Requiring Businesses to have Physical Instead of Virtual Offices when Opening Corporate Banking Accounts

Mr Ng Shi Xuan asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Ministry has received feedback that some banks require corporate applicants to have actual commercial offices instead of virtual offices or offices with residential addresses when opening corporate banking accounts; and (b) if so, whether the Ministry plans to engage relevant parties to explore viable alternatives that balance risks and startup realities.

Mr Gan Kim Yong (for the Prime Minister): The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has not received feedback on banks requiring corporates applying for bank accounts to maintain physical commercial offices. Customers with virtual or residential addresses have also been able to obtain corporate banking accounts.

When opening corporate banking accounts, banks perform routine customer due diligence to understand and assess the risks posed by the customer relationship. This may involve checking that the customer has genuine business operations and the account will not be used as a mule account. As part of this process, banks may ask customers using a residential or virtual office address for additional information or supporting documents to show that the customer is conducting legitimate business activities. This is a risk-based assessment rather than a blanket requirement for a commercial office address.