What are the best banks in Cyprus for non resident SMEs in terms of requirements, fees, online banking system...? I heard that Bank of Cyprus and Hellenic Bank are good. Which banks do you recommend based on your experience?
I see what you mean now by requirements. It's going to come down to what your business does, who the owners are, amounts turned over, currencies and countries involved, and so on. The overall profile and risk of your business matters a lot.Many thanks for your feedback! But I heard that some banks don't deal with SMEs
May I ask, when did you opened an account in Cyprus the last time? I mean for a new CLEAN business which is owned by a foreigner and not resident in Cyprus?While the banks mentioned will and do onboard non-resident companies, you need to show that it's a clean, legitimate, and preferably low-risk business that will bring value to the bank. And you will need to go via an introducer. Most law firms and accounting firms in Cyprus are introducers to at least one bank (usually Bank of Cyprus).
Hi. Many thanks for your feedback! You mean it's better to apply through a law / accounting firm? Any idea how much they charge for this service? Do you recommend any specific firms?
Just to be clear, I don't open bank accounts for anyone. I'm not a service provider. But I know of people who have done it successfully as recently as a few months ago. If memory serves, it was a Bulgarian company with Bulgarian founders and they ended up with Bank of Cyprus.May I ask, when did you opened an account in Cyprus the last time? I mean for a new CLEAN business which is owned by a foreigner and not resident in Cyprus?
This is very interesting. I have not heard of anyone that had success in the past to open an account with the Cyprus banks to get a new account there. Some of my business friends had accounts there for centuries and got rejected because of the construction / setup of the business i.e. Belize, Seychelles corps mainly.Just to be clear, I don't open bank accounts for anyone. I'm not a service provider. But I know of people who have done it successfully as recently as a few months ago. If memory serves, it was a Bulgarian company with Bulgarian founders and they ended up with Bank of Cyprus.
I see what you mean now by requirements. It's going to come down to what your business does, who the owners are, amounts turned over, currencies and countries involved, and so on. The overall profile and risk of your business matters a lot.
If you are a small company, your options are limited to Bank of Cyprus, Hellenic Bank, Alpha Bank, and AstroBank (formerly Piraeus). They are usually content with a few hundred to a few thousand EUR initial deposit. You would probably not be welcome at for example RCB. They are very selective when it comes to foreign companies.
While the banks mentioned will and do onboard non-resident companies, you need to show that it's a clean, legitimate, and preferably low-risk business that will bring value to the bank. And you will need to go via an introducer. Most law firms and accounting firms in Cyprus are introducers to at least one bank (usually Bank of Cyprus).
If we take the word "possible" to mean "not impossible", then it's still possible. It is however much harder than before.even with introducer, is it still possible to open a bank account in cyprus WITHOUT economic substance? i dont think its all about the ''value'' you will bring to the bank, as far as i know central bank in 2018 put several restrictions to the bank industry for non-resident companies
Did you go with Transferwise or AdvCash maybe?I have rejected Euro bank because the business activity is related to option products as a financial instrument. I need to find an EMI to open an account instead using banks in Cyprus.
I have asked the business through AdvCash and they have accepted.Did you go with Transferwise or AdvCash maybe?
What you say is that the banking situation in Cyprus is still horrible and will never come back to what it was 8 years back in time. People will face huge problems to get any good banking for their Cyprus non-dom or resident company and forced to use EMI's.
This would make me think twice if I ever would use a Cyprus company setup for my business.