Cyprus business bank account opening

[IlyMily]

Hello,

i am a romanian passport holder, i started an online uk business and have the ltd setup since october this year, i have used Revolut since September, i have been asked to provide source of funds once the account received the first 100k gbp payments, provided all documents and then 150K more received but since then i didn’t receive a reply.
So now i am looking for a reliable bank in cyprus in order to receive my payments from STRIPE, i receive 5 to 15K daily.

i have searched online but as far as i see, i do need an intermediary.

hope to find the answer and help here.

 

[Sols]

It's going to be very difficult to get a bank in Cyprus to accept this. If you have no ties to Cyprus at all, chances of opening an account for an SME are almost zero.

 

[IlyMily]

Thanks for the reply, do i need to form a company in cyprus first ? If yes, it’s possible as non resident ?

 

[Sols]

It's still difficult but your chances are increased some if you have a local company. The banks might insist that you have your own office and staff in Cyprus, though.

 

[JohnLocke]

It's still difficult but your chances are increased some if you have a local company. The banks might insist that you have your own office and staff in Cyprus, though.

I agree, a good business relation of mine has been through the same procedure the last few weeks. He setup a real office not only for this purpose but to headquarter his business there.

 

[silentreader]

Hellenic isn't working anymore? They were my go-to bank for Seychelles IBC banking...

 

[IlyMily]

Hellenic isn't working anymore? They were my go-to bank for Seychelles IBC banking...

Do i need an introducer?

 

[Sols]

You don't need to pay an introducer for Hellenic to reject you. You can just ask them directly.

Things have changed a lot in Cyprus in the last few years. It used to be fairly easy to open bank accounts for non-resident companies in Cyprus. Those days are gone. Even the best introducers often get their clients rejected unless the clients have strong ties to Cyprus and have a low overall risk profile.

The Central Bank is cracking down on shell corporations and the risks of non-resident companies and has instructed local banks to be especially cautious.

 

[IlyMily]

Thanks for the replies, what about WorldFirst, is it a reliable company for incoming sepa and us payments ? Sorry if this is out of post subject.

 

[EliasIT]

You don't need to pay an introducer for Hellenic to reject you. You can just ask them directly.

Isn't an introducer mandatory for all Cyprus banks? Even though you wrote they will decline your case, you can't just call this bank and ask them (any bank in Cyprus) if they will accept your business, they don't want to talk to you at all!

 

[Sols]

Thanks for the replies, what about WorldFirst, is it a reliable company for incoming sepa and us payments ? Sorry if this is out of post subject.

From what I've gathered, they have terrible customer service and account opening can sometimes take weeks/months simply due to lack of response (and not because they ask for more docs, for example). But the payments services as such seem OK.

Isn't an introducer mandatory for all Cyprus banks? Even though you wrote they will decline your case, you can't just call this bank and ask them (any bank in Cyprus) if they will accept your business, they don't want to talk to you at all!

Introducers are not strictly speaking mandatory with any bank in Cyprus, but they can sometimes help non-residents open doors or better explain the client to the bank. In this case, it just seems like a waste of time to go with an introducer, though.

 

[rey skywalker]

dear sols you are always spotting scams , frauds etch , give us some liitle help tell where we v can open account without so much truobles

 

[Sols]

I wish it were that simple but those days are long gone.

Start by running a clean, legitimate business with a good business plan, financial statements (and/or financial projections), in the country where you are resident (and/or where your operations are located), and approach local banks. Works for 99% of all businesses.