Malaysia corporate bank account services

CLA Consultants Group helps multi-national Clients open multi-currency corporate bank accounts in Malaysia for both local and overseas companies.

Without bank signatory travel, our Asian team will project manage the multi-currency corporate bank account opening process.

Malaysia corporate banking problems and solutions

Malaysia banking problem	Malaysia banking problem
Bank refuses to onboard a foreign company which does not have a physical office in Malaysia, or Malaysian customers or suppliers	CLA Consultants Group will open an international corporate bank account with a top tier bank outside Malaysia (e g New York, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, Bulgaria, South Africa, Australia, London, South America or Dubai). CLA Consultants Group has a guaranteed corporate bank account approval policy.
Bank insists that the bank signatory travel to Malaysia for a one-hour bank interview.	CLA Consultants Group Client travel policy will apply (click link). Our staff will organise the bank meeting in our Malaysia office and assist our Client during the bank interview(s).
Global banks continue to tighten corporate bank account opening procedures, their internal compliance departments completing more thorough due diligence of Clients. Consequently, our Clients should expect Malaysia bank account approval to take up to three months.	If our Client requires a bank account at short notice, we recommend an immediate Malaysia solution (Malaysia company plus already-approved international corporate bank account).
Like the majority of international banks, it is common for Malaysian banks to close corporate bank accounts without giving an open, transparent reason to their customers. To close a customer bank account without giving the bank signatory an opportunity to explain ‘unusual transactions activity in the corporate bank account’ is an unfair, unreasonable action which places our multi-national Clients’ businesses under stress	We recommend our multi-national Clients open multiple multi-currency corporate bank accounts for their entity. It is unwise to open one corporate bank account and have your business be dependent on one bank.
As we advance deeper into a global depression, it will become more common for banks to experience financial difficulties. Consequently, multi-national Clients should expect i) small banks to go bankrupt and ii) small to medium-sized banks to be bought over by top tier banks. The number of banks operating in each country will get smaller, exposing our multi-national Clients to financial risk.	For each of their entities, we recommend our multi-national Clients open multiple multi-currency corporate bank accounts across multiple countries. Spread your funds across multiple corporate bank accounts in multiple top-tier banks in multiple different countries. Avoid small banks including PSPs FSPs and digital banks. Ensure each bank offers customer deposit insurance.
The majority of Malaysian banks only provide telephone support during Malaysia business hours. This is inconvenient for multi-national Clients in Europe or the USA.	CLA Consultants Group staff assist our multi-national Clients with bank communication, regardless of time zones.

Considerations when opening a bank account in Malaysia

It is possible for both locally incorporated and foreign (i e non-Malaysian) companies to open a corporate bank account in Malaysia. However, it has become increasingly difficult for foreign companies without a permanent establishment (physical office premises with lease agreement stamped at the tax authority) in Malaysia to open a local account, unless they have existing Malaysian customers or suppliers.
Depending on our Client’s business and nationality, there is a probability that Malaysian banks will request a bank signatory to travel for a one-hour bank interview as part of bank AML/CFT obligations.
Global banks continue to tighten corporate bank account opening procedure. Consequently, our Clients should expect the bank account approval period to take up to three months.
If our Client is not comfortable with only a Malaysia corporate bank account, CLA Consultants Group can open an international corporate bank account outside Malaysia. Examples include New York, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, Bulgaria, South Africa, Australia, London, South America or Dubai. All banks will be top-tier banks in these countries, with excellent internet banking services.
Some Malaysia banks prefer to communicate directly with our Client and will not put CLA Consultants Group in the loop for security purposes. In this case, CLA Consultants Group will assist our Client to prepare answers to the bankers’ questions and requests.

Documents required for Malaysia corporate bank account opening

Documents required to open a Malaysia corporate bank account include i) valid passport ii) proof of address and iii) company registration documents and iv) lease agreement and proof of business in Malaysia.

Malaysia non-travel banking solution for foreign companies

Preliminary approval received from banks	Bank option 1	Bank option 2	Bank option 3
Our recommendation in order of preference	1	2	3
Can A/C be opened for your foreign company?	Yes	Only Singapore-incorporated	No
Internet banking available	Yes	Yes	Yes
Does our Client need to visit bank?	No	Yes, either in Malaysia or Singapore	Yes
Challenges	Review of documents can take up to six weeks	Transactions will be done by phone or email. Can be done online but bank will call to verify	Stringent due diligence procedures
How long to receive corporate bank A/C number	6-8 weeks	4 weeks	6 weeks
Initial deposit at corporate bank A/C opening	US$2,000	RM25,000 (or equivalent)	US$10,000
How long to receive A/C numbers (after A/C is approved)	1 week	1 week	1 week
Your dedicated relationship manager (RM) will be	TBP	TBP	TBP
Will your RM act on email instructions from you?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Will your RM act on phone instructions from you?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Daily transaction limit	None	None	None
Our rating of the bank’s customer service	Good	Good	Good
International corporate ATM card issued	Yes	No	No
Corporate credit card issued	No	No	No
Can multicurrency transactions be viewed online via internet banking	Yes	Yes	No
How long to receive internet password and login name (after account opening)	2 weeks	2 weeks	None
Can you make third party payments online	Yes	Yes	Yes
Our rating of internet banking facility	Good	Excellent	Good
Corporate cheque books issued with the bank account	No	No	No
One time account opening fee	None	None	None
Monthly account maintenance fee (assuming min. balance is maintained)	None	None	None

Contact us

For more info on company registration, please contact our expert directly:

Mr. Petar Chakarov
Senior Manager, Sales & Business Development
Get in touch