Opening a corporate account in Europe remotely in 2023

In connection with the global epidemic of Covid-19, the closure of borders between states and forced quarantine, for entrepreneurs, wishing to start a business in Europe and the EU, the question of where and how to open an account in the EU remotely becomes more urgent.

This material was prepared for informational purposes.

A brief INFORMATION ABOUT EU

The European Union is an international economic and political organization, which currently includes 27 European countries. In order to strengthen the economy of the European zone, the leaders of the countries decided to create a banking union.

Benefits

For those, who would like to start a business and open an account in the EU, we want to note:

• you can open both personal and corporate accounts in the European Union (without residency requirements);
• it is possible to open an account in the EU without a personal visit; as well as
• you can freely make payments and transfers across borders.

Where and how to open an account in the EU remotely?

When deciding to open an account for a company in the EU remotely, it is worth considering, that this procedure may differ depending on the choice of the country. We would like to draw your attention to the fact, that not all jurisdictions, that are a part of the EU, open an account without a personal presence.

Below in the article we will consider, in which states it is possible to open a corporate account in Europe and the European Union remotely:

• Switzerland. Entrepreneurs, who decide to open an account in Europe remotely, choose Switzerland as an appropriate business platform. It is worth knowing, that only people, who are not on the lists of unreliable persons or intruders, can open accounts here. There is a large selection of banks, but you need to focus only on operating in Switzerland, because the branches operate under the laws of the jurisdiction, that they represent. Having decided to open a corporate account in Switzerland remotely, along with many others, you should pay attention to the following banks: Hinduja Bank, Banque Cantonale de Genève (BCGE), BPS (Suisse), CBH Bank.
• Serbia. Choosing Serbia as the jurisdiction for account opening in Europe remotely, you should know, that you can open an account for a European company here. Serbia is a country in southeastern Europe, that is not included in any of the «blacklists». Only a company with a direct structure can open a corporate account in Serbia. For those, who wish to open an account in Serbia remotely, there is a fairly good selection of banks, which include: Sberbank Srbija, Societe Generale Srbija, Banka Postanska Stedionica A.D. and Raiffeisen banka Srbija.
• Macedonia. Our experts will provide you with qualified support in obtaining preliminary permission to open an account in Macedonia remotely in six banks, such as: Eurostandard bank, Capital Bank, Stopanska banka Skopje, Stopanska banka Bitola, UNI bank, NLB banka.
• Belarus. Belarus is also worth considering as a jurisdiction, where you can open an account in the European Union remotely. A country has a fairly large selection of financial institutions, where you can open an account in Belarus remotely. These include: Zepter and RRB.
• Poland. In Poland a visit to approve an application to open an account with a Polish bank is not required. Your physical presence will be necessary only in the event of a final satisfactory verdict of the bank, immediately upon execution of all necessary documents. For opening an account in Poland remotely, our experts recommend paying attention to Bank Zachodni WBK.
• Portugal. Portugal is the «golden mean» among the countries of the European Union. Therefore, those, who wish to open an account in the EU, should pay attention to this country. You can open an account in Portugal for different types of companies. For opening an account in Poland remotely, our experts recommend Caixa Geral de Depositos, Millennium BCP Portugal and Novo Banco.
• Hungary. Hungary may be a good choice for opening an account in the EU without a personal visit. Despite the fact, that all banks in the country require a personal visit of the beneficiary, it is still possible to open an account in Hungary remotely. For this there is only one bank: MKB Bank.

You can find out more about the requirements of banks and the features of the procedure for opening an account in the above jurisdictions from our employees.