Open a Corporate Bank Account in Georgia with the Bank of Georgia in Your Presence

Georgia is gradually becoming an increasingly attractive destination for foreign investors and businessmen. The high level of banking services, the availability of services and the current legislation on banking secrecy play an important role in this process. The Offshore Pro Group invites you to experience all the advantages of local banking and open a corporate account with the Bank of Georgia in your presence.

Georgia is an open and friendly jurisdiction for business. Here, the corporate tax rate is only 15%, and in this country it is allowed to carry out certain operations that are banned in other jurisdictions. In particular, gambling. But these are not the only advantages of the jurisdiction. The most favorable business environment in the region has been created here. This is confirmed by the country’s high positions in various rankings, in particular, 7th place in Doing Business 2020.

Georgian law prohibits the information exchange for tax purposes. In this regard, local banks do not participate in the automated information exchange on the financial accounts within the CRS.

At the same time, as of 2020, there is no information that significant amounts of “dirty” money are hidden in Georgia, and the country does not appear in various money laundering scandals. Therefore, the issue of information exchange is not particularly relevant. In principle, Georgian jurisdiction is an oasis where you can carry out your operations having significantly optimized taxation and concealing information about your cash flows within the country as much as possible. Bank secrecy, however, can be violated in cases of particularly serious crimes, such as money laundering.

Georgia has signed 56 Double Taxation Agreements (as of May 2020).

Open a Corporate Account in Georgia. Why the Bank of Georgia?

It is the leading bank in the country where clients can not just open a corporate account, but also take advantage of a wide range of financial services, including the professional brokerage, insurance and asset management services.

The institution holds the first positions in the country by every measure. It should be noted that together with TBC Bank the Bank of Georgia shares almost 80% of Georgia’s banking market. In particular, it holds 31% of the corporate loan market and 30.9% of the corporate deposit market (by the end of 2019). It provides service to most of the major local and international organizations.

For the quality of work, stability and reliability, the Bank of Georgia has repeatedly been recognized as the best financial institution in the country according to various high-profile magazines (Global Finance in 2009 and 2014, Euromoney in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2013, The Banker in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2012).

Open a Corporate Account in Georgia. Advantages of the Bank of Georgia

Having a corporate account with the Bank of Georgia offers foreigners good prospects for rapid international settlements while ensuring the highest level of confidentiality.

A non-resident who incorporated a company in Georgia cannot do without a corporate account with the local bank. It is necessary for successful operations, in order to ensure timely and fast payments for goods and services, especially with Georgian counterparties.

Advantages of a corporate account with the leading Georgian bank for businesses with foreign founders:

• no currency control;
• fast international payments;
• availability of advanced tools for remote account control;
• high level of privacy due to Georgia’s absence on the list of the CRS signatories;
• very low maintenance costs;
• wide range of services available.

Services of the Bank of Georgia Available to Corporate Clients

Bank of Georgia offers a full range of financial services taking into account the requirements and individual features of every client. The staff of the institution consists of highly qualified and professional managers who will advise and assist every client in terms of choosing banking products as appropriate to their request as possible.

Advantages of the leading bank:

• individual approach and professional advice;
• team of corporate bankers experienced in specific areas and sectors of the economy;
• wide range of innovative financial products and services with the competitive terms and conditions;
• the largest number of offices, ATMs, terminals in Georgia;
• large number of correspondent accounts around the world;
• high level of client data privacy;
• service provided in English and Russian;
• high interest rates on deposit programs in lari.

Open a Corporate Account with the Bank of Georgia

It is important! If a beneficiary of the Georgian company is not a resident of Georgia, but a resident of any other country except Georgia, including the EU countries, they will not be able to open a corporate bank account in Georgia at the moment. Please feel free to enquire about the relevance of this information by sending your request to the info@ofshore-pro.info personally. However, there is an opportunity to become a resident of Georgia, and we can assist you with applying for it. It is also possible to open a private account in Georgia and open a corporate account for a Georgian company with many banks and payment systems around the world that still work with non-residents. This can be done remotely.

Access your corporate account will be provided by means of a wide range of banking instruments. Using these instruments, clients can save time and get the opportunity to control their corporate accounts from any part of the world at any given time.

Remote banking services by the Bank of Georgia include:

• Internet banking;
• Phone banking;
• Mobile banking;
• SMS-banking;
• Automated payments;
• Standing orders.

Loan Products of the Bank of Georgia

The Bank of Georgia does not just offer you to open a corporate account, but also gives access to a wide range of loan programs that will help expand your business and increase its efficiency. The institution has 6 main loan products, covering the main client target groups:

• microloans;
• business loans;
• agricultural loans;
• overdraft;
• Made in Georgia;
• Women’s Start-Up.

Thanks to these program you will be able to obtain funding for:

• purchase of working capital or fixed assets;
• acquisition of real estate;
• repair works and refurbishment;
• current business expenses;
• repayments of debts or liabilities.

A combination of several of the above goals is also acceptable.

Available forms of lending are also diverse. The client can get the following depending on the demand in financial resources:

• renewable and non-renewable credit line;
• loan;
• overdraft.

Having obtained a loan from the Bank of Georgia, the client will be able to get a flexible repayment schedule developed in accordance with the business features and the revenues structure:

• Fixed schedule with monthly payments;
• Grace period for the basic amount and/or interest payments for businesses having seasonal revenues or engaged in agricultural production;
• Renewable credit line to finance working capital and financial transactions.

Let us take a closer look at the bank’s major loan products.

Microloan

This form of financing is best for small businesses, namely owners of small grocery stores, confectioneries, beauty salons and shops, etc.

This program allows clients to obtain up to 40,000 lari under a simplified procedure. At that, they can still stay at their office and spend no more than an hour on getting the loan. The bank manager helps the potential client to fill out the application. The decision arrives within 10 minutes after the application is submitted. If the business owner agrees with the decision, they receive a payment card with the credited money upon signing the contract.

Business Loan

You can also use this loan to start or grow a business, buy fixed assets or pay your bills. The amount of financing depends on the financial performance of the potential borrower and starts from 500 lari.

Agricultural Loan

This form of financing is designed for legal entities working in the field of agriculture. With the help of agricultural loan, clients can upgrade their fixed assets, enhance and increase their production efficiency. Just as in the previous case, the amount of financing depends on the financial performance of the client.

Overdraft

It is a short-term loan intended for covering cash gaps. Its main advantage is simplicity and fast issuing, but it is available only to the bank’s clients. The maximum credit limit is up to 5 million lari.

Made in Georgia

It is a government program aimed at supporting business in Georgia. The main goal of this program is to create new businesses and expand the existing ones.

Women’s Start-Up

This program is partially financed by the EBRD and is aimed at women who would like to start or expand their businesses. 25 million lari have been allocated for the implementation of this project. The Women’s Start-Up allows financing of projects ranging from 10,000 to 1,000,000 lari for up to 5 years. And the borrower is given 1 year of free maintenance.

It should be noted that all the loan products will become available to the Georgian company upon opening of a corporate account.

International Trade

Bank of Georgia is the undisputed leader in the country’s banking services market in terms of servicing trade and financial transactions. As a member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Asian Development Bank, as well as a member of the Trade Finance Program (TFP) and the Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP), the financial institution has a unique privilege of offering its clients individual trading solutions around the world.

Trade Financing

Clients of the bank can take advantage of all types of documentary transactions, in particular:

• Letter of Credit;
• Documentary Collection;
• All types of local and international bank guarantees;

• Export and post-export financing;
• Financing of long-term and medium-term imports;
• Factoring.

Treasury Operations

Bank of Georgia also offers its corporate clients a full range of treasury operations.

Cash transactions:

• Currency exchange: all types of currency exchange transactions at competitive rates in more than 30 foreign currencies;
• Sale and purchase of securities: In accordance with the client’s requirements, the bank will ensure the purchase of government securities at the first auction, sale and/or purchase on the secondary market, as well as transactions on the transfer of securities as collateral.

Other banking products:

• Hedging via currency forwards and currency options;
• Exchange of various foreign exchange resources via a currency swap for a specified period.

Deposits at the Bank of Georgia

Corporate account with the country’s leading bank ensures quality banking services for the company. But when the legal entity has money available, they can place it here on deposit with a benefit.

Term Deposit

Term Deposit is a product designed for safe storage of funds and receiving high interest payments.

Main conditions:

• Minimum amount: 500 units in the corresponding currency;
• Currencies: GEL or foreign currency (USD, GBP, EUR).
• Terms: for GEL the term is 3 to 24 months, for foreign currency it is 5 to 24 months.

Demand Deposit

Sight Deposit is the ideal solution if you need to:

• Have continuous access to your funds;
• Manage your funds freely and efficiently while earning a small passive profit.

Basic rules and conditions:

• Term: Unlimited.
• Currencies: GEL or USD.
• Minimum amount: no restrictions.
• Effective Interest Rate: for GEL it is 2.02%, foreign currency it is 0.25%.

If the deposit exceeds USD 1 million, the rates are negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

Bank of Georgia Plastic Cards

Foreign businessmen can get a corporate payment card issued by the bank thus getting undisrupted access to their funds in the corporate account.

Corporate Payment Cards

Visa or MasterCard corporate bank cards will help you make payments from your company’s account as fast as possible and within a short time. They are issued for 24 months, in the following currencies: GEL, USD, EUR, GPB.

Corporate Cash Card

Cash Card is a new unique card by the Bank of Georgia, designed for working with cash, helping the business owner to do the following:

• easily withdraw cash from 820 ATMs 24/7, anywhere and at any time;
• make non-cash payments using Cash Card at retail outlets;
• you do not need to go to bank office to get cash.

The daily cash withdrawal limit is up to 5,000 lari for Cash Card Silver and up to 10,000 lari for Cash Card Black.

Other Services

• Individual payroll programs;
• E-commerce;
• Asset and/or wealth management;
• SOLO, an exclusive private banking service;
• Leasing;
• Insurance;
• Brokerage services.

How Do I Open a Corporate Account with the Bank of Georgia?

In order to open a corporate account with the Bank of Georgia, you should make a certain number of steps.

Note: you will be able to open a bank account during a personal visit to the Bank of Georgia office. First of all you will need to submit notarized, apostilled and translated into English copies of your documents to the bank. After that you will be required to fill out and sign the bank forms in the presence of a bank manager. After your first personal visit and filing the full package of documents to the bank office, the bank will be reviewing them for at least 2 working days. We recommend planning a visit to the country for 4 to 5 days.

1. Should you decide to open a corporate bank account with the Bank of Georgia, do not hesitate to contact us in order to get professional assistance: info@offshore-pro.info.
2. You will need to pay the amount of 3999 EUR for our professional assistance. Payments can be made via a payment card, or via Pay Pal, Western Union, WebMoney or bank transaction.
3. After the payment you will need to prepare you documents necessary to open an account.

Here you can find the list of documents required to open a corporate account with Bank of Georgia:

For each director, shareholder, authorized representative, beneficial owner you will need:

1. A filled out, printed out and signed bank account application form;
2. Notarized copy of your travel document (pages with your photo and signature).

Required corporate documents:

1. Apostilled and notarized copy of the company’s Certificate of Incorporation;
2. Apostilled and notarized copy of the Memorandum and the Articles of Association;
3. Apostilled and notarized copy of the company’s Certificate of Good Standing if your company is more than 1 year;
4. Document on the establishment of trust property, in the case you have a corporate/nominee shareholder;
5. Power of Attorney;
6. An official letter from your current bank saying that this legal entity has an account with that bank, specifying the data on this account from which the first transfer of funds to the newly opened account with the Bank of Georgia will be made; Contact details of one of the representatives of your current bank;
7. Apostilled and notarized sample of the client’s representative’s signature.

Note: The bank may also request other documents, such as:

1. Reference letter from a bank registered in the EU/US/Canada/Australia.
2. Document confirming the source of the funds (inheritance certificate, salary certificate (account statement), dividends, income from the company shares sale or real estate sale).
3. Documents confirming the origin of funds to be transferred to the Bank of Georgia.
4. Statement from your active bank account that indicates the payment purposes. Statements without payment information are not accepted.

All of the submitted documents must be translated into English or Georgian, apostilled and notarized.

For more information, please feel free to email us to: info@offshore-pro.info.