16 May 2017
BASIC INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR BANK OPENING IN HONG KONG
Similar to other financial centres, banks in Hong Kong do not have identical checklist of information required for account opening since individual banks formulate policies in accordance with their own business strategies and risk assessments. Moreover, apart from local requirements, some banks also need to comply with the requirements or standards mandated by their head offices or overseas authorities. The account opening requirements of these banks may therefore vary.
In general, banks may obtain the following information or require the relevant original documents when handling applications of personal or corporate bank accounts:
INDIVIDUAL CLIENTS
- Identification documents, for example:
- Identity Card
- Travel document
- Address proof, for example: - A bill issued by a utility company
- A statement or correspondence issued by a financial institution
- A correspondence from a Government department of agency
- An acknowledgement of receipt signed by the client in response to a letter sent by the bank which is processing the account opening application to the address provided by the client
- A tenancy agreement stamped by the Inland Revenue Department
- Any other proof of address which the bank is satisfied that it can rely upon
CORPORATE CLIENTS
- Corporate identification documents, for example:
- Company's certificate of incorporation
- Company report from a company registry
- Company's memorandum and articles of association
- Information of the beneficial owner(s), for example:
- Identification document of the beneficial owner(s)
- Details of the ownership and control structure of the company
- Purpose and intended nature of account, for example:
- Purpose of the account
- Expected account activities
- Business nautre and mode of operation
- Business proof such as invoices, bank statements, agreements, contracts, bill of lading for current and/or existing business
- Information of the person acting on behalf of the client, for example:
- Identification document of the person acting on behalf of the client
- Authorisation document
Please note that the information required for account opening set out above is for reference only. According to the actual circumstances (such as the backgrounds of the applicants, the requested banking services, etc.) and their risk assessments, banks may require applicants to submit other types of or additional information and documentation, for example, information and documents related to Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI), etc.
Please feel free to contact us should you require more information on the above.
CONTACT INFORMATION
info@alcpa.com.hk
(852) 2574 8289
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