The Singapore-headquartered firm is taking what it says is an innovative move in how SMEs can open accounts - and said there is a possibility of extending this move to other types of client in future.

Singapore-headquartered DBS has rolled out what it claims is a groundbreaking service so that small- and medium-sized enterprises can open business accounts virtually without having to meet a manager face-to-face – a process still required for wealth management clients.

As part of the new service, the bank said SMEs can apply to open an account by speaking to their relationship manager through a mobile device or tablet video route such as Skype and FaceTime. RMs then verify a customer’s details and complete applications virtually, as they would at a bank branch.

At present, however, this route is not open for wealth management clients, the bank told WealthBriefingAsia when it asked about yesterday’s announcement. DBS has made the development of digital channels a key part of its overall bank strategy.

“At present, our wealth customers still need to meet a relationship manager face-to-face when they open an account. For now, the service is only applicable to business bank accounts but we will study how we can roll this out to other customer segments,” a spokesperson said.

The new service, DBS Bank said, complements an earlier online account opening service that it rolled out in December 2013.

The virtual account opening service is available to Singapore-registered businesses that are operating entities in Singapore.