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For exchange control, Bank Negara Malaysia counts every company incorporated in Malaysia as a resident, so a Sdn Bhd held entirely from abroad opens the same resident ringgit account as a local one. Its foreign owners are non-residents: Public Bank’s current account terms keep the external account for them and bar them from resident accounts.
The hard part of a business bank account in Malaysia is the bank’s due diligence. Company law requires a resident director and a citizen or permanent resident secretary, but says nothing about who signs for the company’s money; each bank decides that.
Banks do let you open a bank account in Malaysia online, but those routes exclude most foreign owners. UOB’s online opening is for businesses owned by Malaysian citizens. OCBC’s eBiz requires directors who are Malaysian citizens. RHB’s online route excludes companies with foreign or corporate shareholders or foreign directors. CIMB takes online applications only from sole proprietors; a Sdn Bhd emails a form and then visits a branch.
Regulation does not force this. Bank Negara allows non-face-to-face onboarding once a bank’s board approves it, and its e-KYC rules cover businesses. For a foreign-owned company, every route we found ends at a branch or a relationship manager, apart from HSBC’s electronic route for large groups.
| Provider | Route for a foreign-owned Sdn Bhd | What its own pages state |
|---|---|---|
| CIMB Bank | Emailed form, then branch verification | Foreign signatories show a passport and a Malaysian employment pass or work permit |
| RHB Bank | Branch application | Online route closed to foreign and corporate shareholders |
| OCBC Bank (Malaysia) | Business development manager at a branch | eBiz online account needs Malaysian citizen directors |
| Hong Leong Bank | Paper application | Passports of directors, signatories and 25% shareholders |
| HSBC Malaysia | Online, electronic signature | Malaysian-incorporated companies in large groups; signed ownership chart |
| Public Bank | Branch, introducer present | An introducer known to the bank |
| Airwallex Malaysia (e-money issuer) | Application as a Malaysian-registered business | Bank Negara e-money approval announced April 2026; not a bank |
These are market options as each provider presents itself; criteria change and any may decline.
CIMB requires a foreign national signatory to present a passport with an employment pass or work permit issued by the Malaysian authorities, and every signatory attends the branch. A foreign owner abroad without a Malaysian pass may not qualify as a signatory there, so the company may need one who does, such as its resident director.
That hides no one: Bank Negara’s rules say a nominee director, which they also call a resident director, is never the beneficial owner, and banks identify every individual holding above 25%. Expatriate hiring has its own capital conditions, covered on company formation in Malaysia.
Bank Negara’s rules add a unique identifier such as the tax number, the names of senior management and, for higher-risk customers, the source of funds or wealth.
A resident company without domestic ringgit borrowing may invest any amount in foreign currency assets. Export proceeds may arrive in ringgit or foreign currency but must reach Malaysia in full within six months of shipment unless an extension is approved. Foreign currency payments between residents are limited to listed purposes, which leave out ordinary trade between two Malaysian companies.
For incoming transfers, HSBC Malaysia says senders need its SWIFT code, the account number, the bank’s name and a purpose of payment; transfers without one are rejected. Malaysia is outside SEPA, so euro payments arrive as international transfers.
Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia (PIDM) insures eligible deposits up to RM250,000 per depositor per member bank, automatically. It lists company accounts among those protected separately, gives Islamic and conventional deposits a limit each, and counts foreign currency deposits after conversion to ringgit. Every bank in the table is a member, as is each licensed digital bank.
Deposits payable at Labuan banks are not covered, as our page on bank accounts for Labuan companies explains, and an e-money issuer is not a PIDM member.
A ready-made Sdn Bhd may already hold an account. The account is the company’s and stays with it through the share sale, but the bank reviews the new owners, directors and signatories and may keep it, ask for more or close it, as our guide to shelf companies with bank accounts explains. For Singapore, see our Singapore business bank account page.
We can supply a ready-made Sdn Bhd or form a new one, prepare the bank file and, where we have a working contact at a suitable bank, introduce you; the bank alone decides. Tax and officers are in our Malaysia company guide.
Yes, through a Sdn Bhd, which may be wholly foreign-owned and still counts as a Malaysian resident. The obstacles are bank rules: UOB’s online account is for businesses owned by Malaysian citizens, OCBC’s eBiz wants Malaysian directors, RHB’s online route excludes foreign shareholders, and CIMB asks a foreign signatory for a Malaysian employment pass or work permit.
Bank Negara permits remote onboarding with board approval, and its e-KYC rules extend to businesses, but the digital routes we found serve Malaysian owners. CIMB verifies a Sdn Bhd’s documents at a branch, Public Bank wants an introducer present at opening, and HSBC’s electronic route is for Malaysian-incorporated companies in large groups.
Yes. PIDM covers eligible deposits up to RM250,000 per depositor per member bank and protects company accounts separately. Islamic and conventional deposits each carry their own limit, and foreign currency deposits count after conversion to ringgit. Deposits payable at Labuan banks, investment accounts and money with non-member institutions are outside the scheme.
Yes. Bank Negara lets non-residents open ringgit or foreign currency accounts with a licensed onshore bank, subject to its due diligence, and repatriate profits and dividends in foreign currency. Public Bank calls this an external account. A Sdn Bhd, as a resident, opens a resident account even when all its owners live abroad.
We found no regulatory deadline. CIMB issues account details on the same day once its branch has verified a complete file in the bank’s format; the other banks compared give no figure. A foreign-owned company’s file is longer, with every holding above 25% traced to an individual.