Current Status in HK
With the low and simple tax system, having a HK company with a Hong Kong bank account can bring numerous benefits for doing business locally or globally.
To get a bank account in HK, one of the KYC ("Know Your Clients") requirements is to have a face-to-face interview the ultimate owner(s). However, non-HK residents are not allowed to enter unless a working visa is granted.
Most foreign clients are now shifting to use an E-Account offered by local FinTech companies ,like PayPal but better for business. Another option is to apply a bank account in home country or offshore jurisdictions.
What is E-Accounts?
E-Accounts offers online services in sending and receiving moneys among merchants which are provided by the Licensed Money Service Operators in HK. The E-Accounts does not require minimum deposit nor charge any monthly fees. The only fees is the admin fee for sending moneys and this charge is normally lower than the standard banks charge.
One of the E-Accounts providers is Airwallex, whose investors are Tencent, Master Card, DST Global and ANZ Bank. Click here to Airwallex's website.
What is Offshore Bank account?
As mentioned above, HK banks require face-to-face interview, but you must have heard that some banks accept paper-application (also known as Remote Application). How can this be?
In fact, most of the banks accepting remote application are located at the so-called offshore jurisdictions like Belize, Nevis, BVI, Mauritius or Switzerland. These banks provide international banking facilities including multi-currency and online banking. And the bank charges are comparatively higher than HK banks do.
What should I do?
What we are seeing is that most choose to get an E-Account or an Offshore Bank account to do business with a HK company as the tax benefits can cover these costs. Another reason is that the transaction records from these accounts would be a credit for applying for a Hong Kong bank account in future.
Need Assistance?
Please feel free to send email at info@rbcs.com.hk
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