Opening an account in a foreign bank

Conditions for opening a foreign account

Opening a foreign bank account for private individuals and legal entities is often a necessary step to protect their assets from possible risks, regardless of their country of origin. The owner of a bank account abroad can safely store, increase and manage his capital. But, the question often arises: can a Ukrainian have an account in a foreign bank? There are no restrictions, both for individuals and companies from Ukraine, on opening a foreign currency, settlement, savings or other type of foreign account abroad. Therefore, with the right choice of a bank, it is definitely worth taking advantage of the privileges of opening an account abroad. Choosing a bank is not an easy task, especially for those who have not previously worked in the international arena. The key criteria that a bank must meet are the stability of the country, the international rating, the level of personal data protection, loyalty of tariffs, the economic stability of the bank, and the requirements for customers.

Remote opening of foreign accounts in foreign banks

For Ukrainians or other non-residents, it is possible to open an account in a foreign / European bank without leaving Ukraine: our lawyers will provide remote identification, online submission of documents and directly remote opening of a bank account. In some cases, to open an account in a foreign bank (primarily for European investment banks), a personal meeting with a banker or bank representative in Ukraine may be required, but the account registration itself and its management will take place via the Internet. In Europe, a citizen of Ukraine can open a personal, corporate, settlement, investment, savings and other account in a reliable and trusted foreign bank. A bank account abroad can be opened for both an individual and a legal entity, with the exception of banks that cooperate with only one category of clients. An account abroad for an individual will be a relevant solution for the safety of funds, instant transfers and personal settlements abroad. Another advantage is remote account management: via the Internet or mobile banking. Also, non-resident individuals can be offered virtual and physical payment cards.

Stages of opening an account in a foreign bank:

• selection of a financial institution and country for opening an account;
• analysis and collection of necessary documents;
• passing banking compliance procedures KYC and Due diligence;
• acquaintance of the bank with the owner of the business and/or the owner of the account;
• signing bank forms and documents;
• confirmation of opening a bank account;
• providing access to a foreign account.

To open an account with a foreign bank, it is important to know what verification procedures are carried out by financial institutions and what documents will be required. All world, including European banks, in their activities adhere to the basic principle – Know Your Client (Know your client), which involves the initial acquaintance of the bank with the client and the collection of information about him. Banks also apply the procedure of in-depth due diligence for risks, compliance with all norms and requirements. During such a check, additional data and information about the client may be requested. As part of the financial institution’s compliance with the KYC policy, the bank collects basic information about the client, his activities, partners, counterparties, and if there is enough data, forms a preliminary response on the possibility of opening an account.

Basic documents required to open a corporate account:

• copies of passports of director, shareholder and beneficiaries (many banks require notarized copies of passports of director, shareholder and beneficiary);
• utility bills linked to the address of residence of the director, beneficiary, shareholder;
• CV of director, shareholder, beneficiary;
• bank recommendation from any bank where a personal account of a beneficiary, shareholder, director is opened;
• originals of the company’s founding documents;
• company registration certificate;
• a document confirming the active status of the company (Certificate of Good Standing);
• detailed description of activities (business plan for new companies);
• description of the company’s structure;
• a package of documents confirming the welfare of the shareholder, beneficiary;
• power of attorney to open and dispose of accounts.

This list of documents may differ depending on the type of account, country of registration, legal form of the company and the requirements of a particular bank.

Basic documents required to open a personal account:

• originals of internal and foreign passports;
• identification tax number;
• utility bill linked to residential address (upon request).

The procedure for opening a foreign account for individuals is more simplified, since basic personal documents are sufficient to identify the client. In this regard, it is possible to open a personal account in a shorter time than a corporate one. In exceptional cases, the bank may carry out additional verification by requesting documents on the origin of funds. For legal entities, proof of wealth is often required by banks, according to AML (Anti-Money Laundering) anti-money laundering standards.

Additional bank checks

Foreign banks, before opening an account, sometimes want to get to know the client and his activities in more detail, for which they use an extended compliance procedure called Due diligence. Usually, this procedure additionally requests documents confirming the source of income and well-being. Documents accepted by a foreign bank as proof of income:

• bank statements from the account for the last 3-6 months;
• certificate of payroll or other payments;
• declarations of property and wealth from the tax office;
• confirmation of income from the sale/rent of real estate;
• confirmation of income from shares/corporate rights;
• documents on winnings, donations or inheritances;
• other documents confirming the source of origin of the person’s income.

After the bank receives a full package of documents required to open an account, the bank carries out a set of internal banking procedures that allow assessing the integrity and reliability of a potential client. Despite the slight complexity of the procedure at first glance, there can really be many nuances. Therefore, it is important to seek help from a qualified specialist who will help resolve all problematic issues when opening an account with a foreign bank, since depending on the jurisdiction and internal rules, the list of documents and data requested from clients may differ. Moreover, when opening accounts abroad on your own, a situation may arise that the bank will take a non-refundable commission for reviewing documents and analyzing them, and as a result will refuse to open an account, so it is important to enlist the support of experienced lawyers in order to avoid negative last and bank refusal.