We would like to offer you an excellent opportunity to open a non-resident bank account in Serbia. Should you wish so, this can be done remotely using a Power of Attorney and an authorized representative. The service is available to owners of non-resident companies.
Non-resident banking is becoming less and less available everywhere. Quite often, banks refuse to work with clients from the third countries, preferring to the representatives of local companies.
Serbia is different from many countries in what concerns the opening of bank accounts for companies and their branches, even if owned by a foreigner. So, if you decide to establish a company in Serbia, you will be able to open a bank account for it easily and quickly.
As for foreign companies that need a bank account, they must proceed carefully and use the help of experts. The main point is that not every bank is ready to open accounts for non-residents. One should know exactly who to contact to open a non-resident account.
Banks do not like advertising this opportunity for a simple reason: as soon as it becomes known that the bank is ready to work with foreign clients, the inflow of applications increases rapidly. Unreliable businesses are increasingly trying to get through among other applicants, ruining the bank’s reputation and attracting unnecessary attention of the regulatory authorities. After a short period time, auditors come to the bank and it is forced to close most of the non-resident accounts for its own safety.
We have seen this scenario unfolding for more than once in other countries.
Therefore, please be prepared for the fact that your application for opening a non-resident bank account in Serbia will be carefully verified before you get your account opened.
We will give you a choice of the banks that are ready to work with non-residents. You just need to consider a few important points.
Discuss the details with an expert
Check the list of required documents, and get the details of the process, terms, and costs.
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Peculiarities of Serbian Banks for Opening Non-Resident Accounts
Only a few banks are ready to work with non-residents. Potential clients must meet certain conditions and must not be subject to applicable restrictions.
First of all, you will not be able to open an account if your company is based in North Korea or Iran, or you are a resident of these countries. Most likely you are not, but we could not fail to mention it.
Also, the banks will not work with companies from monitored jurisdictions. Here is the list of high-risk countries issued by FATF: Bahamas, Botswana, Ghana, Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia. Interestingly, Serbia is also on the FATF list as a high-risk country. But local companies can open bank account quickly and easily.
Secondly, certain banks are not ready to work with the projects in the field of cryptocurrencies.
Here are the fiat currencies proposed by the banks for major operations: EUR, USD, RSD, CHF.
Next, we will cover more hand-on points.
The banks we offer to our clients provide them with access to their opened accounts via the Internet banking.
A deposit may be required depending on the bank. In some cases it is USD 100,000, and in other cases it is 0. The requirements to the minimum balance also very much depend on the bank. We will be offering you those banks only that do not have such requirements.
Issuance of cards for corporate accounts also depends on the bank: some do not issue them at all, and other work with the local dinar cards or the international Visa card system.
The banks will allow you to open your account remotely if you have an authorized representative. You will need to make a Power of Attorney for opening an account, and our experts in Serbia will open an account with a local bank for your company.
Important point : if your company has already been rejected several times when applied for opening an account in other jurisdictions, then issues may arise in Serbia as well. Local banks are ready to work with many clients, but they will doubt those who have been systematically rejected by their colleagues, as much as many banks in other jurisdictions.
When working with the Serbian banks, it does not matter if we are talking about a private or a corporate account, one point must be taken into consideration: before you become a permanent and reliable partner to the bank, you must carry out several transactions. And these very transactions are always the most sensitive. The bank can and most likely will have questions about any of them.
In order to get answers to these questions, the bank’s representatives will try to contact you. We encourage you to stay in touch with the bank during the first weeks and months and, most importantly, to provide your answers within 24 hours. Otherwise, the bank will freeze your transaction, and after a couple of similar situations, it will just close your account out of harm’s way.
We would like to reiterate that. It is important to stay in touch with your bank and promptly respond to the bank’s questions, provide your answers to keep the account operational.
At the same time, we do understand that there may be external circumstances due to which you will not be able to react immediately, such as vacation, illness of your loved ones, force majeure in business. But for the bank, such reasons are no excuse.
Therefore, we would like to offer you this opportunity of appointing our Serbian office as a backup contact. So, if the bank has any questions and cannot get through to you, the bank will contact our experts and ask them to clarify the details of your transaction. In this case, we will help you to resolve a disputable situation with the bank and preserve your perfect reputation.
You can request this service at the very start or decline it. It is free for the first few, most critical, transactions. Should you decide to decline this service, we would like to repeat it once again. Please stay in touch with the bank so that there will be no reason to close your account.
What Documents Are Required to Open a Non-Resident Bank Account in Serbia?
In order to open an account in Serbia for a non-resident company, you will need the following package of documents:
- Company’s extract from the Register with apostille. The document must not be older than 3 months, an original and a translation by an authorized translator are required;
- Certificate of Incumbency. It also must not be older than 3 months, with apostille, an original and a copy translated into Serbian by an authorized translator;
- Certificate of Good Standing;
- Notarized and apostilled Power of Attorney for opening a corporate account;
- Articles of Association and other official company documents (in Serbian);
- Description of your business activities;
- Copies of passports of the beneficiaries, controlling persons (directors, managers, etc.).
- Power of Attorney if the account is being open remotely
The banks may request a letter describing the structure of your company signed by the director or the authorized person. You will also need a certified sample of signatures and filled out forms for opening a bank account signed by the person specified in the Power of Attorney.
It should be borne in mind that the requirements of Serbian banks to their potential clients are ever stepping up, just like it happens everywhere in the world. It becomes more difficult to open corporate accounts for non-resident companies. Despite this, it is possible to open an account in Serbia if the following conditions are met: careful preparation of a complete set of documents; preliminary examination of documents by the bank via the Pre-Approval Service.
It is also important to understand that non-residents will not be able to enjoy the whole range of services available with the bank, unlike the residents. That is why we highly recommend your getting a resident status in Serbia to ensure more convenient banking terms and conditions. This can be done through the incorporation of a company in Serbia or through the purchase of real estate .
Starting since summer 2019, Serbia has joined the CRS Standard and now exchanges banking information .
Costs for Opening a Bank Account for a Non-Resident Company in Serbia
The basic cost of the service for opening an account for a non-resident company – upon request. It includes the paperwork, careful selection of the bank, communication with the bank, opening of the account.
If your company has a complex corporate structure, in particular, a nominee service is used, then it takes more time to verify all the documents and explain the subtleties to the bank. Banks do not like working with clients they do not understand. In this case, please check the exact cost of this service with our consultants: info@offshore-pro.info.
You will also need to get translations into Serbian made. It is 20 euro per page.
Notarization also requires expenditures.
You can come to Serbia in person without any need for the Power of Attorney. Please find out more at info@offshore-pro.info.
Serbia is Not a Bank Account Only
We recommend that you pay attention to obtaining a resident status in Serbia that is granted for investment. Thanks to this solution, you can ensure more favorable conditions for working with the local banks. Residents are always trusted more than non-residents. What does it give you? You can get a resident status in the country that is going to join the EU together with the prospect of getting a second passport. This status can be combined with others, for example, with the residency of Panama.
Residency permit in Serbia is often chosen for minimizing any possible political and social risks, as well as for making the taxation more efficient.
You can get a residency permit in Serbia by investing in a company or real estate. If you wish, you can become a tax resident of Serbia and use its double taxation agreements.
Procedure of Opening a Bank Account in Serbia for a Non-Resident Company
- Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@offshore-pro.info.
- We will ask you to provide the initial information about yourself and your business. A specific list of data will be provided by our consultant.
- After that we will ask you to pay for the service of opening a non-resident bank account. The exact cost will be calculated upon your request. It depends on various factors, such as the type of your business, your citizenship and residency, etc.
- Please make sure to prepare a complete package of your papers. If you plan to open your account remotely, you will need to send us the Power of Attorney.
- After that we will start the procedure of opening your bank account.
Please be informed that it will take about 3 months to open a non-resident account. However, there is a risk of being denied the service by the bank. We will do our best to identify this risk in advance and offer you the possible alternatives.
Should your have any questions related to opening bank accounts for non-resident companies, please feel free to contact our experts at info@offshore-pro.info.
