A CDP account is your personal securities account with The Central Depository (Pte) Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SGX. It holds the Singapore-listed shares, bonds, REITs and ETFs you buy in your own name, so you are the registered owner rather than your broker. It is also the account that lets you apply for Singapore Treasury bills and Singapore Savings Bonds with cash. Opening one is free, takes around five business days via Singpass, and you need it before your first trade on SGX through a CDP-linked broker. This guide covers what the CDP account does, how to open and link it, the fees you actually pay, and the one situation where a custodian account makes more sense.
The Central Depository, or CDP, is the central securities depository for the Singapore market. It has run since 1987 and sits inside the Singapore Exchange. When you buy a Singapore stock through a CDP-linked broker, the shares are not parked with the broker. They are deposited straight into your CDP account and recorded under your name in the issuer's register of members.
That direct ownership is the point of the whole thing. CDP does three jobs at once: it clears trades (it stands between buyer and seller so neither carries the other's default risk), it settles them (moves the shares and the cash), and it acts as the depository that holds your securities long-term. For you as a retail investor, the practical result is one account that holds everything you own on SGX and pays your dividends to your bank.
A CDP account is separate from a brokerage account. The brokerage is the platform you place orders through; CDP is the vault that stores what you bought. You link the two so trades flow into CDP automatically. One CDP account can be linked to several brokers at once, which is how people compare commission rates between platforms while keeping all their holdings in one place.
A CDP account holds securities listed and settled on SGX: ordinary shares, real estate investment trusts, exchange-traded funds, business trusts and SGX-listed bonds. It is also the account that holds Singapore Government Securities bought by individuals, including Treasury bills and Singapore Savings Bonds, with cash.
Because the shares are registered in your name, you are the legal owner with full shareholder rights. You receive annual reports and notices of annual general meetings directly, you can attend AGMs and vote, and you are notified of corporate actions such as rights issues, share splits, scrip dividends and takeover offers, then act on them yourself. With a custodian or nominee account the broker is the registered holder and exercises (or does not exercise) those rights on your behalf, often for a fee.
Direct ownership also changes what happens if your broker goes under. Shares in your CDP account are registered to you, not the broker, so a broker failure does not put them at risk. With a custodian account the shares sit in the broker's nominee name, and if that broker collapses you join the queue as a creditor for the value of those holdings. Note that no scheme insures share prices: SDIC deposit insurance covers bank deposits, not stocks, in either setup. CDP's protection is structural, from you being the named owner.
To open an individual CDP account you must be at least 18 years old and not an undischarged bankrupt. Singapore citizens, permanent residents and foreigners are all eligible. There is no minimum deposit and no need to fund the account; CDP holds securities, not cash.
There are three account types. An individual account has a single holder and is the only type you can open fully online. A joint account has two or more holders and comes in two forms: Joint-Alternate, where any holder can give instructions on their own, and Joint-And, where every holder must approve each instruction together. A corporate account is for companies, trusts and partnerships. Joint and corporate accounts cannot be opened online; they require physical forms.
One quirk worth knowing if you plan to buy government securities: Singapore Savings Bonds and T-bills bought with cash require an individual CDP account with Direct Crediting Service activated. Joint CDP accounts cannot be used for SSB cash applications. So if government bonds are part of your plan, open the account as an individual account.
| Type | Holders | Open online? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | One | Yes (Singpass/MyInfo) | Only type usable for SSB and T-bill cash applications |
| Joint-Alternate | Two or more | No, physical forms | Any holder can instruct alone; supports Direct Crediting |
| Joint-And | Two or more | No, physical forms | All holders must instruct together; no Direct Crediting |
| Corporate | Entity | No, physical forms | For companies, trusts and partnerships |
Opening a CDP account is free. For Singapore citizens and PRs, the fastest route is the online application on the SGX website using Singpass and MyInfo, which pre-fills your personal details and removes most of the paperwork. Foreigners and non-residents use an online form and upload supporting documents instead.
Before you start, have your Singapore bank account details ready (this becomes your Direct Crediting Service account for dividends and bond payouts), your Tax Identification Number, and a clear photo or scan of your signature. Singapore accepts bank accounts with DBS/POSB, OCBC, UOB, Standard Chartered, Citibank, HSBC and Maybank for the dividend link; confirm the current list on the SGX site as it changes. If you are not a Singapore tax resident you will also declare your country of tax residency and complete a Form W-9 (US persons) or W-8BEN (non-US).
A MyInfo application is usually processed in about five business days. An online-form application (for foreigners, or where extra documents are needed) takes around 10 business days. You receive your CDP account number once approved, and you set up online access through the SGX Investor Portal to view holdings and statements.
Because of the processing time, open your CDP account before you plan to invest, not on the day you want to place a trade. The same applies if you are buying a specific month's Savings Bond or T-bill: get the account and Direct Crediting Service active in advance so you do not miss the application window. See our guide to Singapore Treasury bills for those timing rules.
A CDP account on its own cannot place trades. You link it to a CDP-linked brokerage, which is the platform that executes your buy and sell orders. After you open the trading account, you submit a CDP linkage form (most brokers handle this during sign-up) so settled trades flow into your CDP account.
You only ever have one CDP account. It is tied to your NRIC, FIN or passport number, so you cannot open a second individual one, but you can link several brokers to it. People do this to chase lower commissions or specific platform features while keeping every holding consolidated in CDP. When you sell, the broker you trade through must be linked to the CDP account holding those shares.
Not every broker uses CDP. Many of the cheap online brokers route trades through their own custodian or nominee structure instead, which keeps costs down. If you specifically want shares in your own name, check that the broker offers CDP-linked SGX trading before you open it. Our getting-started guide covers platform selection in more detail.
Opening and maintaining a CDP account costs nothing. There is no account-opening fee, no annual fee and no maintenance charge. What you pay are the trading costs that apply whenever you buy or sell, and these are not unique to CDP; the exchange fees apply on any SGX trade.
On every trade, SGX charges a clearing fee of 0.0325% of the contract value plus a trading (access) fee of 0.0075% of the contract value. The prevailing GST of 9% applies on top of these fees and on your broker's commission. The brokerage commission itself is set by your broker, typically a percentage of the contract value subject to a minimum. For CDP-linked SGX trades, minimum commissions commonly sit around S$10 to S$25 per trade depending on the broker, so small trades carry a proportionally higher cost.
There is no GST on the value of the shares themselves and no stamp duty on buying or selling listed shares in Singapore. Where CDP charges separately is for things that go wrong on settlement, not for ordinary buying, holding and dividend collection, which are free. Run the numbers on a sample trade with our fixed deposit vs investing calculator before committing, especially for small amounts where fees bite.
| Charge | Rate | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| CDP account opening / maintenance | Free | CDP |
| SGX clearing fee | 0.0325% of contract value | SGX |
| SGX trading (access) fee | 0.0075% of contract value | SGX |
| Brokerage commission | Set by broker, often min. ~S$10-S$25 | Your broker |
| GST | 9% on the fees and commission | Statutory |
These charges only hit if you sell shares you cannot deliver on settlement day, which for a buy-and-hold CDP investor almost never happens. They are worth knowing because they are large relative to the cents-on-the-dollar exchange fees. If a contract fails, CDP runs a buy-in to source the shares and bills you for it.
Under SGX's CDP clearing rules, a failed contract carries a processing fee of S$75 plus GST (S$80.25 with the prevailing 9% GST) per buy-in contract, and the buy-in itself is charged at a brokerage rate of 0.75% plus GST of the contract value. If delivery still fails after the buy-in window, a penalty of S$1,000 or 5% of the contract value, whichever is higher, applies. CPF Investment Scheme trades also carry a small CDP settlement fee of S$0.35 per transaction, collected by the agent bank on CDP's behalf.
The takeaway: hold shares you actually own and sell only what is settled in your account, and none of this applies to you.
Once your CDP account is linked to a bank account through Direct Crediting Service, dividends from your shares and REITs are paid straight into that account, usually within a few days of the payment date. You do not lift a finger. This is the same mechanism that pays out Savings Bond coupons and T-bill maturity proceeds for cash applications, which is why an active Direct Crediting link matters.
The SGX Investor Portal is where you check what you own. It shows your current holdings, your transaction history and your e-statements (the portal keeps up to 24 months of statements and 60 days of notifications), and you can update your bank details and contact information there. CDP also notifies you of trade settlements and statement availability through the portal. Access is free.
Corporate actions are where CDP direct ownership earns its keep. When a company you hold runs a rights issue, scrip dividend election, share consolidation or takeover, CDP notifies you and you decide how to respond, the same way the registered owner of any share would. Hold the same shares through a custodian and the broker handles these on your behalf, sometimes with a fee, sometimes by simply not passing on optional actions at all.
Most newer, low-cost brokers (the app-based ones offering fractional shares and US stocks) use a custodian or nominee model, not CDP. The trade-off is real and worth understanding before you pick a platform.
A CDP-linked account gives you direct legal ownership, shareholder voting, direct corporate-action handling, and protection of your shares if the broker fails. The cost is higher minimum commissions and the fact that CDP only holds SGX-settled securities, so you cannot use it for foreign stocks like US shares. A custodian account is cheaper to trade, handles foreign markets and fractional shares, and consolidates everything in one app, but the shares sit in the broker's nominee name, you typically lose direct voting and AGM access, and you rely on the broker's segregation and solvency.
A reasonable approach for many young investors: use a CDP-linked broker for SGX blue chips, REITs and dividend stocks you intend to hold for years, where ownership rights and broker-failure protection matter; use a custodian broker for foreign stocks, ETFs and small or frequent trades where the lower cost wins. Our investments pillar guide walks through how the two fit a long-term portfolio.
| Feature | CDP-linked | Custodian / nominee |
|---|---|---|
| Share ownership | Registered in your name | Held in broker's nominee name |
| Voting and AGM rights | Yes, directly | Usually not, or via broker on request |
| Corporate actions | You decide directly | Broker handles, sometimes for a fee |
| If broker fails | Shares stay yours | You are a creditor for the value |
| Trading cost | Higher minimum commission | Lower, often fractional shares |
| Foreign stocks (e.g. US) | No, SGX only | Yes |
Here is a point that trips up new investors: shares you buy with CPF or SRS money are not held in your CDP account. When you invest CPF Ordinary Account savings through the CPF Investment Scheme, or use your Supplementary Retirement Scheme funds to buy SGX shares, those holdings sit in custody with your agent bank (DBS, OCBC or UOB for CPFIS), not in CDP. CDP holds only the securities you buy with cash.
That split matters when you sell. Shares bought through your CPFIS or SRS account cannot be sold from your CDP securities account, and the reverse holds too. If you later buy the same counter with cash, that cash holding settles into CDP and is tracked separately from the CPF or SRS lot. Keep the two streams straight so you do not accidentally try to sell shares from the wrong account.
Singapore Savings Bonds bought with SRS are also held by your SRS operator rather than in CDP, while SSBs and T-bills bought with cash go through your individual CDP account with Direct Crediting Service. Our SRS vs CPF top-up comparison and the SRS tax-savings calculator cover where each pot of money is best put to work.
If you already hold SGX shares in a broker's custodian account and want them registered in your own name, you can transfer them into CDP. Most CDP-linked brokers handle this with a securities transfer form, and the custodian broker usually charges a per-counter fee, commonly around S$10 to S$11 including GST per holding, so a portfolio of ten counters costs roughly S$100 to move. Avoid transferring during an unsettled trade or while a corporate action is in progress on that counter.
Closing a CDP account is rare and worth pausing on if you hold government securities. If you close your CDP account while holding Singapore Savings Bonds, MAS redeems the bonds automatically and CDP holds the principal and accrued interest in trust, returning the money to you once you re-open a CDP account. Because the account is free to keep and one per person, most investors simply leave it open rather than close and re-open it.
You need a CDP account if you want to own Singapore-listed shares in your own name, vote at AGMs, or buy Treasury bills and Singapore Savings Bonds with cash. For a long-term local portfolio of SGX blue chips and REITs, it is the standard setup and the one most Singaporean dividend investors use.
You do not need a CDP account if you only invest through robo-advisors, unit trusts, a custodian broker, or your SRS provider's funds, since those hold securities under their own custody. Many people who started with a custodian app later open a CDP account once they begin buying individual SGX shares to hold for the long run. Opening it early costs nothing and saves the five-day wait when you are ready to buy.
Yes. There is no fee to open or maintain a CDP account, and no minimum deposit. You only pay trading costs (the SGX clearing fee of 0.0325%, the trading fee of 0.0075%, your broker's commission and 9% GST) when you actually buy or sell securities.
Applying online with Singpass and MyInfo usually takes about five business days to process. An online-form application, used by foreigners or where extra documents are needed, takes around 10 business days. Open it before you plan to trade rather than on the day you want to buy.
A brokerage account is the platform you place buy and sell orders through. A CDP account is the depository that stores the shares you buy and registers them in your name. You link the two so settled trades flow into CDP. One CDP account can be linked to several brokers.
To buy them with cash, yes. You need an individual CDP account with Direct Crediting Service activated and linked to a participating bank account, and you apply through DBS/POSB, OCBC or UOB internet banking or ATMs (or OCBC's app). Per MAS, joint CDP accounts cannot be used for cash SSB applications. SRS purchases go through your SRS operator instead of CDP.
They stay yours. Shares in a CDP account are registered in your own name, not the broker's, so a broker failure does not put them at risk. This is the main protection a CDP account has over a custodian account, where shares sit in the broker's nominee name.
No. A CDP account only holds securities listed and settled on SGX. To buy US or other foreign stocks you use a broker with a custodian or nominee account, where those shares are held under the broker's custody rather than in CDP.
Yes. Foreigners and non-residents who are at least 18 and not undischarged bankrupts can open one. The application uses an online form (rather than MyInfo), requires supporting documents and a tax form (W-9 or W-8BEN), and typically takes around 10 business days.
Through Direct Crediting Service. Once you link a Singapore bank account, dividends from your shares and REITs, and payouts from your bonds, are paid straight into that account automatically, usually within a few days of the payment date. You can manage the linked bank account in the SGX Investor Portal.
No. Each person has a single individual CDP account, tied to your NRIC, FIN or passport number, so you cannot open a second one. You can link several brokers to that one account if you want to trade through different platforms while keeping all your holdings consolidated in CDP.
Usually yes. If you hold SGX shares in a broker's custodian account, you can transfer them into CDP so they are registered in your name, using a securities transfer form from the broker. The custodian broker typically charges a per-counter fee, often around S$10 to S$11 including GST per holding. Avoid transferring while a trade is unsettled or a corporate action is in progress.
No. Shares bought through the CPF Investment Scheme are custodied with your agent bank (DBS, OCBC or UOB), and SRS-bought shares sit with your SRS operator. Your CDP account holds only the SGX securities you buy with cash. You cannot sell a CPF or SRS holding from your cash CDP account, or the other way around.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.