- Horizons and benefits for holders of non-resident corporate accounts in Montenegro
- Benefits available to non-resident clients holding corporate accounts with the recommended bank in Montenegro
- Constraints posed to non-resident clients wishing to apply for corporate accounts in the recommended bank in Montenegro
- Restrictions on the place of incorporation
- Restrictions on the type of activity of corporate clients
- Essentials to consider before you apply for corporate accounts in Montenegro
- Types of business accounts
- Currencies
- Corporate cards in Montenegro
- Tariffs for payment cards
- Fee schedule for non-resident companies
- How to apply for corporate accounts in Montenegro
- The 6 steps:
Foreign companies benefit a lot from holding corporate accounts in Montenegro. Access to classic banking products, business, and investment opportunities in this attractive European jurisdiction is a virtue in its own right. Besides, it can be your springboard for success in other markets. Our services are a a reliable and efficient way to bypass the likely challenges for non-resident businesses in Montenegro.
Horizons and benefits for holders of non-resident corporate accounts in Montenegro
Montenegro is an Eastern European country known for many strengths, including a stable high economic growth. Though it is not in the SEPA area and direct payments across EU countries are not available, its currency is Euro. Besides, Montenegro is an EU candidate and is preparing to join the European Union in 2025. Such prospects enhance the economic appeal of this jurisdiction yet now.
Companies with bank accounts in Montenegro can undoubtedly take advantage of the opening opportunities to develop partnerships, enter other markets, explore new financial products, and acquire advanced instruments. For example, you may profit from currency exchange operations (Swap, Forward, SPOT), order investment services.
Our experts recommend to foreign companies a Montenegrin bank which is a reputable multipurpose financial institution. It offers all conventional and many advanced banking services, tools, and solutions for international payments in different currencies. The bank positions itself as a reliable, customer-oriented company.
Benefits available to non-resident clients holding corporate accounts with the recommended bank in Montenegro:
- access to a full range of banking products and services
- opportunity to make international payments in different currencies
- individual approach to clients
- internet and mobile banking
- corporate payment cards in euro and other currencies
- SWIFT payments
- remote account opening
- professional support in English and some other languages of its target client categories
- same-currency or converted payout of foreign currency transfers from abroad
- financial and investment services, including securities trading, trust and custody transactions, wealth management.
For non-resident corporate clients, the recommended bank is a unique financial partner with an extensive portfolio of banking services, including the following:
- domestic and international transfers in different currencies
- loans/deposits
- provision of bank guarantees
- deposit accounts
- e-banking
- bank cards
- forfeiting
- factoring
- financial leasing
- currency exchange.
The target client group of the bank is companies of all forms of ownership and business sizes, including non-resident entities.
The tariff policy of the recommended bank follows the principles of transparency and customer-specific pricing. The overall attitude to corporate clients builds on friendliness, mutual trust, and awareness of the clients’ business needs.
Constraints posed to non-resident clients wishing to apply for corporate accounts in the recommended bank in Montenegro
In 2018 the bank decided to work mainly with onshore companies. Owners of offshore companies holding corporate accounts were allowed time to redomicile or transfer funds to another bank.
As of today, the bank considers opening corporate accounts for companies that meet the following requirements:
- file reports in the country of registration
- pay income tax in the country of registration
- have an office in the country of incorporation..
Restrictions on the place of incorporation
The recommended bank, as well as the correspondent bank, may avoid or restrict cooperation with certain clients, depending on the place of incorporation/location of their company or business activity,
Andorra Anguilla Anjouan Islands Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Belize Bermuda Bonaire Sint Eustatius and Saba British Virgin Islands Brunei Cayman Islands Cook Islands Costa Rica Cuba Curaçao Dominica DPRK Eritrea Gibraltar Grenada Iran Labuan Lebanon Liberia Libya |
Macao Madeira Maldives Marshall Islands Mauritius Montserrat Myanmar Nauru Niue Palau Panama Puerto Rico Republic of Djibouti Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Seychelles Somalia Sri Lanka St Maarten (Netherlands) St Vincent and the Grenadines States of Wyoming and Delaware Sudan Syria Tonga Turks and Caicos Islands Vanuatu Virgin Islands Western Samoa |
For more information and updates on the above-given list of ineligible jurisdictions of incorporation/location, please refer to our experts.
The recommended bank offers preferential treatment to companies from certain countries. For example, applicants from Ukraine enjoy more favors because of the growing popularity of Montenegrin tourist destinations with Ukrainians. This special welcome to applicants from the places generating inbound tourist flows is justified by Montenegro’s economic dependence on tourism.
Restrictions on the type of activity of corporate clients
Restrictions on the type of activity of corporate clients
Corporate account opening may be difficult for companies that
- practice harmful or exploitative forms of labor, including forced labor
- engage in illegal or banned activities
- produce or trade in ozone-depleting substances subject to international control and termination
- develop driftnet fishing in the marine environment, use nets longer than 2.5 km
- undertake activities that affect lands of indigenous peoples without their consent.
Essentials to consider before you apply for corporate accounts in Montenegro
To open a business account with a bank in Montenegro and use it as long as you need it, a foreign company needs to prove that all its operations are legal, and its activities are transparent. If there are signs of fictitious or fake data, such as sending payments to or receiving funds from dubious recipients, the bank may refuse/suspend cooperation.
Types of business accounts:
- settlement accounts
- currency-specific accounts
- debit card accounts
- Escrow accounts
- savings accounts
- investment accounts.
Currencies
Funds are credited in the currency in which they were received or can be converted and credited in the currency of the account. That is why we recommend you open several multicurrency accounts to save on currency exchange. The Bank of Montenegro works with all major world currencies.
In addition to conventional transactions involving currency exchange, the recommended bank offers other financial services to non-resident companies.
Corporate cards in Montenegro
The Bank of Montenegro offers Mastercard Business Debit multi-currency payment cards to corporate clients. Every card is linked to a special account and is not subject to payment and withdrawal limits.
Payments and withdrawals from payment cards can be in two currencies – U.S. dollars (USD) and euro (EUR).
Tariffs for payment cards
One-off card fee | €2.5 |
Monthly maintenance fee for the additional card from | from €5 |
Annual fee for additional cards | from €60 |
Fee for checking if your card is blacklisted (search in the ChexSystems records) | €25 |
Fee schedule for non-resident companies
All non-resident clients who opened accounts with a Montenegrin bank are clustered into 2 groups in the tariff schedule. This division is by the country of incorporation.
- Group A jurisdictions:
Antigua and Barbuda, Andorra, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bahrain, Belize, Brunei, Grenada, Grenadines, British Dependencies (Anguilla, Bermuda, BVI, Montserrat, Gibraltar, Turks and Caicos, Cayman Islands), Dominica, Costa Rica, Panama, Mauritius, Labuan, Maldives, New Zealand (Cook Islands, Niue), Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba), St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Tonga, Samoa, Seychelles, St. Kitts & Nevis, Sri Lanka, Palau, Vanuatu, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Hong Kong (companies that do not operate in the jurisdiction and are not income taxpayers), UAE (companies registered in the Free Economic Zones), UK, Ireland, Canada (Limited Liability Partnership, LTD. д.).
- Group B jurisdictions:
All jurisdictions not listed in Group A.
Fees in euros | Group А | Group В |
Opening | 4.7 | 2.1 |
Opening of another account | 500 | 350 |
Monthly maintenance during the first 6 months from the 7th month |
0 150 |
0 50 |
Monthly maintenance of other accounts | 25 | 25 |
Closing of current and additional accounts | 1 | 500 |
Escrow account opening | 0.35% (min. €150) | |
Closing of Escrow account | 0 |
Fee per transaction, euro | SHA/BEN | OUR | |
EUR Standard Urgent Express Express up to €150 |
25 35 40 8 |
35 45 50 8 |
|
USD Standard Urgent Express |
0.1% (min. 70 – max. 190 0.1% (min. 80 – max. 290) 0.1% (min. 90 – max. 390) |
00.1% (min. 80 – max. 200) 0.1% (min. 90 – max. 300) 0.1% (min. 100 – max. 400) |
|
Other currencies Standard Urgent Express |
100 120 140 |
110 130 150 |
|
UAH Outbound Incoming |
0.1% (minimum 25) 0.1% (minimum 5) |
||
Payment in a currency that is different from the account currency | 0.2% (min. 5) |
Please note that the recommended bank’s fees and charges are subject to change. For updates, refer to our experts.
How to apply for corporate accounts in Montenegro
Foreign companies applying for business accounts with the recommended bank in Montenegro need to collect all the required documents and fill out the questionnaire forms. The standard bank terms require a visit to a bank office in Montenegro or a foreign branch. With our help, you will be able to open a corporate account with a European bank remotely.
The 6 steps:
Contact us at info@offshore-pro.info or in any of the messengers given above on this page. Specify your request in the subject line of your message.
In the questionnaire that you will receive from us, provide detailed information about the business and owners.
Pay for our services according to the invoice. Payment can be made in any convenient way. We accept payment by bank transfer, cards, in payment systems, Western Union/MoneyGram, in bitcoins, e-money, fiat money.
Following our recommendations, put together a complete package for the bank.
Prepare your representative/company owner for the interview/meeting with the bank officer.
Prepare your representative/company owner for the interview/meeting with the banking officer.
After the bank’s approval, you can use the full range of its services in Montenegro.
Opening a corporate bank account in Montenegro is quite a challenging process, almost impossible without professional help. Before making a decision, the bank conducts a preliminary assessment of the potential client. Preparation is essential. Companies that do not take it seriously usually fail. Our experts are ready to provide full support at the stage of your initial application to the recommended bank.
You will need to make certain payments to the bank yet at the stage of your application. The due diligence fee is €200 payable to the bank’s correspondent account. Then, for the notarization of the transcript from the court register, you have to pay a fee of € 150, which does not include the cost of the notary and translator’s services. After the approval, you will need to transfer the fee for opening an account. And only after that will it be activated and ready to use.
Required documents:
- Statutory and incorporation documents of the company
- Bank statements for the last 612 months
- CV of the beneficial owner, a business profile of the company
- Completed forms for the bank
- Proof of address (ownership or lease of the office and copies of rent payments)
- Document of appointment of the director (protocol, order, decision, memorandum), copies of the director’s ID/passport
- Power of attorney for the person representing the company and a copy of his/her ID/passport
- Register of founders or shareholders.
- Copy of the current ID/passport of the actual beneficial owner, notarized and apostilled
- PEP forms and FATCA statement
- Financial statements for the most recent accounting period (if applicable).
All documents for the recommended bank in Montenegro need to be in English. Copies must be certified following the standards approved by the Hague Convention of 1961.
You are welcome to book a FREE private consultation before our fee-based services.
Is it possible to open a corporate account remotely in Montenegro?
With our help, you can remotely open a business account with one of the reliable banks in Montenegro. We offer you several options on how to do it: visit in person one of the bank branches abroad; issue a power of attorney to your representative; be interviewed online. We will assist you in negotiations with the bank and prepare you for all relevant questions.
Is it necessary to make a minimum deposit to open a corporate account with a bank in Montenegro?
No. The client will only have to pay a small fee for certification and verification of documents. The account opening fee will have to be transferred after the bank issues the approval. Then the account will be activated. There is also no requirement to have a minimum balance on the account.
How many accounts can a non-resident company open with the recommended bank in Montenegro?
You have to pay a small fee for opening each additional account. The cost of opening an Escrow account is from €150, and its closing is free of charge. We recommend opening several accounts in order to save money on currency exchange. There are no limits on the number of accounts you may hold. You will be charged a tiny fee for maintaining additional accounts. Internet banking is free of charge, but you need to buy a Digipass.