
Usually, however, banks will not give a reason as to why your application has been rejected.
You can, however, call their client feedback hotline (+852 28866988) to ask for a review of your unsuccessful application.
Are there easier alternatives?
Many businesses experience the trouble of opening a business bank account in Hong Kong because of the many requirements and documents requested. Especially for businesses just starting up, it’s difficult to provide all these.
Have you considered an alternative payment solution that is not a bank?
Nowadays, fintech companies, Statrys for example, offer the possibility of making international payments with a multi-currency account. They also a speedier and more simple application process.
Open a business account with Statrys today, and get access to 11 currencies instantly, payment cards, and competitive foreign exchange rates.
For our latest service information, conditions, and other important details, visit our Products page.
