In the past year, we noticed an increasing inquiry about the process of opening a corporate bank account in Malaysia. Many of these inquiries come up from first-time business owners, but there are also some who have been running their business for a few years without a proper bank account 😧😓
It’s always advisable to open a corporate bank account if you are running any type of business. Why? Because it would be easier to keep track of business expenses, simplify tax reporting, deposit payments under company name and so much more 👍🏼
That being said, there are of course a few things to evaluate first. Start by asking yourself the below:
1️⃣ Are you processing a lot of transactions?
2️⃣ Are you concerned about the accuracy of your tax return?
3️⃣ Are you planning to take a business loan?
What is a Corporate Bank Account
This is also knows as a business account.
A current account has special facilities that a saving account does not, and it is designed in a way whereby it can help a business to manage itself and their finances better. These facilities include:
Foreign Banking
With the ever fluctuating foreign exchange rates, international transactions became much simpler and cheaper with a business bank account.
Issuing Cheque
A current account is where you are able to issue cheques using your business. This makes for a method of paying your debtors official.
Overdraft
This feature allows for withdrawals that exceed your account balance within an agreed amount. This facility is great whereby it is mostly helpful to reduce the possibilities of bounced cheques. It also gives flexible access to cash that you do not own (yet).
Requirements to Open a Corporate Bank Account
Complete & fill up the application forms from the bank
Recommendation of an introducer (to be checked with the bank)
Incorporated company’s rubber stamp
Photocopies of Identifications from company’s directors and authorised signatories
📌 Certified true copy by the Company Secretary of:
Resolution from Board of Directors to open account & list of authorised signatories.
Form 24 – Return of Allotment of Shares
Form 49 – List of Directors
Form 44 – Registered Office Address
Company’s Constitution
Borang 9 – Certificate of Incorporation
📌 New format under Companies Act 2016:
Section 14 & Section 58 – List of Directors
Section 46 (3) – Registered Office Address
Section 17 – Certificate of Incorporation
All directors and authorised persons must physically present at the bank during the corporate account opening. They will also need to not be declared a bankrupt or blacklisted by Bank Negara.
Foreign businessmen who set up companies in Malaysia can open bank accounts if they provide the following set of documents, which are compulsory for most of the banks:
Complete a bank account application form
Recommendation of an introducer
Company’s stamp
Copies of the passports of the company’s directors.
Timeline of a Corporate Bank Opening
Depending on the amount of investigation that the bank plans to carry out, the whole process to open a new company bank account may take about three months to complete.
However, if you are not physically present in Malaysia, the processing time can be longer, and the chances of approval can be low, unless your holding company has a strong relationship manager with the bank.
Paid-up Capital for the Company
Any amount from at least RM1 up to the maximum of the authorised capital as stated in the constitution of the Company.
However, there might be situations which requires the amount of paid-up capital to be increased. For example:
Requested by Bank
A project tender requirement
License requirement
Corporate image
Get in touch with us at JSPartners to discuss further on the next steps to open a corporate bank account. 📲 https://wa.me/60122192492
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/js-partners/