Information Required

Similar to other financial centres, banks in Hong Kong do not have identical checklist of information required for account opening since individual banks formulate policies in accordance with their own business strategies and risk assessments. Moreover, apart from local requirements, some banks also need to comply with the requirements or standards mandated by their head offices or overseas authorities. The account opening requirements of these banks may therefore vary.

In general, banks may obtain the following information or require the relevant original documents when handling applications of personal or corporate bank accounts:

• Identification documents, for example:
• -  Identity card
• -  Travel document
• Residential address information
• -  For the avoidance of doubt, a bank may, under certain circumstances, require verification (on top of collection) of residential address from a customer for other purposes (e.g. group requirements, other local or overseas legal and regulatory requirements). In such circumstances, the bank should communicate clearly to the customer the reasons of requiring verification of address.

Please note that the information required for account opening set out above is for reference only. According to the actual circumstances (such as the backgrounds of the applicants, the requested banking services, etc.) and their risk assessments, banks may require applicants to submit other types of or additional information and documentation, for example, information and documents related to Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI), etc. Customers may contact the banks concerned or visit their websites to check for the required information. 

• Corporate identification documents, for example:
• -  Certificate of incorporation
• -  Report from a company registry
• -  Certificate of Incumbency;
• -  Certificate of good standing;
• -  Record of registration;
• -  Partnership agreement of deed; or
• -  Constitutional document
• Information of the address of registered office and principal place of business (if different from the address of registered office)
• Information of the beneficial owner(s), for example:
• -  Identification document of the beneficial owner(s)
• -  Details of the ownership and control structure of the company

• Purpose and intended nature of account, for example:
• -  Purpose of the account
• -  Expected account activities
• -  Business nature and mode of operation

• Information of the person acting on behalf of the customer, for example:
• -  Identification document of the person acting on behalf of the customer
• -  Authorisation document

Please note that the information required for account opening set out above is for reference only. According to the actual circumstances (such as the backgrounds of the applicants, the requested banking services, etc.) and their risk assessments, banks may require applicants to submit other types of or additional information and documentation, for example, information and documents related to Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI), etc. Customers may contact the banks concerned or visit their websites to check for the required information.