Incorporating in Indonesia @ Asia Business Set Up

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Indonesia Corporate Bank Account

Jakarta is not a top 5 international financial hub in the same way as Singapore and Hong Kong and is only ranked 63rd the 2011 Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI). As a result, foreign investors in Indonesia enjoy a more limited range of banking services. The following is an overview of Indonesia’s banking system, and the pros and cons of opening an Indonesia corporate bank account.

The Central Bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) is the government authority responsible for maintaining Indonesia’s banking system. However, because Indonesia remains on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Money Laundering blacklist, an Indonesia corporate bank account has a poor international image. Most international entrepreneurs prefer to open a corporate bank account in Singapore and Hong Kong.

In our experience, Indonesian banks offer poor customer service, whether via telephone, email or face-to-face. On average, it takes approximately two months to obtain Indonesia corporate bank account approval, bank account numbers and internet banking access. The lack of efficient and effective customer support is exacerbated by the poor standards of spoken and written English, making communications with Indonesian banks challenging for international entrepreneurs.

The majority of Indonesian banks offer the following limited services:

Internet banking to view online transactions and execute payments to third parties locally and overseas;

ii)

Mobile phone banking services, allowing customers to make funds transfers, check account balances and pay bills;

iii)

Cheque books and ATM cards for both corporate and personal banking customers;

iv)

Business insurance products – for example some banks offer insurance policies for small and medium-sized enterprises which provide coverage for property, business interruption, burglary, general liability, workers’ compensation and employee benefits;

Trade finance services – for example providing letters of credit (LC), assistance with tracking trade transactions and providing advice in trade finance.

vi)

Islamic banking services – including deposit accounts and unit trusts

It is possible for a 100% foreign-owned company (PMA) in Indonesia to open an Indonesia corporate bank account. Account opening applications are lodged directly with the bank and include i) the company’s foreign investment approval letter issued by the Indonesia Investment Coordination Board ii) the company’s corporate documents, including Business License iii) bank account holders’ due diligence (e g passport copies, proof of address)..

Contact Us

For more information on incorporating in Indonesia, contact email@healyconsultants.com or call us in Singapore at (+65) 6735 0120.

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