OCBC, short for Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, is the second largest bank in Singapore. They offer a wide range of banking products and services, particularly having a reputation for being more friendly towards foreign individuals & businesses looking to open up a bank account.
OCBC offers the OCBC 360 Account, a high-yield savings account. Initial minimum deposit is S$1,000 and minimum account balance (without fee) is S$3,000.
In 2023, OCBC started offering certain non-residents the ability to open a bank account remotely:
- Individuals from Malaysia, Indonesia, mainland China and Hong Kong SAR can open SGD and multi-currency accounts on the OCBC Digital app remotely
- To start, they need to apply for an account using the OCBC Digital App and verify using their passport/ID card
For other non-residents, you can request opening a personal or business bank account as a non-resident by visiting a physical branch. Ideally, you should know what accounts you want to open (brokerage) and for what purpose (investing) to increase the chances that your banker will open your account.
