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Operating company with fintech account only

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emsigma
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Operating company with fintech account only

Post by emsigma » Wed, 08 Jul 2020 12:28 pm

Hi everyone,

As we're just starting out and we don't expect to have much revenue, is it possible to operate a business in Singapore using exclusively https://aspireapp.com/ or any other fintech provider?

Does https://www.neatcommerce.com/ work in Singapore?

Will I need a traditional banking account at some point?

Thanks!

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PNGMK
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Re: Operating company with fintech account only

Post by PNGMK » Wed, 08 Jul 2020 5:23 pm

Transferwise. Thank me later.
I not lawyer/teacher/CPA.
You've been arrested? Law Society of Singapore can provide referrals.
You want an International School job? School website or http://www.ISS.edu
Your rugrat needs a School? Avoid for profit schools
You need Tax advice? Ask a CPA
You ran away without doing NS? Shame on you!

emsigma
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Re: Operating company with fintech account only

Post by emsigma » Thu, 09 Jul 2020 10:37 am

I'll thank you now, PNGMK :D

Just to make sure: does TransferWise replace a traditional bank account for a brand new company with probably 1-2 payments per month?

At least for now (around 8-12 months), once we start selling we can always open a DBS account if required (although I prefer not to if I can handle everything with TransferWise or any other fintech).

Thanks!

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PNGMK
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Re: Operating company with fintech account only

Post by PNGMK » Thu, 09 Jul 2020 11:29 am

emsigma wrote:
Thu, 09 Jul 2020 10:37 am
I'll thank you now, PNGMK :D

Just to make sure: does TransferWise replace a traditional bank account for a brand new company with probably 1-2 payments per month?

At least for now (around 8-12 months), once we start selling we can always open a DBS account if required (although I prefer not to if I can handle everything with TransferWise or any other fintech).

Thanks!
Yes - it's a perfectly viable platform for that level of business. You can open up company accounts and they now (as of a few weeks ago) support "DBA" (doing business as) type accounts via DBS which means you can accept EFT type transfers in SGD. They also support a whole bunch of virtual accounts in other countries where traditionally you'd have to fly there to open one. Typically you open a TF account in your name and then register a separate linked corporate account. The whole thing is virtual. Just send in some information and viola corp account starts.

I imagine there is a cross over point where you might need a DBS account but probably if you need to accept CC payments (but looks at swipe for that) or if you are doing a lot of local SGD transactions and need to get your SGD transaction costs down. Also you cannot accept Paynow payments into TF (I think?).

There are some holding limits in the TF accounts as well - I've had friends who transacted >$100,000 via TF running into this but i don't recall the limits and they may have fixed that issue with MSA already.
I not lawyer/teacher/CPA.
You've been arrested? Law Society of Singapore can provide referrals.
You want an International School job? School website or http://www.ISS.edu
Your rugrat needs a School? Avoid for profit schools
You need Tax advice? Ask a CPA
You ran away without doing NS? Shame on you!

emsigma
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Joined: Sat, 27 Jun 2020 12:52 pm

Re: Operating company with fintech account only

Post by emsigma » Thu, 09 Jul 2020 12:30 pm

Perfect, I'll use the corporate account of Transferwise as the main account of the company.

Thanks again!

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PNGMK
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Re: Operating company with fintech account only

Post by PNGMK » Thu, 09 Jul 2020 4:13 pm

I use it for two companies. It's a zero cost way of having a bank account for invoices.
I not lawyer/teacher/CPA.
You've been arrested? Law Society of Singapore can provide referrals.
You want an International School job? School website or http://www.ISS.edu
Your rugrat needs a School? Avoid for profit schools
You need Tax advice? Ask a CPA
You ran away without doing NS? Shame on you!

tiktok
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Re: Operating company with fintech account only

Post by tiktok » Thu, 09 Jul 2020 7:49 pm

How comfortable are you carrying a large balance in TransferWise? They seem like a solid company, but after the wirecard fiasco, it looks like ewallets are nowhere near as safe as banks.
I not troll/wacko/spammer.
Me no expat. Me foreigner.

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PNGMK
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Re: Operating company with fintech account only

Post by PNGMK » Thu, 09 Jul 2020 7:54 pm

tiktok wrote:
Thu, 09 Jul 2020 7:49 pm
How comfortable are you carrying a large balance in TransferWise? They seem like a solid company, but after the wirecard fiasco, it looks like ewallets are nowhere near as safe as banks.
I don't. Transactional balances only.
I not lawyer/teacher/CPA.
You've been arrested? Law Society of Singapore can provide referrals.
You want an International School job? School website or http://www.ISS.edu
Your rugrat needs a School? Avoid for profit schools
You need Tax advice? Ask a CPA
You ran away without doing NS? Shame on you!

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