Banks Review The Business, Not Just The Certificate
Hong Kong and Singapore banks independently decide whether to accept a corporate account. A clean incorporation certificate is only the starting point. The bank normally wants to understand ownership, source of wealth, source of funds, commercial activity, transaction countries and why the account is needed.
Corporate Documents
- Certificate of incorporation / registration
- Constitution, memorandum or articles as applicable
- Register / details of directors and shareholders
- Registered-office or registered-agent information
- Board resolution or account-opening authority where requested
- Good-standing or incumbency evidence when applicable
Owner And Director KYC
- Passport or identity document
- Residential-address evidence
- Tax-residence or tax-identification information where requested
- Professional or business background
- Source-of-wealth explanation and supporting evidence
- Source-of-funds evidence for initial account funding
Business Evidence
- Website, company profile or product/service explanation
- Signed contracts, purchase orders or invoices
- Supplier and customer information
- Licences where the business is regulated
- Group structure and related-company information
- Proof of office, employees or operations where relevant
Transaction Profile
Prepare a realistic forecast: expected monthly credits and debits, average and maximum transaction size, currencies, customer countries, supplier countries, payment purpose and the expected account balance. The profile should match the contracts and business explanation.
Why Applications Fail
- Business model is unclear or inconsistent
- Owners cannot evidence source of wealth or source of funds
- Countries or counterparties fall outside the bank’s risk appetite
- Expected transactions do not match the stated business
- Regulated activity lacks the required licence
- The proposed jurisdiction has no convincing commercial rationale
- Documents are incomplete or contradictory
What A.I.W Can And Cannot Do
A.I.W can help organise the corporate profile, KYC pack, transaction-flow explanation and supporting commercial documents. A.I.W cannot guarantee approval, processing time or a particular bank’s risk decision.