What’s in this article
- Why a Corporate Bank Account is Important for Businesses
- Corporate Bank Account Opening Requirements for Foreigners Setting Up PT or PT PMA Company
- Documents Required to Open a Corporate Bank Account for PT or PT PMA Companies in Indonesia
- Opening a Corporate Bank Account for Representative Offices in Indonesia
- Factors to Consider When Opening a Corporate Bank Account in Indonesia
- Banks in Indonesia
- Anti-Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing Policies
- Laws Governing Indonesian Banks
- Common Violations of Bank Laws in Indonesia
- FAQs
Indonesia has put itself on the map with its tremendous growth in digital transformation. Despite the pandemic, Indonesia’s digital economy grew by 11% in 2020 from 2019, showing its resilience. Such growth has attracted many investors and entrepreneurs to set up a company in Indonesia.
The next step for those who have registered a company is to open a corporate bank account.
Why a Corporate Bank Account is Important for Businesses
Aside from the incorporation requirements of opening a corporate business bank account, the need for one is further emphasised based on these reasons:
- To conduct financial transactions with other stakeholders and governmental agencies
- Reduce financial administration work for yourself and your employees
- Leveraging on the bank’s services and capabilities to support your financial operations and business expansion plans in the future
Corporate Bank Account Opening Requirements for Foreigners Setting Up PT or PT PMA Company
If you are a foreigner who wishes to set up a PT company in Indonesia, you can still do so under a local nominee arrangement. In this situation, having a corporate bank account is essential for you as you can take control of your company by managing all cash flows.
The requirements for opening a corporate bank account in Indonesia are relatively simple. These requirements include:
- Initial deposit – the initial deposit differs from bank to bank
- An original or copy of your passport and KITAS will be required
- Original or copy of the business permit and proof of identity
- Original or copy of your company tax identification number (NPWP)
- Original or copy of your Deed of Establishment
- Original or copy of your Articles of Association (if any)
- Business License
- Domicile letter
- Monthly account administration fee
Documents Required to Open a Corporate Bank Account for PT or PT PMA Companies in Indonesia
If you fulfil the requirements for opening a corporate bank account, it is important to note the documents that you will need to submit for a successful application.
The documents that you will need to submit as listed below:
| CHECKLIST OF DOCUMENTS NEEDED |
|---|
| 1. Copy of tax identification number (NPWP) and tax certificate (SKT) |
| 2. A copy of your Domicile letter from the building management or tenancy agreement |
| 3. Copy of your Deed of Establishment (AKTA) |
| 4. Business Registration Number Copy of (NIB) |
| 5. Copy of the identification cards of all directors, shareholders, commissioners, and authorised signers |
| 6. Copy of Business License (Izin Usaha) |
| 7. The copy of the Approval of AKTA from the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights (SK Kehakiman) |
Aside from those documents, you are to also fill up and complete the bank application form. Some banks require more documents aside from the list above – your bank of choice will let you know which documents they will require upon registering your bank account.
Opening a Corporate Bank Account for Representative Offices in Indonesia
Representative offices in Indonesia can also open a corporate business bank account, although they are not allowed to generate any revenue within the country. To do so, you will need to submit the following documents to your chosen bank:
- Copy of tax identification number (NPWP) and tax certificate (SKT)
- Copy of your Domicile letter from the building management or tenancy agreement
- Copy of KPPA attachment
- Copy of Business Registration Number (NIB)
- Copy of the identification card of the Chief Representative Office
Similar to the procedures for a PT or PT PMA company, verification of the original documents will be conducted by a bank officer physically or through a video call.
Factors to Consider When Opening a Corporate Bank Account in Indonesia
Before you decide on your bank of choice for your corporate bank account, there are some factors to consider. You must choose a bank that aligns with your financial needs, or else you will need to spend time and effort to switch banks.
Some of the factors to consider and questions to ask yourself are:
- Internet banking services – do they provide Internet banking services, and if so, is the online banking platform intuitive and easy to use?
- Minimum deposit amount – how much do you have to put as a minimum deposit to open your corporate bank account?
- Monthly fees – how much is the bank charging for monthly fees?
- Ease of conducting transactions – is it easy for you to transfer funds to other organisations?
- Financial services & capabilities – do they have the services and capabilities that you will need?
- Reputation – do they have any undesirable track records such as scams, frauds, etc.?
- Currencies availability – do they have the currencies that you plan to transact in?
Here are some of the fees that you may want to check with your shortlisted banks to help in making your decision:
- Monthly average balance
- Fall-below fees
- Early closure fees
- ATM withdrawal fees
- International transfer fees
Banks in Indonesia
After understanding what you should take note of when deciding on your financial partner, you must be wondering what are banks in Indonesia that you can consider. There are both local and international banks in Indonesia.
Here’s a list of the top 3 local banks in Indonesia:
For those who are considering or prefer international banks, here are some of them that have branches in Indonesia:
Anti-Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing Policies
With the rise of digital banking, financial institutions have stepped up their security, including banks in Indonesia. All the banks in Indonesia have implemented policies to combat anti-money laundering and financing for terrorists.
To do so, banks have put forth a set of guidelines, which include:
- Confirming the identity of the customer and the beneficial owner(s)
- Ensuring all data collected during the customer due diligence process and financial transactions are accurate
- Terminating any business relationship should they identify and have verified links to money laundering or terrorist financing activities
- Rejecting any financial transaction should they identify and have verified links to money laundering or terrorist financing activities
Banks will also undertake customer due diligence measures in these scenarios:
- Establishing business relations with customers
- Carrying out financial transactions that are above USD/EUR15,000 or equivalent to IDR 100 million
- Suspicions of money laundering or terrorist financing activities
- Suspicions of data and information received from the customer
Laws Governing Indonesian Banks
The banking industry in Indonesia is regulated by Bank Indonesia (BI). It executes numerous monetary policies and ensures the rupiah’s stability.
Law No. 7 of 1992 governs banks in Indonesia, which has since been revised by Law No. 10 of 1998. Law No. 7 was enacted to encourage Islamic banking where commercial and rural banks can both operate on Islamic banking principles under Law No. 10. The monetary policy regulations are governed by Law No. 21 of 2011. It also controls and supervises banking institutions, monitors the solvency of banks, and conducts bank examinations.
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BI) has issued Regulation No. 14/24/PBI/2012, which addresses the Single Presence Policy (SPP). This rule increases the competitiveness of the Indonesian banking industry by improving supervisory standards and streamlining bank ownership.
Indonesian banks are supervised by the Bank of Indonesia (BI) and are required to disclose international loans and foreign currency influxes to the BI. Aside from the BI and the OJK, several other authorities in Indonesia are responsible for bank regulation, which are:
Common Violations of Bank Laws in Indonesia
Indonesia’s government has enacted several new banking-related regulations and has also begun to prosecute persons who break the new legislation.
Some of the common violations of bank laws in Indonesia include:
1. Exporters who do not keep foreign exchange gains from natural resources in Indonesian banks
Exporters must deposit their foreign exchange gains received from natural resources in Indonesian banks, according to current bank legislation in the country.
2. Carrying large sums of foreign currency while crossing the border
One of Indonesia’s banking rules currently prohibits the importation of foreign currencies on behalf of either Indonesians or foreigners. Some banks have even been accused of exposing depositors’ personal information. Banks are only allowed to reveal customer personal information when a government agency or court orders it.
FAQs
A representative office is a type of business entity that foreign companies set up to conduct research as they have interest in exploring potential business opportunities before making a decision to set up a permanent office. It does not have a legal status, and cannot engage in trading or any business activities that generate income. However, it can conduct marketing and promotional activities.
There is no restriction to how many bank accounts that your company can apply. However, you will require to have at least one business bank account.
The most common types of bank accounts in Indonesia are savings accounts, checking accounts, and deposit accounts.
The duration depends on individual banks and the quality of submitted documents. It can take anytime from 1 day to a week.
