Cyprus company formation vs BVI company

[chongho]

I would like to enquire about forming an offshore IBC company in cyprus.


Requirements:


Cyprus company (ready or formation)


company secretary


nominee director (foreign)


nominee shareholder (foreign)


Cyprus bank account


Regular ecommerce merchant account.


Can you let me know:


1. What is total cost for above?


2. What is cost for above without merchant account?


3. Can merchant account be addded later?


4. Can you send application forms to me via email?


5. My bank manager says he can give bank to bank only references, and this is fine for my account.


This means your bank would have to contact mine, and I cannot give you a written reference.


I can give you a contact name at my bank.


I can give written accountant reference.


Can you tell me if this is ok, or what more can be done?

 

[chongho]

Can you let me know what advantages / disadvantage there would be in incorporating in BVI rather than Cyprus?


I'm currently considering both.


The other requirements would remain the same (foreign directory / secretary/ bank account).


Also , is there any price difference?

 

[JohnLocke]

Can you let me know what advantages / disadvantage there would be in incorporating in BVI rather than Cyprus?
I'm currently considering both.


The other requirements would remain the same (foreign directory / secretary/ bank account).


Also , is there any price difference?

Welcome aboard chongho, I hope you enjoy.


Actually it depends very much on what you are going to use the company for.


If you plan doing business in Europe or want to do online business I would highly recommend to incorporate in Cyprus, since they are part of the European Union but still have several offshore privileges, like nominee services, banking secrecy and Trust ownership.


The BVI we often only use for Parent companies / Holding companies as an extra layer of assets protection for European companies.


It is way cheaper to form a BVI company than a Cyprus company, but as mentioned it depends on what you need it for.


You can find our fees for the incorporation here:


Cyprus:


Incorporation Fees


British Virgin Islands:


BVI Company

 

[chongho]

What about my other questions?

 

[prince]

Is it possible to open a merchant account for a BVI company?

 

[JohnLocke]

5. My bank manager says he can give bank to bank only references, and this is fine for my account.
This means your bank would have to contact mine, and I cannot give you a written reference.


I can give you a contact name at my bank.


I can give written accountant reference.


Can you tell me if this is ok, or what more can be done?

In certain cases we can avoid the bankers reference letter.

 

[Stabilo]

There is a user here on the forum who say is able to apply for a merchant account for a BVI company.

 

[patrick]

I contacted RBS WorldPay in the UK they can accept BVI company for payment processing!

 

[clemens]

They accept BVI companies? since when? if you get an approval for payment processing with your BVI company please post back.

 

[gonedone]

IS BMI not British, so WorldPay so they must accept it?

 

[ecommerce]

IS BMI not British, so WorldPay so they must accept it?

What is BMI ? Why are they British?