iOCBC is the online trading platform of OCBC Securities, the broking arm of OCBC Bank and one of the bank-owned brokers most Singaporeans meet first because the login sits inside the same app they already use for banking. The pull in 2026 is convenience plus the option to hold your SGX shares in your own CDP account: trading from 0.18% on large SGX orders, a single Basic Trading Account that reaches 15 markets online, and the Blue Chip Investment Plan that drip-feeds from S$100 a month. All rates here are from OCBC Securities' own pricing pages, current as of October 2026. Since 5 October 2026 there is no minimum commission on SGX online trades, so a small SGX order now costs 0.275% of its value. US and Hong Kong trades still carry minimums, and that is where the newer low-cost players stay cheaper. This guide breaks down what you really pay, where the small charges hide, and who is genuinely better off elsewhere.
iOCBC is the retail trading platform run by OCBC Securities Private Limited, a subsidiary of OCBC Bank that has broked Singapore shares for decades and is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Through it you can buy and sell SGX shares, real estate investment trusts, exchange-traded funds, daily leverage certificates, structured warrants, American depositary receipts, bonds and foreign stocks across multiple markets from one account.
Two things keep iOCBC on local shortlists. The first is that it plugs straight into OCBC's banking app and internet banking, so an existing OCBC customer can open a trading account and fund it without juggling a separate broker login. The second is the option to keep your SGX shares in your own Central Depository (CDP) account rather than in a pooled nominee, which many Singaporeans prefer because the shares sit in your name and you receive dividends and notices directly.
What iOCBC is not is a cheap-by-default broker. It charges a percentage of each trade, with a minimum dollar floor on foreign markets and broker-assisted orders, so it shines on convenience and CDP custody rather than on rock-bottom cost. If your single priority is the lowest possible fee on US trades, a specialist like the one in our Interactive Brokers Singapore guide will undercut it.
The main retail account is the Basic Trading Account, a cash account with no leverage or margin that lets you trade up to an assigned limit without funding each trade first. Commissions are tiered by the size of your trade for SGX shares, and charged at a flat percentage with a minimum for foreign markets. Online rates are cheaper than placing the same order through a Trading Representative.
Update, 14 October 2026: OCBC Securities removed the S$25 minimum commission on SGX online trades from 5 October 2026, and from 11 August 2026 cut its Hong Kong online minimum to HKD 100 and its US broker-assisted minimum to US$25. The headline numbers below are OCBC Securities' online standard rates as of October 2026. They sit on top of the exchange's own clearing and trading fees plus prevailing GST, and OCBC can revise them, so treat the table as a starting point and confirm on the live pricing page before you commit.
| Market / trade size | Online commission | Broker-assisted | Minimum (online) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SGX, up to S$50,000 | 0.275% | 0.50% | None |
| SGX, S$50,000 to S$100,000 | 0.22% | 0.40% | None |
| SGX, above S$100,000 | 0.18% | 0.25% | None |
| US: AMEX, NYSE, NASDAQ | 0.30% | 0.415% | US$20 |
| Hong Kong (HKEX) | 0.25% | 0.30% | HKD 100 |
With no minimum, an SGX online trade costs 0.275% of its value up to S$50,000. A S$1,000 trade costs S$2.75 in commission and a S$9,000 trade S$24.75, before clearing and access fees and GST. Under the old S$25 floor, every order below about S$9,090 paid the full S$25, so small SGX orders save the most.
Commission is only part of your bill. On every SGX trade you also pay the exchange's clearing fee of 0.0325% and a trading access fee of 0.0075% of contract value, plus a settlement instruction fee of S$0.35 per contract, and 9% GST on the commission and those fees. With no minimum commission, that S$0.35 adds about 13% to the S$2.75 commission on a S$1,000 order. None of this is unique to iOCBC, but it lifts your true cost above the quoted percentage.
The charges that do differ by broker are custody and corporate-action fees on foreign holdings. Read these before you assume a percentage rate is the whole story, and weigh them against a flat-FX broker in our Interactive Brokers Singapore guide if all-in cost is your priority.
Numbers settle the convenience-versus-cost argument faster than adjectives. Take a S$2,000 SGX share purchase, the kind of order a young investor actually places, and compare the commission on iOCBC against a typical no-minimum low-cost broker. Exchange clearing and trading fees and GST apply to both, so they roughly wash out; the gap is the percentage.
With the SGX minimum gone, iOCBC's commission on this order is S$5.50, against S$25 under the old minimum. On US and Hong Kong trades the minimums still make small orders dear. If you are still mapping out where a broker fits in your plan, our how to start investing in Singapore walkthrough sets the order of operations before you pick a platform.
| Broker type | Headline rate | Commission charged | Effective cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| iOCBC Basic Trading Account (online) | 0.275%, no minimum | S$5.50 | 0.275% |
| Typical low-cost broker | around 0.03% to 0.08%, no minimum | around S$0.60 to S$1.60 | under 0.1% |
For people who want to drip-feed a fixed sum rather than time the market, OCBC runs the Blue Chip Investment Plan (BCIP), a regular savings plan that buys a chosen SGX-listed blue-chip share, REIT or ETF every month using dollar-cost averaging. You can start from S$100 a month and fund it from cash or your SRS account, with no lock-in.
The fee depends on your age. If you are under 30 (counted by calendar year) and opened your plan from 28 June 2019, OCBC charges a flat 0.88% of each buy or sell up to S$500 per counter per month, which is the relevant rate for a young investor putting in S$100. From age 30, or for amounts above S$500, the fee is 0.3% of the amount or S$5 per counter, whichever is higher. That S$5 minimum is the figure to watch: on a S$100 monthly buy it works out to 5%, so very small contributions are expensive once you pass 30.
BCIP is a clean way to build a position in a local index ETF over years without active trading, and the SRS option lets you put tax-deferred money to work. If you would rather a robo handle the rebalancing, weigh it against the platforms in our robo-advisor versus DIY ETF comparison.
Opening is done online and is fastest if you already bank with OCBC, because the application can pull your details from your existing relationship or via Myinfo. The Basic Trading Account is open to anyone 18 or older, though investors aged 18 to 20 need an initial deposit of S$1,000 before they can trade.
You decide at sign-up whether your SGX shares sit in your own CDP account or are custodised with OCBC Securities, so settle that before you apply. If you are new to CDP entirely, our guide to the CDP account explains why the choice matters for dividends and ownership.
iOCBC is a sensible default for an existing OCBC customer who wants local-market access, the option of CDP custody and the convenience of trading inside the bank they already use. The Blue Chip Investment Plan also makes it a reasonable on-ramp for a beginner who wants to drip-feed into a local index ETF without opening a separate broker.
It is less compelling if you trade small amounts often on US or Hong Kong markets, where the minimums still bite, or if you are a pure US-stock investor chasing the lowest all-in cost, where a flat-fee or zero-commission broker wins on price. Many investors end up splitting: iOCBC or another bank broker for CDP-held SGX positions, and a cheaper broker for active foreign trading.
iOCBC is the online trading platform of OCBC Securities, the stockbroking arm of OCBC Bank. The names are used interchangeably: OCBC Securities is the licensed broker regulated by MAS, and iOCBC is the website and app you log in to in order to place trades and manage your account.
There is no minimum online commission on Singapore-exchange trades from 5 October 2026, so you pay 0.275% of the trade value up to S$50,000. Orders placed through a Trading Representative carry a S$40 minimum, and online US and Hong Kong trades keep minimums of US$20 and HKD 100 (as of October 2026).
Yes. When you open the Basic Trading Account you can choose to keep your SGX shares in your own Central Depository account in your name, or have OCBC Securities custodise them. CDP custody means dividends and corporate notices come to you directly rather than through a nominee.
Small SGX trades got much cheaper: with no online minimum since 5 October 2026, a S$1,000 order costs S$2.75 in commission, against S$25 before. A beginner is usually better served by the Blue Chip Investment Plan, which lets you invest from S$100 a month into blue-chip shares and ETFs, at a flat 0.88% if you are under 30.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.
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