INTRODUCTION SERVICES FOR OPENING BANK AND PAYMENT ACCOUNTS

A bank account is the most difficult to open and involves the successful completion of all stages of the application to the company, which has a bank license in the country of its establishment, and is therefore controlled directly by the Central Bank of that jurisdiction. Strict requirements to the activity, expensive conditions of getting and activity under such license make such payment institutions to be very scrupulous while opening accounts for new clients. As a result, it may take from three months to one year to open a bank account. Further payments can also take a long time. Nevertheless, this account has many advantages, including a guarantee of funds on the account, a wide list of provided payment and financial services, including cash operations, as well as a high level of service and availability of a physical bank office.

Payment systems and accounts in them are alternatives to bank accounts and are characterized by high speed of account opening, limited type of rendered services, speed of verification and non-cash nature of payments, as well as possibility to perform all actions remotely.

Merchant account is an account in the licensed payment system to accept and process payments from cards of payment systems (Visa, Master Card, Union Pay etc.) via Internet. Another name for this service is card processing. After funds are credited to a merchant account, funds can be withdrawn to the company's current account (bank or payment system).

We cannot open an account for you with a bank or payment system. This is the prerogative of the payment institution itself. You can also apply for an account with a payment institution yourself. Introductory services means that we help you to open an account with a payment institution. We undertake collection, preparation and filing of documents, often through already established contacts with payment institutions, which allows you to quickly and from the first time to ensure the correct application to open an account. We also take care of simultaneous submission of such applications to various payment institutions and subsequent provision of necessary answers up to the successful commencement of work. Moreover, we advise the customer at all stages of the process from the choice of account type and currency, preferred payment institution and approximate terms of service up to the moment of the account start and provision of information for the first payments. In this regard, the introdeposit services are also divided into two parts in terms of payment. We will not charge you extra money in case of an unsuccessful attempt to open an account, only the amount required to accompany the application procedure itself. Our company's success fee will be paid only if the account is successfully opened.

In order to open an account, we require an extended Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure for the payment institution. In most cases in this procedure we require not just a set of documents on the beneficiary of the company, but also on the director, an apostilled and translated set of company documents, sometimes corporate structures, agreements with counterparties and other documents may also be required, the list of which is not limited.

Information on the geography of payments and counterparties. Information about accounts in other payment institutions. Desired currencies and payment systems (SWIFT, SEPA, Sofort) accounts in the payment institution or options to accept funds for merchant accounts. Type of activity of the company, expected turnover on incoming and outgoing payments. Information on the presence of the US citizens, persons included in the sanctions lists, persons who are politically Exposed Persons (PEP) among the applicants.

This is a fairly common question, especially among first-time customers who are confronted with the issue of opening foreign accounts. In most cases, it is not possible (and not recommended) to be limited to one single account for all necessary transactions and requires the correct construction of the payment infrastructure, both for legal entities and individuals.

Just schedule a free consultation with us and we will be happy to help you select the most appropriate option. There is no universal jurisdiction for working with the whole world and this will require clearly defining the countries where potential clients and counterparties of the company are located.

Depending on the country and the chosen payment institution, as well as the type of account, the opening time may vary from one day to half a year.

A shareholder is a person who is listed as the owner of a share or shares in a company and can claim a dividend. Beneficiary is the person who actually controls the company and in whose interests it makes profits. Often, the beneficiary and the shareholder are the same, but sometimes the real beneficiary of the company may hire special people (in jurisdictions where it is allowed) - nominee shareholders and directors who will perform all tasks on behalf of the beneficiary as his. In some countries, nominee shareholders and directors work on a professional basis and are licensed by the state authorities. The presence of a nominee shareholder or director does not mean anonymity of the beneficiary's activities and often information about him/her is also transferred to the state authorities, but these services are still used, for example, to hide from public access information about the real owner of the company, while maintaining transparency before the state authorities and banks. The presence of a nominee director or shareholder in the structure of the company always has a negative impact on the likelihood of opening an account.

No. In many cases, you will be required to pay taxes and fees as determined by the jurisdiction. In other cases, your tax may be 0%, but it will not relieve you from the obligation to report on the company's activities. In some countries, registering a company offshore still requires the beneficiary to pay taxes under the controlled foreign company rules.

Yes, of course, there are no barriers to opening a foreign account except as expressly set forth in the laws of the jurisdiction where the account is opened. Nevertheless, it should be taken into account that the jurisdiction of citizenship or tax residency of the person who is the beneficiary of the account to be opened may have additional requirements for notification of the fact of opening of the account, reporting on the transactions carried out on it, as well as on the procedure for replenishment and payments from such an account.

It should also be noted that hiding this information from the state authorities is not possible in the case of opening an account at a bank, since most banks of jurisdictions popular for the opening of foreign accounts are connected to the automatic exchange of tax information (mechanism of the CRS BEPS).

In order to avoid additional complications after account opening, our specialists will advise you on all necessary issues that need to be solved when opening an account with a foreign payment institution.