Open a corporate account in Armenia with a personal visit – from 400 EUR

Opening a corporate account in Armenia means you will gain access to highly effective instrument  for managing your own assets, a full range of banking services and complete data confidentiality.

Our company – Offshore Pro Group provides full legal support in opening corporate accounts for non-resident companies in Armenia. The cost of the service starts from 400 EUR , (legalization and apostilization of necessary documents is charged separately).   

In the following article we will consider tariffs for servicing non-resident companies, as well as the full package of documents required for opening corporate accounts.

Open a corporate account in Armenia with a personal visit  

By opening a corporate account in Armenia with a personal visit, you will be able to ensure comprehensive protection of your own assets from possible economic and political fluctuations, to receive a full range of banking services tailored for individual needs and have access to the highest level of service.  

 An important benefit to be considered while selecting a bank by a foreign investor or legal entity is the ability to remotely manage assets and minimize the time spent on travel and flights for exchange of the necessary documents.

One of the most important advantages is the ability to remotely manage your corporate account from anywhere in the world, accessible to non-resident legal entities. However, it should be borne in mind that transactions are processed based on Armenian time for business days and hours of operation of the bank.

Resident entities of the following countries can open a corporate account in Armenia:

Each company incorporated outside of Armenia, regardless of location of its jurisdiction, is considered a non-resident, therefore the opening of a corporate account is governed by special conditions for these types of non-resident entities.

Open a corporate account in Armenia with a personal visit – special conditions for non-resident legal entities

The first and most important step is the translation of all corporate documents into Armenian and notarization with an apostille. To open a corporate account in Armenia, you will be requested to provide:

• company charter or memorandum;
• certificate of registration;
• a resolution on the appointment of directors / managers or a Certificate of Directors depending on jurisdiction;
• copies of share certificates and / or extracts from the register of share certificates, depending on the jurisdiction;
• any other resolutions of the Board of Directors affecting the ownership structure and / or ownership of the company;
• certificate to evidence the ability of the company to continue as a going concern with the details of directors / secretaries / shareholders, dated back no more than 3 months from the date of opening the account;
• power of attorney (if the signatory is different from the director or other official of the company whose powers are defined in the constituent documents);
• copies of passports of the following persons:

1. directors;
2. shareholder(s) – in case of individuals;
3. authorized person;
4. ultimate beneficial owner (UBO).

• copies of apostilled constituent documents (charter, certificate of registration), corporate shareholders (if any).

After having reviewed the above documents, the bank may, at its discretion, request additional documents and/or certificates. Next, you need to fill out the forms as provided by the bank and send them for preliminary verification. 

To open a corporate account in Armenia, you should provide the following information in the questionnaire:

• complete details on sources of funds;
• ultimate beneficial owner;
• a detailed description of the company’s activities, planned activities, potential partners;
• any other information necessary for the correct implementation of the compliance procedure in accordance with international standards.

Attention: our lawyers can undertake for you the bulk process of paperwork; however the Bank exclusively reserves the right to determine after a thorough background check of the client whether to approve the application to open a corporate account.

Open a corporate account in Armenia with a personal visit – additional points to consider

 Documents and forms for opening an account to non-resident legal entities must be personally signed by an employee of the company (duly appointed manager, managing partner, director, etc.) acting on the basis of a power of attorney. Such a document is signed by an official of the company, notarized, apostilled, and it should also be certified by authorized officials of the bank personally, during the client’s visit to the Bank.

Next, we will consider indicative service tariffs which are offered by the financial institutions in Armenia for those who plan to open a corporate account with a personal visit.

Indicative tariffs:

You may use remote management of corporate accounts of non-resident companies using a special generator of digital QR codes. 

Open a corporate account in Armenia with a personal visit – list of the types of accounts offered

The financial institutions in the Republic of Armenia open corporate accounts for non-resident companies only after the applicant has been fully identified through the Know Your Customer system. Additionally, the bank may request information and documents to check whether the company is a US taxpayer (according to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)).

You may open the following types of accounts, to meet your individual or business needs:

• corporate account for non-resident legal entities;
• metal accounts;
• escrow -accounts to minimize the risks of commercial transactions;
• personal accounts in Armenian drams, Euros, US dollars, Russian rubles, British pounds sterling, Swiss francs, UAE dirhams, Canadian dollars, Japanese yens. 

In addition, let us consider tariffs of other services offered by the bank, including issuance of extracts, statements, and other important components of corporate services:

1. statements of account dating back up to 1 year are provided free of charge;
2. extracts in the SWIFT MT 940 format – 1,000 AMD (1.93 EUR) for each document;  
3. issuance of letters of guarantee – 10,000 AMD (19.3 EUR); 
4. information on the account turnover by phone – 10,000 AMD (19.3 EUR) per year; 
5. SMS banking notification of exchange rates – 10,000 AMD (19.3 EUR) per year. 

Also, if you are planning to open a corporate account in Armenia, you should know that depositing cash to your current account cash is commission-free for the three currencies – Armenian drams, US dollars and Euros. You can also withdraw cash in the same currency as the cash deposited, free of charge.

Open a corporate account in Armenia with a personal visit – tariffs for money transfer services  

All bank transfers within Armenia are free. The commission is charged in the following amounts:

• when transferring Russian rubles, USD, EUR – 0.1%;
• transfers of USD and EUR based on transfer order in paper form – 0.15%, in electronic form – 0.1%;
• transfers in a currency not quoted by the bank – 0.2%.

If you need to open a corporate account in Armenia , contact our lawyers by e-mail at [email protected]. We will undertake the preparation of all necessary documents, including their legalization and apostilization. You will need to make a one-time visit to Armenia for affixing signatures on the questionnaire and bank documents. Other than that, all preliminary paperwork can be managed remotely. The cost of opening a corporate account for non-resident legal entities starts from 400 EUR.