Aspire business account review
Benefit from easy corporate spending, competitive FX rates and access to the Aspire Credit Line.
Aspire offers a variety of business products in Singapore, catered to startups and mature businesses alike. Their product line-up includes a business line of credit, a corporate card and an all-encompassing Business Account that offers a range of perks for companies in Singapore.
This guide will cover the features offered by an Aspire Business account, as well as the sign-up process involved.
S$0
Monthly fee
Details
| Product Name | Aspire Business Account |
|---|---|
| Monthly fee | S$0 |
| Supported Currencies | SGD |
| Free international transfers | Unlimited |
| Go to site More Info |
How does the Aspire Business Account works
The Aspire Business Account is a digital expense management platform designed for SMEs and startups.
Instead of managing your business finances in separate accounts, cards, and software, the Aspire Business account integrates these within a single unified financial operating system.
This way, business owners can enjoy greater control, insights, and workflow accuracy — without all the administrative tedium and pesky paperwork.
What is Aspire?
Aspire is a Singapore-based fintech startup and Southeast Asia’s first neobank to provide digitised banking services for SMEs, currently operating across Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore.
Through advanced technology and partnerships with third-party merchants, Aspire’s business accounts are designed to streamline all processes so that merchants can manage their cash flow directly from their mobile devices at any time. Other attractive features include virtual debit cards, cashback, and interest-free credit lines.
Key features
Aspire’s business accounts come with the following features.
- Cashback offer. Earn 1% cashback on all eligible marketing and SAAS spend.
- No minimum deposit. With Aspire, you won’t need to worry about maintaining any minimum account balances.
- No monthly fees. Enjoy transparency on fees with no monthly fees, fall-below fees, currency exchange mark-ups and a S$0.50 FAST transfer fee.
- Competitive forex rates. Buy and sell over 40 currencies at the inter-bank exchange rate, powered by Wise.
- Seamless registration process. The account opening process is entirely online and only takes a couple of minutes to complete. You won’t have to visit a physical bank office to register.
- Integrated accounting overview. Accounts come with a comprehensive dashboard that automatically tags your expenditure and uses Xero to handle your financial statements.
- Real-time notifications. Customise your reminders and receive real-time notifications when you make payments.
- Access to the Aspire Credit Line. Aspire Business Accounts simplify the process of getting a line of credit by granting you access to the Aspire Credit Line.
- Easy accounting. With Xero integration, all your past transactions (up to 1 year) are automatically synced.
- Exclusive perks. Gain access to over S$50,000 worth of benefits from Aspire’s platform partners.
What other Aspire products are there?
Fees and limits
Opening an Aspire Business Account is free and comes with S$0 monthly fee. Local transfers via FAST and setting up standing instructions are also complimentary.
However, there are some charges to take note of:
- International transfers. Outbound transfers cost a low, transparent fee on top of the mid-market exchange rate. For inbound transfers, the exchange rate will be based on the Reuters buy rate, plus a 0.5% fee
- Overseas card transactions. Visa exchange rate + 0.7% fee
- Credit line. Monthly interest starting from 1%
Pros and cons
Pros
- Zero fees. Getting started with Aspire is completely free. There’s also no monthly fee or minimum initial deposit required.
- Quick onboarding process. Enjoy a fast and seamless account opening process online. The verification process is typically completed within minutes.
- Multi-user accounts. Add team members quickly and assign different levels of access. You may also issue unlimited virtual corporate cards and keep track of all transactions in real-time.
- Low FX fees. Aspire offer one of the lowest fees on foreign currency spending – Visa exchange rate + a flat 0.7% fee.
- Wide range of financial management tools. Save time with easy bookkeeping, payroll, bulk payments and more. The automatic spend categorisation feature also allows you to have a quick overview of your company’s cash flow.
Cons
- Digital-only. The Aspire business account is 100% digital, so it may not be suitable for customers who prefer in-person customer service.
- No physical card. Currently, the Aspire Card is only available as a virtual card. There’s also no direct cash withdrawal option.
Verdict
The Aspire business account offers a number of features that could be useful to your business. This includes no monthly fees, free local transfers, automatic spending categorisation and accounting integration. Plus, you get the added benefits of cashback and multi-user access.
While fees for this account is low, you will be charged for international transfers, so this may not be the best option if you need to do this often. Apple Pay and expense management are also not available yet.
How to sign up
Applying for an Aspire business account is fast and simple. To apply, simply click on the Go to site button on this page. Before you proceed, make sure that you have met the eligibility requirements.
Eligibility criteria
- Business incorporated in Singapore
- Business must be operational for at least 6 months
- Applicant must be the director of the business (foreigners are eligible to apply as well)
Step-by-step application process
- Click ‘Open account’
- Fill in your details (e.g. name, email, contact number) and click ‘Continue’ to proceed
- Enter the OTP sent to your mobile and select the Aspire product you’re applying for
- Allow Aspire to retrieve your personal and company details via MyInfo. Alternatively, you may also upload the required documents directly.
- Review and submit your application
Do note that verification may take anywhere between a few minutes to 24 hours.
