How to become a client of a foreign bank in 2022

Banks carefully check clients who want to open an account with a foreign bank in 2022. The reason for this is the fight against money laundering, fraud, and terrorist financing. In some countries it takes several months to check, which often causes inconvenience.

Features of opening an account abroad

Banks used to actively compete, attracting clients, including foreign ones, with tempting offers, repelling them from competitors. Now the situation has changed. To avoid penalties from supervisory organizations, unintentionally taking part in criminal transactions, they choose their clients carefully. They check thoroughly, from the applicant's jurisdiction to his/her business curriculum vitae, to the legality of receiving funds. If the potential client fails to prove their origin, legality, can be rejected.

How to Choose a Foreign Bank

When choosing a bank in a particular jurisdiction, find answers to questions such as:

• Does the bank work with non-residents;
• What types of accounts the institution offers, whether they are suitable for you;
• Does the bank work with your business;
• What currencies the institution works with;
• Is it possible to make payments in the currency you want;
• Commissions - for deposits, cash withdrawals, transactions, etc;
• Rating, reputation, financial results, prospects of the institution;
• Estimate whether there is a risk of bankruptcy.

Many questions can be found out by contacting the bank's consultant directly. Better yet, contact our experts and we will find the most suitable institutions abroad.

Which country to open an account in

Before you open an account, you need to determine in what country to do it. And here much depends on the purpose:

• For example, if you are working in Portugal, you need to open an account with Banco Atlantico Europa or another local institution.
• You might need an account in another country for a company that is not registered there to conduct transactions.
• You just want to keep your money in another country. For example, many people seek to open an account at PostFinance or Aargau Cantonal Bank (Switzerland)

The most sought-after banks are European, Asian, and offshore.

European banks

The most popular among foreigners are financial institutions:

• The Baltics (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia);
• Central Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, etc.);
• Western Europe (Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Switzerland).

Financial institutions of these countries are known for reliable reputation, but there is a minus - almost all institutions are long processing applications, requiring a lot of additional data (especially the banks of Western Europe). If they find out that it is necessary to open an account for an offshore company, they can refuse. To avoid this, contact our experts.

Asian banks

The most interesting countries in Asia are Hong Kong and Singapore. They willingly work with offshore companies registered in their jurisdictions, but focus more on the Asian market. To open an account in Hong Kong, you need to rent a physical office here, in Singapore, there must be a resident among the directors and shareholders.

Offshore banks

Banks that are located in offshore jurisdictions willingly work with foreigners. But you have to be careful here, because there may be restrictions at the international level. Banks in other countries can block transactions if the jurisdiction is on their blacklist. So check the country carefully. The best option is to open an account in Mauritius.

Opening an account in a foreign bank: instructions

Each bank has its own requirements. The procedure looks like this:

• You choose a foreign bank.
• Agree with a representative for a personal meeting. Sometimes you have to come to the country, but some institutions allow the interview online.
• Fill out the bank forms, collect a package of documents. Among the necessary papers - passport, certificate of criminal record, source of income. If you open an account for the company you will need the charter, business plan, data of all directors, shareholders, owners, etc.. You may need information about your business partners.
• You apply, wait for the decision.

Be prepared for your application to take more than 2 months to process. Expedited procedures are not available in most cases. If approved, the client will get access to online banking, bank cards.