Corporate Banking
The account is part of building the company
A foreign-owned company (PT PMA) cannot open a corporate bank account until it legally exists. The bank wants to see a finished company: the notarised Deed of Establishment (Akta Pendirian) with its approval from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the NIB issued through the OSS system, and the company's tax number (NPWP). The account is not an afterthought. Statutory paid-up capital is deposited into it once it is live, and proof of that deposit feeds back into your investment reporting. See Indonesian Companies for how the entity itself is formed.
The single most common cause of delay is not paperwork but people. Most banks will not open the account, or will not release the paid-up capital, until the foreign director who signs for the company holds a valid KITAS. Sort the director's stay permit early or the account stalls behind it.
What the bank will ask for
Beyond the incorporation documents, expect to supply the articles of association, proof of a real registered address (a lease or a compliant virtual-office arrangement), a board resolution authorising the account, director passports and identity documents, and the company stamp. Where a shareholder is itself a foreign company, its incorporation papers must be legalised by apostille or consular route and translated by a sworn translator. Budget weeks for that, not days. Once documents are complete and a director appears in person to sign, opening typically takes one to four weeks.
Do not confuse two numbers. Since 2 October 2025 the minimum paid-up capital for a PT PMA is IDR 2.5 billion, cut from the old IDR 10 billion (which now refers only to the total investment plan declared per business line). The bank's own minimum opening balance is small by comparison, usually somewhere between IDR 1 million and IDR 10 million.
Which bank
Foreign-owned companies mostly bank with the big domestic names: BCA, Bank Mandiri, BNI and CIMB Niaga, with OCBC NISP and PermataBank also common. International banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered and DBS suit larger multinationals that need heavier multi-currency and cross-border service. Do not chase a single "best" bank. Weigh the internet-banking platform, multi-currency support, fees, branch network and stability against how your business actually moves money. A corporate current account (Giro) can hold USD, EUR and SGD alongside rupiah, though banks usually make you open the rupiah account first.
Rupiah is compulsory at home
Bank Indonesia Regulation No. 17/3/PBI/2015 requires transactions conducted inside Indonesia to be in rupiah. Pay a local supplier, settle a domestic obligation, price your goods: rupiah only. The exemptions that matter to business are international trade, foreign-currency bank deposits and certain international financing. Refusing rupiah or breaching the rule carries real penalties, so keep domestic settlement in the local currency and reserve your foreign-currency accounts for genuine cross-border flows.
Moving money across the border
Cross-border flows are watched. Under the foreign-exchange reporting regime (LLD, now consolidated under Bank Indonesia Regulation No. 9 of 2024), banks report residents' forex activity to BI monthly by the 15th. Outbound transfers above a set threshold need supporting documents. Through the first half of 2026, with the rupiah under pressure, BI tightened those thresholds repeatedly. Treat any specific figure as provisional and confirm the current limit with your bank before relying on it. Indonesia also shares account information under CRS and FATCA, and unreported changes of director or shareholder will fail the bank's checks later, so keep the company register current.
Running the account
Day-to-day corporate banking here is digital first. The major banks run capable business platforms (KlikBCA Bisnis, Mandiri's cash-management channels, BizChannel@CIMB) and QRIS gives you near-universal domestic payment acceptance through one code. For the account-opening step of company setup, and how it dovetails with licensing and reporting, Okusi Associates is the authoritative reference. For what the money then owes, see Company Taxation and the wider Doing Business in Indonesia section.
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