> I never told them what my business does or what I'd use the money for.
This stuck out to me. I'm in the process of opening a bank account in Singapore for a newly registered company, and boy is it difficult.
Hour-long KYC interview. Details of what the business does. Anything remotely controversial could be a red flag. They want to hear about boring B2B services. They want to see evidence of customer communications or contracts, so they can see you're a legit business and not a shell company. This is very difficult for a company that hasn't started operating yet. Why would I start operating without banking? How can I show business activity before commencing operating?
By comparison, I've opened business accounts in both AU and the US without hassle.
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