Although the procedures for opening a Business Bank Account are more cumbersome than opening a personal account, in order to avoid the bank suspecting that the account involves abnormal or suspicious transactions, as long as it is used for business purposes, we would recommend SME should go to the bank to apply for a company account instead using a Personal Bank Account.

Recently, HK Government and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority have taken the initiative to request banks to relax the approval process for account opening, giving small and medium-sized enterprises the advantages of convenient operation. Some banks have also launched special accounts suitable for Hong Kong people to start businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises. There are no minimum deposit amount requirement, as long as the applicant is Hong Kong Permanent Resident and credit record is clean, while the company’s business is not engaged in sensitive industries, such as jewellery and investment. The account will be generally acceptable.

Although banks have relaxed the approval requirements for account opening, we suggest startup should make adequate preparations. Before opening a bank account, prepare the business registration certificate, identity documents and address proof. In addition, the bank will also ask the future business development, such as whether the company has signed a sales contract, the first payment expected to arrive, etc. The bank will understand your company and obtain more information to verify the authenticity of the business, thereby supporting the decision to open an account.

In addition, the bank will also ask about the company’s future development, such as the number of employees expected to be hired in Hong Kong, whether it will rent a fixed office, etc. Therefore, before opening an account, SMEs should be fully prepared and understand their business processes in order to deal with them. Bank problems.

When starting a business, many people only provide a simple business philosophy and company structure without detailed plans. Usually Entrepreneurs answers were perfunctory, so that the bank had doubts about whether the business described by the applicant was true, and finally rejected the account opening application; this made some SME feel distressed.

Under AML supervision, banks will also inquire and review the applicant’s background and source of funds. SME also need to provide account opening funds or other proof of deposit sources before opening an account, and prepare the applicant’s past income, including audit reports, tax filing documents, and employment contracts, as income proof.

According to our understanding of the bank’s requirements, the bank’s rigorous review mainly hopes to open accounts for entrepreneurs who actually operate businesses, so as to reduce the use of accounts for unscrupulous business practices or money laundering. If the bank opens a crime-committing account, it may cause losses to other stakeholders, and they may face large fines and prosecutions.

Based on the above reasons, we would suggest that if entrepreneurs need to open a business account, they can first consult professional firm to learn more about the requirements and account opening procedures of major banks. , open an account easily and expand your business!