Banks in Brunei

The Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB) regulates banks, payment service providers and payment systems, issues BND and carries out consumer-protection responsibilities. In 2025, there were eight banks, including six conventional and two Islamic banks, as well as two Finance Companies. Known providers include Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD), Baiduri Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Maybank, United Overseas Bank (UOB), Bank of China (Hong Kong), RHB Bank and Perbadanan Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei (TAIB). State Street holds a restricted banking licence and does not accept ordinary customer deposits or conduct conventional core banking business. Banks offer Savings Accounts, Current or Cheque Accounts, Fixed or Time Deposits and Certificates of Deposit. Accounts may be held in BND or, depending on the product, in selected foreign currencies. Islamic products follow Islamic law (Hukum Syara'); a BIBD product such as Aspirasi may, for example, use an agency arrangement (Wakalah) with an expected profit distribution and an Agency Fee stated in the product information sheet. Suitability depends on the purpose, minimum balance, age, residence status and the conditions of the relevant provider. To open an account, first choose a licensed bank from the BDCB register and then use a branch or the designated online process. Banks check identity and address and, depending on the case, employment, income or source of funds. Baiduri, for example, requires an initial deposit of BND 100 for a Savings Account; its Current Account requires at least BND 1,000. Standard Chartered states an opening deposit of BND 2,500 for the JustOne Savings Account. Depending on the product, foreign applicants may need identification, a passport, valid entry or residence documents, proof of address or proof of employment. There is no general obligation to open an account and no uniform national processing deadline. Payment options include debit and credit cards, contactless payments, ATMs, cash deposit machines, cheques, online and mobile banking, transfers, QR payments and electronic money. RTGS is intended for individual, urgent or high-value BND payments with final settlement. ACH bundles smaller or recurring payments, such as salary payments, bills and cheques. The BDCB's national QR code standard has applied since 10 March 2025; the approved national real-time payment system (tarus) enables, among other things, transfers using a mobile phone number. Cards nevertheless remain the most established payment method in retail. Digital services differ by bank and product. BIBD NEXGEN offers, among other things, balance checks, transaction viewing, transfers, bill payments, card management, cardless cash withdrawals, biometric login and QuickPay. Baiduri b.Digital Personal uses, among other things, biometric login, a Soft Token, transfers, standing orders and Qpay; it requires a suitable Baiduri product and users must be at least 15 years old. Standard Chartered Online and Mobile Banking offer balances, transactions, transfers, card management, notifications and electronic statements. Fees, minimum balances and processing times are set by the relevant provider. According to BIBD's March 2025 tariff schedule, registration for NEXGEN, QuickPay and BIBD transfers was free, while a replacement token cost BND 20, a digital RTGS payment cost BND 5 and a digital ACH payment cost BND 0.70. A non-BIBD ATM cost BND 6 there. The current tariffs, cut-off times and processing periods should be checked in the latest price list before giving an instruction. The Brunei Darussalam Deposit Protection Corporation (BDPC) protects deposits up to a maximum of BND 50,000 per depositor and member institution. The protection does not automatically apply to all financial products; money-market or structured deposits, investment funds, bonds, structured debt securities and certain other instruments may be excluded. Deposits with no deposit or withdrawal for at least six years may be transferred to the BDCB as unclaimed money; recovery then follows the prescribed procedure. In case of a problem, first contact the bank's complaints unit. The bank should generally provide a final response within 30 working days or give a written explanation for the delay. If a complaint remains unresolved after 90 business days, it may be escalated to the BDCB; depending on the case, mediation through the Brunei Darussalam Arbitration Centre may also be considered. Suspicious transactions should be reported immediately to the bank and the Royal Brunei Police Force at 993; the Scam Hotline 16993 is also available for fraud cases. Account details, card numbers, PINs, passwords and one-time codes should not be given to unknown persons. Before making a payment, check that the provider is listed in the BDCB register and does not appear on the BDCB Alert List. Keeping devices up to date, enabling notifications, checking account statements and immediately blocking a card when misuse is suspected can reduce the risk.