SINGAPORE (Nov 22): OCBC Bank has launched a new current account that is targeted at the 50,000 startups that are established every year.

Known as the OCBC Business Growth Account, the current account has an initial deposit of S$500, and requires a minimum average monthly account balance of S$3,000. The fall-below fee is also waived for the first six months.

The new account was created based on the findings from a survey conducted among business owners, which found that nearly 65% of new businesses would open a banking account within the first three months of incorporating the business.

The respondents had indicated that that the amount required to open an account should be below S$1,000, and that they would maintain a minimum monthly amount of S$3,000 in their banking account for making payments to their vendors or suppliers.

Eric Ong, the head of emerging business, global commercial banking at OCBC Bank notes that startups have simpler transactional needs and that cashflow remains a pertinent concern.

As such, the new account enables startups to free up their cash from maintaining high minimum monthly balances.

On top of that, following OCBC’s tie-up with telecommunications service provider Singtel, businesses who open a banking account with OCBC Bank would also be able to sign up for a business mobile plan with Singtel at competitive rates, and receive Singtel’s mobile security application at no charge.