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Where can you open a bank account for a non-resident company from the high-risk category in 2020?



I must say right away that working with banks is usually long and painstaking. Often, lawyers are involved in this process as an intermediary. However, having some tips (where to go? What can I say?), You can open an account yourself.

Below are our recommendations:

1. Which banks are definitely NOT worth going to?


First of all, we do not recommend going to Latvia. Unfortunately, many local banks have already lost their licenses, and many still continue to work with non-residents, which attracts special attention from the Latvian regulator.

Secondly, these are banks that (from experience) do NOT accept companies with beneficiaries from the CIS, among them:

Jyske Bank
Gibraltar International Bank
Turicum Private Bank

We also know that Mexico does not work with non-resident companies. If you need a local market and account, you need to open a company in Mexico.

Special attention to non-resident customers is now being paid by the Czech Republic, Hungary and other countries of Eastern Europe. After the decline in popularity in Latvia, Cyprus, our fellow lawyers began to pave the way to other countries of Eastern Europe, thereby training the compliance officers to carefully examine the business, structure and owners of companies, their turnover and contracts. I’m not saying that you can’t open an account there, but the procedure has already become more complicated than in the same 2017.

2. Which banks still specialize in opening accounts for non-residents?


Below is a list:
CIM Banque ()
Bank Polski ()
Sparkasse bank, Wirecard, Varengold Investment Bank AG ()
Migom Bank ()
Silk Road Bank AD ( )
Neue Bank AG, Union Bank AG, Sigma Bank ()
Novo Banco, Banco Best ()


General characteristics:

Most of these banks will open an account remotely or with Skype authentication. They have reasonable tariffs, minimum deposits upon opening and an account balance (5-10k EUR), they offer online banking, English or Russian support. Ability to issue Visa, MasterCard cards. Deposit Guarantee Fund - 100k EUR. Some are friendly to blockchain and cryptocurrencies, gaming and gambling, fintech and other high-risk niches. It is worth remembering that often banks also include brokerage services, forex, consulting and agent services, dating, affiliate marketing and SEO. Some of them still cooperate with offshore structures.

3. How to build communication with the bank?


When opening an account, you need to be extremely open and provide all the information about the business, contracts and business plans “as is”. If you have nothing to hide, this will definitely speed up the very process of opening an account, because compliance will be able to examine all documents at the first examination and give an acceptance without unnecessary clarifications and questions. Make a business card website (if not).

Make companies and their structure simpler. The complex structure (holding company) and the number of UBOs (“ultimate beneficiary”, individual owner) of more than 3 always causes more questions and the need to confirm everything with documents.

Have at least a minimal business connection to the country where the Bank is located (market for SaaS, customers for B2B, service providers, R&D office, etc.). This will double your chances of success.

Create a substance. I will not go into details why this is so (this is BEPS, for those who want to google). Banks now want to serve a real business with a real office in the country, rather than fictitious “laying” companies.

When receiving a list of documents for opening an account, check all possible options ashore (for example, whether a set of constituent documents in English with notarization will be enough, or you need an apostille, or a translation into the local language of the Bank’s country, certified by a certified translator, or certified translator and notarized, etc.) It is better to clarify and ask again immediately than to redo documents afterwards.

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