Top Tips for Opening an Offshore Bank Account

The matter of choosing location on where to open an account in a foreign bank in order to conduct commercial transactions for an offshore company is regularly linked to the requirement to have everyday small bank transactions on the specified account. Therefore, you should choose an offshore bank that has no restrictions on business operations as such as well as outgoing and incoming payments and the transactions size and monthly maximum number of such.

It is imperative to note that there is virtually no ideal bank account, as well as there are no perfect offshore banks. For this reason, in praxis one chooses the bank, most suitable bank for opening a bank account, with terms and conditions mostly matched for your business requirements.

When making a choice of an offshore bank where you decide to open a bank account, it is quite important to take into account the bank's requirements on the minimum initial transfer of funds as well as minimum balance which shall be kept on the account. It is advisable to examine the current fees of the bank and the availability of services for the effective use of the account. It is also important to pay attention to the procedure account opening and what documents are required to be provided to the bank during the account opening process.

What is more favorable - open an account in a foreign bank - for corporate or for a natural person?

It's no top-secret that banks do not open accounts for natural persons to perform commercial activities. Generally, there is a clear distinction between client's personal financial interests and the interest of business. However this won't become a hindrance for transferring funds gained from business from your business account to your personal account. In such case it is important for you to be the owner of the company or business and then it's a typical situation for the bank and does not raise any questions provided bank is duly informed.

In the course of transferring funds from the company account to the individual accounts there are usually no difficulties under the condition bank understands the background. Although, sometimes, such difficulties may arise if the sender's bank or the beneficiary's bank has any awareness or considers that additional information is required. For example, an offshore bank may ask questions related to the initial source of funds being transferred to the account. Banks and other financial institutions are obliged to fulfill a number of obligations on their side to ensure the prevention of money laundering. And for this reason, when you get in touch with us to assist you to open an account in a foreign bank, we have to ask your such questions and provide the respective answers to the concerned banks. The nature of movements in the account of an individual shall not indicate any evidence of regular business activities. All participants of the financial market, including offshore banks, monitor such transactions and promptly respond to such situations.

Are there any requirements related to the minimum balance on the account?

In some cases, in order to open an account in a foreign bank, some banks allow to keep account with zero balance for a while. But there are some banks that require the availability of a minimum obligatory balance on the account of the company. Such minimum balance on the account depends on the internal regulations and policies of the bank.

In case of non-maintaining such minimum balance some banks charge extra fees and notify the customers on the necessity to increase the account balance. In extreme cases an offshore bank may also formally notify the account holder that the account may be closed if the minimum balance requirement is not met within some specified period of time.

In relation to the UAE banks it is quite typical to have the requirement of a moderately small minimum bank account balance. It normally ranges from 15,000 to 100,000 dollars which is rather at the lower range for the offshore banking industry. Some banks allow using the money on the account thus going below the minimum account balance requirement. However, in this case, an offshore bank may charge an additional fee for zero balance account maintenance the for the period of time when the account balance is below the required mark. In terms of other banks, such requirements may vary. As already mentioned, a number of the banks in the UAE allow customers to go below the minimum balance simply charging an extra fee.

Are there any requirements on the minimum monthly account turnover volume?

In order to open an account a foreign bank, offshore bank can also apply some certain requirements for minimum monthly turnover, and this is quite a common practice in commercial banking. By opening an account, bankers can explain a number of requirements that are regularly not clearly reflected in the bank's documents. Such requirements may be some certain amount of the initial transfer, the required minimum average balance on the account, or, for example, the minimum monthly or yearly turnover.

What is necessary to open an account in a foreign bank?

A set of documents may be required for opening a offshore bank account, which depends on the country where the bank is located, type of account and bank internal policies and requirements.

Documentation required for corporate account opening:

• Business description
• Passport copies of all beneficiaries
• Copies and originals of corporate documents of the company
• Bank Reference letter from the bank
• Utility Bill for each shareholder
• Information on the average monthly account balance and turnovers
• List of potential business partners

Which currency to choose in order open an account in a foreign bank.

Offshore banks offer their customers to open accounts in different currencies – as according to business requirements. Most often it is the USD and EUR. The final choice totally depends on your requirements. Offshore bank account can be also opened in Swiss francs, Pounds or any other currency.

In technical terms, the whole process of opening foreign bank account looks like follows: first – the main account is opened, and afterwards, if required, additional sub-accounts in other currencies may be added to the account. Effectively this is done internally and the customer receives account numbers of all accounts about the same time. The account numbers of each of these account will be completely different. In addition, customers may make any transactions in any currencies independently on currency of the account. The calculation on the exchange rate of such transaction is done by the bank automatically.

It should be noted that the process of opening the account does not require your mandatory personal involvement on all stages. Our staff will be engaged in the preparation of the necessary documentation, which may required for the offshore bank.

Our company provides professional and reliable service to open bank account in a foreign bank without any hassle.

We will help you to make the right choice of the bank to meet all your requirements and to open the account. We can also assist at the initial phase of working with the bank.