Offshore Company + Bank + Merchant Acc. for a startup?

[Flycatcher]

Hey all!

I recently got interested in establishing an offshore company, sorry, I just found OffshoreCorpTalk and already want to make a post asking questions, please forgive me. >.< I don't want to appear as a typical noob, here I'll try to make my case clear...

So! Here's my business plan:

• My business will be a blog (I know how "hard" it is, or easy if you know how. This isn't one of those sites where you get plastered with low-quality free ebook offers.)
• I will be selling digital content and private advertisement space
• I will need to accept credit cards as a payment methods (I wish a regular consumer knew about Bitcoin, but sorry, I don't think that will work!!)
• I want maximum privacy (No public details in the corporate register please)

For the above purpose, I need these typical four things:

• An offshore company
• An offshore bank
• A merchant account
• Web hosting + domain

I have a problem. After contacting several agents and banks, I've found out that while establishing an offshore company is easy, banks are extremely reluctant to open an account for me.

This is because:

• Of my desire to stay private (I have no problems providing the necessary due diligence documents, the privacy I want is that I don't want my neighbour to find me as the operator)
• I don't have a complete product (Blogging is different in the sense that I have to start and build for months before I can get a complete product)
• I am young, bootstrapping and with no track record (I mean. I've read a lot about operating a business for several years and finally I want to take the plunge. I need to start from somewhere!!)

Guys, if you made it this far, great. I'd need some assistance.

Is there any kind of an offshore company + bank + merchant account which will work for me?

Here's a current idea of mine: Incorporate in Samoa as an IBC, get a bank account from Cyprus. The Merchant account would be WorldPay. Would this be realistic?

And any providers you could recommend? I've used the forum search for several threads and I have a list of providers, but I'm always open up for recommendations...

Thanks!!!

 

[lastchance]

I only see Cyprus, BVI, Malta as real offshore jurisdictions around in Europe and where you can get all of it under one roof. You want to show the merchant account provider a clean structure i.e. only BVI, Cyprus or Malta corp and bank account.. once you have the merchant account approved you can do a restructure and put a Samoa Holding company in top.

 

[Cyrus05]

Welcome to the forum and I'm new to here as well. To think that you already plans to create a company already right after reading and starting an account here sounds really good. I hope you find the answer that you're searching for and just wait for the members and admins here to answer you

 

[negon]

You can do this with a Cyprus and BVI company. There is a processor that claims they can do payment processing for Belize corps. I'm testing this atm.

 

[JohnLocke]

You can do this with a Cyprus and BVI company. There is a processor that claims they can do payment processing for Belize corps. I'm testing this atm.

Please PM me if you find something that works

Otherwise European companies are the only working atm. i.e. Cyprus, BVI and UK.

 

[Flycatcher]

I only see Cyprus, BVI, Malta as real offshore jurisdictions around in Europe and where you can get all of it under one roof. You want to show the merchant account provider a clean structure i.e. only BVI, Cyprus or Malta corp and bank account.. once you have the merchant account approved you can do a restructure and put a Samoa Holding company in top.

Nice, thanks, this is some quality information. Couldn't possibly have thought that I could get the Samoan IBC later, this sounds like a plan!

Welcome to the forum and I'm new to here as well. To think that you already plans to create a company already right after reading and starting an account here sounds really good. I hope you find the answer that you're searching for and just wait for the members and admins here to answer you

Welcome to you too! Can see you've already put tons of replies around here.

Believe me, I've been planning to start a company months now... got heavily interested in incorporating offshore due to various reasons you may all know already.

Have to say I'm positively surprised at the quality of this place, people around here really seem to know what are they talking about and act professional.

You can do this with a Cyprus and BVI company. There is a processor that claims they can do payment processing for Belize corps. I'm testing this atm.

Great, I'll note this down. Thanks. I was told that BVIs aren't that good because apparently they are outright refused in some bank secrecy countries like Hong Kong. But I will absolutely investigate into what you said.

 

[negon]

BVI is for sure the last stop!! only if you can't get a merchant account for your current company and you want to incorporate somewhere considered offshore ( I don't say it is any longer) you may choose the BVI! Forget about tax evasion now a days

 

[lucy]

I chose Hong Kong with an agency called Startupr 10 days ago, paid 844 usd and waited 24 hours for the business to get registered and documents emailed to me. Next is bank... i'm leaning towards CIM Banque at the moment.

 

[negon]

CIM bank is interesting. Please report back here if you succeed with the account opening there.

 

[andreas]

For your all information I'm testing something with some of the major International payment processors atm and offshore comapny setup setups. Some of this seems to Work, if it does, I will go and publich it here or in the Mentor Group forum.

 

[redeye]

I chose Hong Kong with an agency called Startupr 10 days ago, paid 844 usd and waited 24 hours for the business to get registered and documents emailed to me. Next is bank... i'm leaning towards CIM Banque at the moment.

Congrats with all I read about the HK company formation here, Hong Kong is a trap, a fake good offshore jurisdiction I think you get troubles sooner or later!

 

[JohnSeed]

OP did you get your offshore company setup? Just wondering where and how you did it?

 

[andreas]

For the above purpose, I need these typical four things:

• An offshore company
• An offshore bank
• A merchant account
• Web hosting + domain

Keep it all in Cyprus I say, so you will have a simple to setup solution for your business. I'm on the research of Ireland atm. seeking more information before I give it a shoot.

 

[JohnLocke]

As soon as you consider a Merchant Account for your business and you still look for an option to lower your overall tax burden then Cyprus is one of the best places in Europe.

 

[Flycatcher]

OP did you get your offshore company setup? Just wondering where and how you did it?

No, not yet. I need to find a bank. I've found merchant accounts who accept offshore companies, as well as a handful of IBC options, but no bank has yet directly expressed they want to accept me.

Lots of banks have sent me requests to submit in company documentation (boilerplate responses), but that alone AFAIK doesn't guarantee an IBC stands any chance to get forward.

 

[JohnSeed]

but no bank has yet directly expressed they want to accept me.

What business are you into?

 

[negon]

No, not yet. I need to find a bank.

Any special requirements? which banks have you tried?

 

[AlicaFunk]

You want to register a Cyprus company 1 vote more !

 

[bonzo]

OP do you mind to tell us where this ended please?

 

[Flycatcher]

What business are you into?

Online blog with digital e-books, 100% white hat and quality content

Any special requirements? which banks have you tried?

Required:

- The bank must be open to IBCs
- The bank must be set up to handle ongoing transactions on a regular basis, e.g. daily or at least weekly
- The bank must have an online interface
- The bank should be located in a reasonable stable jurisdiction. E.g. No Mongolian or Liberian banks where corruption is a likely possibility and I lose my money

Preferred:

- Bank secrecy (as much as still possible post-AEOI)
- Merchant accounts at the bank
- I try to avoid Caribbean after several reports that those banks are not generally of high quality.

- National Bank of Dominica

Fast reply, declared that I'd need a Dominican company to open a bank account with them.

- Global Bank of Commerce (Antigua)

Fast reply, currently only open account for Antiguan registered companies.

- ICICI Bank (Singapore)

Fast and polite reply, they do not currently open accounts for non-residents.

- Hang Seng Bank (Hong Kong)

Provided me a list of documentations I'd need to provide so that they could process the case. Note that there has been no information specifically regarding whether they'd accept IBCs. It's like a chicken and egg situation where you don't know where you should register your IBC but only find out after you have registered it.

Unconfirmed reports say that BVI IBCs and some other IBCs are strongly not recommended for Hong Kong anymore. Some seem to be fine like Samoa.

- China CITIC Bank (Hong Kong)

Pretty much identicial to Hang Seng Bank except with their own wording of course, with an important exception: This bank told that I would personally need to visit Hong Kong.

- National Bank of Vanuatu

This bank never replied to me. My guess is that they only prefer higher-profile clients.

- Capital Security Bank (Cook Islands)

Lots of polite and quick replies, eventually I found out that the minimum investment required to open an account with them is 10,000 USD. I was not able to proceed as I couldn't meet that sum at the moment. I then read that this bank specializes in asset holding and is not exactly a bank meant for day-to-day transactions. Quite expected as this bank advertises to be a "private bank".

Banks I have not contacted but I feel like not using:
- Loyal Bank because of several reports of poor service.
- Rietumu Bank and other Latvian banks because of sudden closure of accounts and alleged corruption
- Euro Pacific Bank because even though Peter Schiff is said to be a bright guy, Glassdoor reports declare that this company is not really a pleasant place to work at, and if it really is so, I'm not really
expecting good service if so.
- Lots of banks who have too high minimums
- Lots of banks who, told by several sources, do not open accounts for IBCs

OP do you mind to tell us where this ended please?

I wish...