How to Open a Corporate Bank Account for Your Sdn Bhd

By Axecta Management Services, Kuala Lumpur · Last verified: 29 October 2026

When can a new Sdn Bhd open a bank account?

A Sdn Bhd can open a corporate bank account once SSM has approved the incorporation and issued the Certificate of Incorporation. Banks onboard the company as a legal entity, so they need proof that it exists, who owns it, who runs it and who may sign. If you are still at the registration stage, start with how to register a Sdn Bhd and the checklist in what to do after incorporating.

Opening a business account is the bank’s decision, made under its own onboarding rules and anti-money laundering obligations. There is no single national checklist, so this guide explains the common sequence and then compares what several banks say on their own pages.

Why a Sdn Bhd needs its own account

A Sdn Bhd is a separate legal person from its owners. Its money belongs to the company, which is why customers’ payments, supplier payments, payroll and tax payments should all move through a company account rather than a director’s personal account. Mixing the two weakens that separation. For the practical side, see separating personal and business finances.

Step-by-step: how to open the account

1. Confirm the company records are final. Check the company name, registration number, registered address, directors, shareholders and nature of business against the SSM record. You can buy the company profile from SSM e-Info, which SSM describes as the official portal for company and business information. Fix any error with SSM before you go to the bank, because every bank document must match it.
2. Decide who will be the authorised signatories. These are the people who may instruct the bank. They do not have to be all the directors, but they will normally need to be identified and, at some banks, present in person.
3. Choose the bank and account type. Compare deposit, fees, online banking tools and route. The table below shows how the published routes differ.
4. Hold the board meeting or sign the written resolution. The resolution authorises the account and sets the signing rule. Many banks supply their own format. See the board resolution guide.
5. Get the documents certified. Banks usually want certified copies of company documents and identity documents. Who may certify differs by bank. See documents for a corporate bank account.
6. Submit the application. Depending on the bank, you may start online and finish at a branch, or go to a branch directly.
7. Attend with originals. Bring original identity documents and the originals the bank wants to sight.
8. Fund the account and activate online banking. Pay the initial deposit and ask how internet banking users, approvers and limits are set up.

What banks publish: a comparison

The table summarises what each bank’s own page said when read in October 2026. Treat it as a starting point and confirm the live page.

A “not stated” cell means the page read did not say, not that there is no requirement. AmBank, which lists a non-individual account opening checklist on its transaction banking forms page, could not be read when this article was prepared, so ask AmBank for its current checklist if you are considering it.

Online or branch?

Several banks now advertise digital routes, but the published conditions are narrow. RHB’s online route excludes companies with a corporate shareholder or a foreign director or shareholder. UOB’s online route is for businesses owned by Malaysian citizens. Maybank Islamic’s online application is for existing customers and still ends with a branch visit for verification. CIMB’s process starts with a form emailed to the bank and finishes with a branch visit where every authorised signatory attends.

Most multi-director and foreign-linked companies should therefore expect at least one in-person visit.

What the bank asks about your business

Banks are reporting institutions under Malaysia’s anti-money laundering framework, so the account application is not only paperwork. Bank Negara Malaysia’s AML/CFT customer due diligence page says that where the customer is a company, the minimum information includes the business name and registration number, the registered address, the nature of business, the directors, shareholders and beneficial owners, and the person authorised to represent the company. It also defines a beneficial owner as a natural person who ultimately owns or controls the customer.

Expect questions such as:

• What does the company do, and who are its main customers and suppliers?
• Who are the shareholders, and who ultimately owns or controls the company?
• Where will the money come from, and which countries will the company deal with?
• Are any directors, shareholders or signatories politically exposed persons? Hong Leong Bank’s form asks for details of any politically exposed person.

The beneficial owner test is not left to each bank’s imagination. SSM’s revised guideline for beneficial ownership reporting says that, for a company limited by shares, a beneficial owner is a natural person with an interest in not less than 20% of the shares or of the voting shares, or who exercises ultimate effective control. A company must keep this information and lodge it with the Registrar. See SSM’s beneficial ownership guideline%202025%20fair.pdf). Having your ownership chart and beneficial owner details ready makes the bank’s questions easy to answer.

Worked example (illustrative)

Suppose a two-director Sdn Bhd, incorporated this month, will provide design services. Both directors are Malaysian and will sign together. The company secretary prepares the following before the visit.

1. A board resolution in the bank’s format that opens a current account, names both directors as signatories, sets “any two to sign” and authorises internet banking users.
2. Certified copies of the Certificate of Incorporation, the constitution and the SSM company particulars, certified by the company secretary.
3. Certified copies of both directors’ NRIC.
4. A short description of the services, expected customers and the source of the opening deposit.

The directors attend together, bring their original MyKad and pay the bank’s initial deposit. If the bank were CIMB, the page read for this guide lists RM3,000 as the minimum initial deposit; at another bank the figure and the forms will differ. This illustrates preparation, not any bank’s timing or decision.

What this means for different owners

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying before the SSM record is right. If SSM differs from your documents, the bank will stop.
• Bringing an uncertified or wrongly certified set. CIMB’s page names who may certify; other banks differ. Ask first.
• Ignoring the bank’s resolution format. HLB’s checklist asks for its Appendix 1 format.
• Sending only one signatory when the bank expects all. CIMB’s page says all authorised signatories must be present.
• Waiting until the first invoice is due. Start as soon as the Certificate of Incorporation arrives. For the common causes of delay, read why applications get delayed.

How Axecta helps

Axecta’s company secretaries prepare the board resolution in the bank’s format where the bank has one, certify the constitution and company records as secretary, and check that names, numbers and addresses match across every document before you go. We also update the mandate when signatories change later. If you do not yet have a secretary, read what a company secretary does or see our company secretarial service.

Next steps

1. Pull the company profile from SSM and confirm every detail.
2. Pick two banks and read their live requirement pages.
3. Agree the signatories and the signing rule at a board meeting or in writing.
4. Ask your company secretary to certify the set and draft the resolution.
5. Book the visit with every signatory, and set up online banking users on the day.
6. Add the account to your records. See the first-year compliance checklist.

Frequently asked questions