Bangladesh Offshore Banking Units

andorra · Jul 8, 2024

Thanks ok i will try open an account i will be test lab mouse great

Cloudbanck · Jul 8, 2024

Yeah, Im thinking of trying too. Basic due diligence gives that City Bank has 133 branches and was founded in 1983, so it's not a fly by night operation. Their app even has 4.4 stars on google play.

Im wondering though if one gets a debit card. In the FAQ it says:

"4. What type of account can a customer open?
A customer can open a Fixed Deposit account in foreign currency (USD or EUR) under this program.

12. Can a customer open a Fixed deposit account without opening a current account?
To open a Fixed deposit account, opening a current account is a mandatory requirement.

17. Can a customer avail Credit card or Debit card against OBU account?
Since the OBU account is opened for the purpose of Fixed Deposit only, the bank will not issue any debit/credit card against this account. "

Ok, so an OBU account is fixed deposit account without card, but to have a fixed deposit account one must have a current account, and I assume a current account comes with a card.

ncracy · Jul 9, 2024

Those OBUs require to appoint at least one "nominee" for an account. Does anyone understand what they mean by it? Can an account opener be a nominee?

JackAlabama · Jul 9, 2024

ncracy said:
Those OBUs require to appoint at least one "nominee" for an account. Does anyone understand what they mean by it? Can an account opener be a nominee?

think of it as a heir in case you die or smth. Its an unusual concept indeed for most places.

Clank · Jul 9, 2024

ncracy said:
Those OBUs require to appoint at least one "nominee" for an account. Does anyone understand what they mean by it? Can an account opener be a nominee?

Person Who will take over the account if you die

Clank · Jul 9, 2024

Cloudbanck said:
Yeah, Im thinking of trying too. Basic due diligence gives that City Bank has 133 branches and was founded in 1983, so it's not a fly by night operation. Their app even has 4.4 stars on google play.

Im wondering though if one gets a debit card. In the FAQ it says:

"4. What type of account can a customer open?
A customer can open a Fixed Deposit account in foreign currency (USD or EUR) under this program.

12. Can a customer open a Fixed deposit account without opening a current account?
To open a Fixed deposit account, opening a current account is a mandatory requirement.

17. Can a customer avail Credit card or Debit card against OBU account?
Since the OBU account is opened for the purpose of Fixed Deposit only, the bank will not issue any debit/credit card against this account. "

Ok, so an OBU account is fixed deposit account without card, but to have a fixed deposit account one must have a current account, and I assume a current account comes with a card.

They don’t offer debit cards. There is one other bank that offers with 100k deposit.

netqqw · Jul 9, 2024

Jbb1 said:
They don’t offer debit cards. There is one other bank that offers with 100k deposit.

Do you mind sharing which bank that might be?

JackAlabama · Jul 9, 2024

Id say having to put down 100k usd for just getting a debit card is quite excessive to ask for.

Why · Jul 9, 2024

jafo said:
Is there a way to search and find a list of them?

I have just check Standard Chartered, they have a nice page on Non-res FC Deposit account, but no link to signup for one. Do any of these bank allow online registration?

Why · Jul 10, 2024

Sols said:
This is all brand new in Bangladesh. They have passed law (Offshore Banking Act 2024) and regulations to attract foreign capital. On paper, it looks quite attractive but it remains to be seen whether it's actually any good. So far, it seems City Bank, Eastern Bank, Prime Bank, and several more have opened up OBUs.

Banking in Bangladesh has improved a lot of the last few years. This new law could be a great benefit to Bangladesh, but it's not without risks. These banks are quite inexperienced with international banking of this type. Hopefully they don't turn accidentally turn into money laundering nests. It would be very unfortunate to have a bunch of EUR or USD flowing through an account in Bangladesh only to one day see the bank being kicked out by its correspondent bank after a sanctioned person or illegal activities are spotted.

Be careful. Take it slow. Monitor the situation. But it could be an interesting new possibility for international banking.

Quick update: I downloaded the SC app to try to apply for an OBU account with them. The link is not working on the app. So I called and they told me they are not taking any new account application. No reason given. Did anyone manage to open an OBU account in Bangladesh online recently with any other financial institution?

ncracy · Jul 10, 2024

Why said:
Quick update: I downloaded the SC app to try to apply for an OBU account with them. The link is not working on the app. So I called and they told me they are not taking any new account application. No reason given. Did anyone manage to open an OBU account in Bangladesh online recently with any other financial institution?

I tried applying online with Eastern Bank PLC, but their web form fails in the end with "method POST is not allowed here" error.
Also applied online with City Bank PLC, got an acknowledgement email and now waiting for the result.

Cloudbanck · Jul 10, 2024

ncracy said:
I tried applying online with Eastern Bank PLC, but their web form fails in the end with "method POST is not allowed here" error.
Also applied online with City Bank PLC, got an acknowledgement email and now waiting for the result.

Third world banks gonna do third world things

Clank · Jul 10, 2024

ncracy said:
I tried applying online with Eastern Bank PLC, but their web form fails in the end with "method POST is not allowed here" error.
Also applied online with City Bank PLC, got an acknowledgement email and now waiting for the result.

So my account got approved in City Bank but the customer service is horrible, I call them to ask how to enable digital banking and they just hang the call or tell me to wait one week.

Sols · Jul 10, 2024

Here's an incomplete list of banks that seem to have launched new OBUs under the 2024 regime. Expect things to change if this new OBU thing works out for Bangladesh.

Al-Arafah Islami Bank	Offshore / International Banking Account - Al-Arafah Islami Bank PLC.
Bank Asia	Bank Asia Limited
City Bank	Offshore Fixed Deposit - City Bank PLC \| Open in USD or EURO
Combank	https://www.combank.net.bd/offshore-banking-2/
Dhaka Bank	Off-Shore Banking - Dhaka Bank \| Excellence in Banking
Eastern Bank	Eastern Bank PLC. \| Offshore Banking
EXIM Bank	EXIM Bank \| OBU
IFIC	https://www.ificbank.com.bd/obu
Jamuna Bank	https://jamunabankbd.com/international-banking/
Mercantile Bank	https://www.mblbd.com/offshorebanking
Midland Bank	https://www.midlandbankbd.net/offshore-banking/
Modhumoti	https://www.modhumotibankltd.com/offshore-banking/
NCC Bank	https://www.nccbank.com.bd/NccbServices/offshore
NRBC	https://www.nrbcommercialbank.com/obu
Prime Bank	https://www.primebank.com.bd/offshore-banking
SBAC	https://www.sbacbank.com/international-banking/offshore-banking
Shahjalal Islami Bank	https://sjiblbd.com/obu.php
SIBL	https://www.siblbd.com/remittance/offshore-banking-unit
Southeast Bank	https://www.southeastbank.com.bd/?page=offshore_banking
UCB	https://www.ucb.com.bd/offshore-banking/foreignCurrencyAccount
Uttara Bank	https://www.uttarabank-bd.com/home/off_shore

Most of the other banks either haven't updated their old style OBUs to the new regime or don't seem to have a meaningful OBU at all (yet).

Why · Jul 10, 2024

Sols said:
Here's an incomplete list of banks that seem to have launched new OBUs under the 2024 regime. Expect things to change if this new OBU thing works out for Bangladesh.

Al-Arafah Islami Bank Offshore / International Banking Account - Al-Arafah Islami Bank PLC.
Bank Asia Bank Asia Limited
City Bank Offshore Fixed Deposit - City Bank PLC | Open in USD or EURO
Combank https://www.combank.net.bd/offshore-banking-2/
Dhaka Bank Off-Shore Banking - Dhaka Bank | Excellence in Banking
Eastern Bank Eastern Bank PLC. | Offshore Banking
EXIM Bank EXIM Bank | OBU
IFIC IFIC Bank PLC
Jamuna Bank International Banking – Jamuna Bank
Mercantile Bank https://www.mblbd.com/offshorebanking
Midland Bank MDB Offshore banking – Midland Bank PLC.
Modhumoti Offshore Banking
NCC Bank https://www.nccbank.com.bd/NccbServices/offshore
NRBC https://www.nrbcommercialbank.com/obu
Prime Bank https://www.primebank.com.bd/offshore-banking
SBAC https://www.sbacbank.com/international-banking/offshore-banking
Shahjalal Islami Bank https://sjiblbd.com/obu.php
SIBL https://www.siblbd.com/remittance/offshore-banking-unit
Southeast Bank https://www.southeastbank.com.bd/?page=offshore_banking
UCB https://www.ucb.com.bd/offshore-banking/foreignCurrencyAccount
Uttara Bank https://www.uttarabank-bd.com/home/off_shore

Most of the other banks either haven't updated their old style OBUs to the new regime or don't seem to have a meaningful OBU at all (yet).

Wow amazing, big thank you

Clank · Jul 10, 2024

netqqw said:
Do you mind sharing which bank that might be?

I have contacted several banks and this one also is the best one in terms of customer service and fees.

It has the highest rating in the country (AAA).

https://www.dutchbanglabank.com/offshorebanking/index.html

pipona · Jul 10, 2024

If anyone successfully opens a corporate account, please post your experiences here. This is intriguing.

ncracy · Jul 10, 2024

Jbb1 said:
I have contacted several banks and this one also is the best one in terms of customer service and fees.

It has the highest rating in the country (AAA).

https://www.dutchbanglabank.com/offshorebanking/index.html

Their web interface fails when uploading docs.

Why · Jul 10, 2024

ncracy said:
Their web interface fails when uploading docs.

Worked fine for me, just make sure to check the file size, they have a limit.

Forester · Jul 10, 2024

Jbb1 said:
https://www.dutchbanglabank.com/offshorebanking/index.html

Yes, it's this “a card with 100k only” (but you might not need a card)...
However, I appreciate the really detailed information about the account opening process, actually nice. Never seen this.

Generally, these islamic banks
https://www.aibl.com.bd/deposit/international-banking-account/https://sjiblbd.com/obu.php https://www.eximbankbd.com/remittance/obuare IMO worth checking – IMO, as islamic banks are more conservative by nature when handling their funds (no crazy loans etc.) they might be more safe...

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