Opening Bank Account
Opening a bank account in Georgia for foreigners is a remarkably simple process compared to most countries in the world. While there are dozens of banks in Georgia three biggest banks are Bank of Georgia, TBC Bank, and Liberty Bank which have correspondent banking relationships with the United States through Citibank. They are included in the London Stock Exchange’s top 250 largest companies list and shares are traded.
Bank accounts for newly registered entities can be opened as soon as the entity registration is completed. All you need to do is visit a bank, show your international passport, fill out a form, and type that your account is open for the next business day. While English is fairly commonly spoken in the country Foreign citizens need to bring a translator with them. You can also make an appointment at the bank of your choice and ask for an English-speaking banker. It is important that opening a bank account can be done from distance, remotely by Power of Attorney (POA).
Unlike most international accounts for foreigners, Georgian banks do not require a minimum deposit in order to open an account. Fees for operating the bank account are very low. It depends on which particular bank you decide to use and the level of service offered by the account. The only payment that you need to make at the time that you open the account is a small payment (about 70 Gel) in order to obtain a debit card. It can also be used to withdraw funds from ATMs both inside Georgia and around the world. The bank offers a choice of either a Visa or Mastercard. All three banks offer mobile apps for mobile banking as well as internet banking – so you can track your funds from anywhere in the world.
Bank accounts opened are three currencies in one – one each for GEL, USD, and EUR, which means that if you wire funds into your account in either USD or EUR, then the funds will remain in that currency until you want to convert them. All bank accounts in Georgia use the international IBAN format, which makes it simple to transfer funds between the accounts without the difficulties of working out the SWIFT/BIC Codes. Funds sent to the account arrive quickly, no later than the next working day.
