Previously, I shared a tutorial on opening a bank account in Hong Kong: Hong Kong Bank of China Account Opening Guide: No Appointment Required for Hong Kong Bank of China Account Opening. In fact, I had already registered an OCBC account before this tutorial, but since I had not received the physical card, I didn't share it. Today I received the card and reorganized the account opening process.
Friends who understand overseas bank account openings should know that for users from mainland China, the threshold for having an overseas bank account is not low; you need to personally travel to Hong Kong or Singapore, or meet high capital requirements.
If you find this article helpful, feel free to use my [referral code] during the registration process: SOOU37JB, so that both you and I can receive a S$15 account opening reward.
Reminder: The S$15 account opening reward promotion is about to end, so friends who need to open an account should hurry.
The original article can be found at: https://chuhaime.com/shoukuan/ocbc-bank-account, you can check it out directly here.
Why Choose OCBC#
- Reliable Large Bank
OCBC, short for Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, is the second-largest bank in Singapore. It has been ranked among the top three "World's Safest Banks" for several consecutive years.
- Zero-Cost Account Opening
The biggest feature of the OCBC account opening introduced this time is zero-cost account opening; there is no need to personally travel to Hong Kong or Singapore, nor do you need to deposit or meet high capital requirements.
- Simple and Convenient
You just need to download the APP 【OCBC Digital - Mobile】 on your phone and follow the process to complete the account opening.
It can be said to be the easiest offshore account to open, without going to Hong Kong or Singapore, without prior appointments, and without finding an agent; you can open an account directly online through the APP, saving a lot of time and effort.
- Account Opening Rewards
Now there are rewards for opening an account; referral code: SOOU37JB, you can receive S$15, approximately 80 RMB.
- Fully Chinese Client
The OCBC client supports Simplified Chinese, which is very friendly for friends who do not speak English.
Benefits of Opening an OCBC Account#
- You can obtain more than two Singapore bank accounts (Singapore local currency account, multi-currency foreign exchange account)
- It facilitates cross-border payments and receipts
- Convenient for entering and exiting US stocks and Hong Kong stocks
- You can apply for a debit card for online and global consumption for free; the debit card supports Apple Pay/Google Pay mobile payments
- Supports Apple ID Singapore region (including iOS ChatGPT subscription) payments
- OCBC can be used to activate Wise, and Wise deposits to OCBC can be credited instantly
- Pay for ChatGPT, Midjourney, OnlyFans
- Now there is a S$15 reward for opening an account, approximately 80 RMB
- ...
This article will introduce the account opening conditions, process, fees, etc. for OCBC.
Materials Required for Opening an OCBC Account#
- Passport with more than 6 months validity, no visa required, a blank passport is fine
- A mobile phone with NFC function (used to scan the built-in chip in the passport; if some new phones do not work, you might try an older phone)
- Valid ID card (need to take a photo of the front of the ID card)
- Phone number (any domestic phone can be used to receive verification codes)
- Email (both domestic and overseas are acceptable)
OCBC Account Opening Process#
- Download the APP
Before starting, prepare to download the OCBC APP and register an email.
If the Android phone's built-in app store does not have it, you need to use Google Play to search for OCBC and download OCBC Digital - Mobile.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ocbc.mobile
For iOS, just search for OCBC Digital in the store.
https://apps.apple.com/sg/app/ocbc-digital-mobile-banking/id292506828
- Enter the Account Opening Process
After opening the APP, select Simplified Chinese. If it doesn't pop up, you can click the top right corner to select the language. Then, click 【Register as a New Customer】.
Select the second option 【Foreigners with Electronic Passports】, then click 【Start Application】 and follow the prompts to apply.
Enter the referral code SOOU37JB, as referrals have a higher approval rate and you can receive S$15, approximately 80 RMB. If you don't write it, there will be no reward.
Enter the information filling page, click on the country code to select mainland China +86, and enter your phone number and email.
Click on the country code to select mainland China +86, and enter your phone number and email. Then, receive the verification code and fill it in.
Click next, scan the passport barcode. For this step, open the passport to the page with the photo and scan it in a well-lit area using your phone. It requires some patience; scanning may not be quick, so hold your hand steady and try again.
Note: If the passport chip fails to read at this step, you can try closing the passport, placing the back of the phone against the front of the passport, and starting the reading. I tried both iPhone 15 Pro and Huawei Mate 60 Pro, and both failed, but the iPhone 11 Pro could read normally.
When the APP reads successfully, a detection message will pop up; do not move and wait for the reading to complete.
The subsequent steps are very simple; follow the prompts to upload photos of the front and back of your ID card and fill in your country, occupation, company, and other detailed information.
There are a few points to note when filling in this information:
- For occupation, choose 【Employed】 or 【Self-Employed】; it is recommended to choose employed. If you are currently unemployed, it is advisable to use the information from your last job for occupation and job type. If you are unemployed or have a stable income, the approval rate may be lower. You do not need to provide proof of employment.
- It is not advisable to choose too low or too high for annual income; choose a middle value, such as around 200,000 to 400,000.
- For account opening purpose, select investment.
- For tax information, the taxpayer identification number is your ID card number. Be sure to fill this in; if filled incorrectly or not filled, the application may fail.
- For political public figures, it is recommended to select 【No】.
Once the information is filled out, wait for approval. Some applications are approved instantly online (should be machine-reviewed), while others may take some time. My account was approved instantly; if you fill it out as I mentioned above, it should also be approved instantly.
At this point, the registration is complete. Then set up the account, including the login name and password.
Account Setup#
After successfully applying, enter the APP and create a login account; remember this information. You will rely on this for future logins. Here is a point to mention: the login username corresponds to Access Code in English and 访问代码 in Chinese, while the login password corresponds to PIN in English and PIN 码 in Chinese.
Once the setup is complete, your two accounts will be displayed. They are:
- Global Savings Account (GSA): This account is a multi-currency account, initially only in USD, and can also be used to receive currencies globally, including USD, EUR, GBP, etc.
- Singapore Local Currency Account STS (also called SSA): This account is a Singapore local currency account and can only be used to receive Singapore dollars.
Both accounts do not have physical cards. The image below shows the 360 account, which will be discussed later. I have already transferred over 1,000 Singapore dollars into the STS account.
Deposit Verification#
After the account is opened, if there is no deposit for more than a few months, the account will be closed. Therefore, it is necessary to deposit as soon as possible after opening the account to activate it. Additionally, complete the verification within 30 days to receive the S$15 reward.
The official website states that accounts will be closed if there is no deposit for 6 months, but I have also seen people say that accounts will be closed if there is no deposit for 3 months. So to be safe, it is still best to deposit as soon as possible after opening the account.
Deposits need to be made through cross-border remittance from domestic banks. The general process is to purchase foreign currency and then make a cross-border remittance (transfer). Here, I recommend using Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (note that it needs to be a Class 1 card; if it is not, you can upgrade it at the counter), as the handling fees are relatively low.
Foreign currency purchase process:
- Log in to the ICBC APP, search for foreign currency purchase
- Select currency exchange
- Choose Singapore dollars
- Follow the prompts to enter the amount and confirm the purchase (it is recommended to purchase at least 1,030 Singapore dollars, otherwise you may not receive the S$15 reward)
After completing the foreign currency purchase, open the APP, click 【Account Recharge】, select 【Cross-Border Remittance】, and follow the prompts to proceed.
I remitted 1,050 Singapore dollars through ICBC, with a handling fee of 40 RMB, and the actual amount credited was 1,042 Singapore dollars, with 8 Singapore dollars deducted in between, which means I spent a total of 80 RMB. The information used for the wire transfer is as follows:
- STS (also called SSA) account: You can find it on the APP home page; do not include the hyphen in the middle
- Bank Name: Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited Singapore
- Receiving Bank Address: 63 Chulia Street #10-00, OCBC Centre East, Singapore 049514
- SWIFT Code: OCBCSGSG (if you need the 11-digit SWIFT, it is OCBCSGSGXXX)
After the wire transfer is completed, wait for the funds to be credited. Once credited, you can click 【Account Verification】 and follow the prompts to proceed.
Activate the 360 Account and Obtain a Physical VISA Card#
The 360 account can be activated on the mobile APP, and after activation, you can apply for a debit card. The main purpose of opening this account is for overseas consumption, such as paying for ChatGPT, Midjourney, etc. If you don't need it, you can choose not to activate it.
It is said online that you can use a virtual card for payments before receiving the physical card, but I tried it myself and the payment failed. So it is still recommended to use the physical card.
After successfully applying for the 360 account, a physical card will be sent automatically via registered mail, usually arriving within two weeks. Here’s a small suggestion: when filling in the default address, do not leave out the phone number; you can add your phone number on the first line of the mailing address so that it is easier for the delivery person to contact you. At that time, I had no experience and waited a long time, checking my mailbox several times thinking it was lost. Later, I saw online that you can create a ticket to inquire about the tracking number: open the App, go to the top left corner - Security Mailbox - click the plus sign in the bottom right corner ➕ to create a new ticket, and you can write this in the content:
"Please give me my physical card’s email tracking number, I still not receive my card until now."
I received a reply 4 days later, and then I could check the delivery information. My card had already arrived but was still at the post office. They told me that if it exceeded a month, it would be sent back. The tracking number format is similar to: RA74XXXXXXXSG.
Management Fees#
The current policy is: for non-Singapore residents, all accounts are exempt from management fees for the first year. Accounts with no balance and inactive for more than 6 months will be automatically closed. You can also contact customer service to request account closure; if you close the account within 6 months of opening, a closure fee of S$30 will be charged.
- STS Account: Foreigners with an average daily deposit not exceeding S$20,000 will be charged S$10/month.
- GSA Account: No management fee required.
- 360 Account: Foreigners with an average daily deposit not exceeding S$3,000 will be charged S$2/month.
- MSA Account (Monthly Savings Account): An average daily deposit not exceeding S$500 will be charged S$2/month.
Currently, most netizens recommend the account retention plan of keeping the GSA account + 360 account or MSA account. The MSA account needs to be applied for on the OCBC web version, as there is no entry in the App.