My CIM Banque company account opening experience [Negative]

[NeoNeo]

Greetings all,

This forum has been a great source of knowledge and help for me, so I wanted to share my experience with CIM Banque, especially because I got the recommendation for CIM Banque from here.

TL;DR CIM Banque were not transparent about their account opening procedure, and took 3 months to get my money back (minus hefty fees). Overall very suspicious and fraud-like behavior.


Ok so to start, my main reason for opening this account was to have a trading account for my Serbian LLC (DOO in Serbia) in order to invest my company's cash. I contacted some recommended Swiss brokers like Swissquote, Dukaskopy, CIM Banque, and others.
The Swiss brokers asked me to physically* send them my company documents (original or notarized copies) via courier mail , which I was not really eager to do.
When I contacted CIM Banque, knowing they are Swiss, I asked them specifically if the entire process can be done online, and the account manager said yes. So I started the process with them.

After a long KYC process of translating documents from Serbian to English, video calls, and finally sending them a 10,000 EUR deposit - They only then tell me I have to send them the physical documents to finish the process.
I told them the only reason I started the process with them was specifically because I was told the process could be done 100% online. I stopped the process, requested my money back.
The account manager was surprised, but said no problem and that they will send me back my money the following week, this was March 16th, 2022.
Only last week on June 9th, 2022 did I get 9.927,41 EUR back (-72,59 EUR fees).

Maybe it just my experience but something feels really off and dishonest about CIM Banque.

Hope this review will be helpful to some.

Best wishes,



* The reason for asking the physical documents is because Serbia doesn't have an open business registry in English. (However, it is still possible to navigate their website with Google Translate, find my company with the search function, and validate the documents authenticity by their barcode.)

 

[Marios]

Hello,
I have been introducing clients to this bank for the last 9 years and they have always requested for the originally signed application forms as well as the originally certified documents.
The online part involves only the completion of the application forms, which in the end they need to be printed and signed physically before sending them in original to the bank.

 

[Jerry1911]

Sorry but why would it be a problem to send documents to Switzerland? Just use DHL or something.

 

[NeoNeo]

Sorry but why would it be a problem to send documents to Switzerland? Just use DHL or something.

Because it is risky to send the originals, and copies must be notarized with a certified translator present.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

CIM sucks. But sending originals is a requirement in Switzerland.

 

[JohnLocke]

You can send original documents with UPS from day to day from almost anywhere in Europe to Switzerland.

The fee of 72 EUR you mean is hefty?

 

[NeoNeo]

You can send original documents with UPS from day to day from almost anywhere in Europe to Switzerland.

The fee of 72 EUR you mean is hefty?

There is no need to go through that, as there are other good alternatives which don't require that.

This is something that I specifically asked about on first contact, I was very clear, and their response was outright misleading. Considering that and that they took 3 months to return the money, I would expect they would not take fees at all, even if it is a small amount for you.

What did they do with my money for 3 months? How can you justify such a delay for a temporary deposit from a reputable bank?

 

[Sols]

I agree it's bad communication by CIM Bank to not be more upfront about this. Your question seems clear and they made an error by not explaining to you right away that they need physical documents.

But I also think that it shouldn't be such a big deal to get physical documents, have them translated and certified, and sent by courier. If everything is already approved anyway, it's not like you're going to have to do it multiple times.

What did they do with my money for 3 months? How can you justify such a delay for a temporary deposit from a reputable bank?

They didn't do anything with your money. It just took them three months for it to become your turn in the queue of applications to do a full in-depth review. Once they get the 10,000 EUR deposit, they know you're most likely a serious applicant and not just going to waste them time.

 

[NeoNeo]

They didn't do anything with your money. It just took them three months for it to become your turn in the queue of applications to do a full in-depth review. Once they get the 10,000 EUR deposit, they know you're most likely a serious applicant and not just going to waste them time.

It took them 3 months from the moment I asked to stop the process and get the money back.

 

[hlepic211]

Anything is better that the Bankera KYC fee scam, at least you got your money back.

 

[Martin Everson]

This is something that I specifically asked about on first contact, I was very clear, and their response was outright misleading.

Classic bait and switch strategy by the bank. The idea is you have vested so much time and effort in the opening that you will just bend over and agree to something you did not agree to from the beginning.

Glad you stuck to your principles and got your money back.

 

[NeoNeo]

Classic bait and switch strategy by the bank. The idea is you have vested so much time and effort in the opening that you will just bend over and agree to something you did not agree to from the beginning.

Glad you stuck to your principles and got your money back.

Thanks for understanding!
For me trustworthiness is the #1 thing I look for in a bank, it may seem petty to others, but these red flags can re-appear later on in a much more consequential setting. It is a relationship for several years.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Thanks for understanding!
For me trustworthiness is the #1 thing I look for in a bank, it may seem petty to others, but these red flags can re-appear later on in a much more consequential setting. It is a relationship for several years.

Forget about trustworthiness from any bank and act consequently. Consider all banks as criminal organizations and you will be fine.

 

[troubled soul]

Consider all banks as criminal organizations and you will be fine.

Becoming very found of you. You are serious competition to @Martin Everson in Humor

 

[wonderfulboy]

EUR back (-72,59 EUR fees)

it cost you properly more time to write your thread than what you paid in fees

 

[Silvio]

original or notarized copies

This is the most ridiculous thread I've ever read on this forum. I'm sure the bank did not even imagine that a person with such a mindset can even exist!

Almost ANY RESPECTABLE bank in the world would want you to send notarized copies of your incorporation documents. Online copies are worthless as they are easy to fake.

When a bank says "online" it means you don't need to physically come and meet them. It doesn't mean you can open account without getting your a*s off the sofa and sending them any documents.

And then you open this thread and whine about them taking 72 EUR from you... they lost a lot more money on your by wasting time on even checking your documents and talking to you on the phone. You probably cost their compliance department a few hundreds if not a thousand EUR in worktime wasted. You are probably the worst customer they ever had, I'm not surprised banks don't want to deal with you.

Instead of being thankful that in 2022(!) a Swiss(!) bank (although not an amazing one) agrees to open a company for your Serbian(!) company (which any normal sane bank will stay 10 km away from) you talk s**t about them in a forum. Just hilarious. And no I'm not a fan of CIM by a long shot but this is really hilarious

 

[JohnnyDoe]

This is the most ridiculous thread I've ever read on this forum. I'm sure the bank did not even imagine that a person with such a mindset can even exist!

Almost ANY RESPECTABLE bank in the world would want you to send notarized copies of your incorporation documents. Online copies are worthless as they are easy to fake.

When a bank says "online" it means you don't need to physically come and meet them. It doesn't mean you can open account without getting your a*s off the sofa and sending them any documents.

And then you open this thread and whine about them taking 72 EUR from you... they lost a lot more money on your by wasting time on even checking your documents and talking to you on the phone. You probably cost their compliance department a few hundreds if not a thousand EUR in worktime wasted. You are probably the worst customer they ever had, I'm not surprised banks don't want to deal with you.

Instead of being thankful that in 2022(!) a Swiss(!) bank (although not an amazing one) agrees to open a company for your Serbian(!) company (which any normal sane bank will stay 10 km away from) you talk s**t about them in a forum. Just hilarious. And no I'm not a fan of CIM by a long shot but this is really hilarious

Swiss banks have a legal requirements to receive hard copies of documents.
A bit nonsensical when a company can be checked online, as a public government database should be more reliable than a piece of paper.
This opens so many opportunities for the use of fake documents…

 

[Forester]

When a bank says "online" it means you don't need to physically come and meet them. It doesn't mean you can open account without getting your a*s off the sofa and sending them any documents.

Really a good point!
It could, in fact, have been a misunderstanding between the CIM Banque clerk and @NeoNeo...

72 EUR from you... they lost a lot more money on your by wasting time on even checking your documents and talking to you on the phone.

That is, probably, true.

A bit nonsensical when a company can be checked online, as a public government database should be more reliable than a piece of paper.
This opens so many opportunities for the use of fake documents…

I agree at 100%; but a technical remark: Do not overlook that “Serbia doesn't have an open business registry in English.“ – this is, AFAIK, valid not only for Serbia. And, of course, it is not possible to use Google Translate or any similar on-line translator for any legally binding action, as it is not – and, in fact, cannot be – certified in any way. (BTW, especially Google Translate is able to produce a total bulls**t/nonsense. Experimentally verified many times.)