Business bank accounts: banks vs fintechs, and the GIRO catch

Opening the company's account is the first real operational decision after incorporation — and as covered in the director's money rules, it should happen before the first dollar moves. The 2026 market splits into two camps with genuinely different strengths. Figures below were checked in August 2026; bank fees change often, so confirm on the banks' pages before applying.

The traditional banks

All three support PayNow Corporate and GIRO — including the bulk and direct-debit arrangements government agencies run on. Their weak spot is cross-border: telegraphic transfer fees of roughly S$25–30 plus an FX spread commonly estimated at 1–2% built into the rate.

The fintechs

Aspire, Airwallex and Wise Business all offer S$0 monthly fees, local SGD account details with FAST/PayNow, multi-currency balances, corporate cards and spend controls — with published FX margins in the 0.2–0.6% range, a fraction of bank spreads. Onboarding is fully remote in one to three business days, which makes them the pragmatic first account for foreign-owned companies facing multi-week bank timelines.

Two structural caveats:

1. Protection. These are Major Payment Institutions under MAS's Payment Services regime, not banks. Customer funds are safeguarded in segregated accounts at licensed banks — real protection, but not SDIC deposit insurance, which covers bank deposits up to S$100,000 per depositor. Check any provider's current licence status on the MAS Financial Institutions Directory if it matters to you.
2. The GIRO catch. As of 2026, none of the three can hold a GIRO direct-debit arrangement with CPF or IRAS. Aspire's own documentation is explicit that direct-debit authorisations aren't supported and IRAS does not accept its account details for GIRO. You can push payments — CPF by PayNow, tax by FAST — but the automatic monthly deduction arrangements that make CPF and tax instalments painless require a bank.

The two-account answer

For most companies the honest conclusion isn't either/or:

• A traditional bank account as the compliance spine — GIRO for CPF and IRAS, government payments, and SDIC-insured holding of meaningful cash;
• A fintech account as the operating layer — day-to-day payments, cards and spend management, and everything cross-border, where the FX saving is real money on every conversion.

A company converting S$20,000 a month saves roughly S$200–350 monthly on FX alone at fintech margins versus typical bank spreads — usually far more than the bank account's fees, which is why running both costs little and captures the best of each.

Sequencing it

For a locally-directed company: apply for both at incorporation — the fintech account arrives in days and gets you operating; the bank account follows in weeks and takes over GIRO duties. For foreign-owned companies, the fintech-first pattern is near-universal, with the bank application run in parallel and patience budgeted. Either way, route everything through the company's accounts from day one — clean books are built at the account level, not repaired at year end.