Best banking solution in St. Kitts & Nevis

[dav19e]

Hi everyone,

I just registered to the forum and I'm glad to be a part of the community!

I am from Canada and I will be flying to St. Kitts & Nevis next week with the sole purpose of forming a Nevis LLC. & Trust (Mainly for asset protection). Therefore, I have to schedule appointments with local banks on Monday morning and I am seeking advice on which bank I should look into. To do a quick introduction about my needs, I sell physical goods and use PayPal & Stripe to collect sales revenue, which is then transferred to my Transferwise account. From my Transferwise account, I need to be able to transfer money over to my bank account from which I should also be able to send wire transfers from overseas. The bank & banking platform I am looking for must be friendly enough to do just that.

As far as I understand, it may be hard to find a bank with a Nevis LLC but the bank does not have to be located in St. Kitts & Nevis. I also understand that both CIBC & RBC will have new ownership which leaves me with two reputable local banks, Republic Bank & St.Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank. What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sols]

Getting a bank account is very difficult for an offshore company, especially if a trust is involved. You are normally limited to the banking relations provided by your trustee. If you have specific banking requirements, make sure you discuss those with your trustee and if they can't provide it through their relations, you are more likely to have success going with a different trustee than attempting to shop around for banks on your own.

 

[dav19e]

Getting a bank account is very difficult for an offshore company, especially if a trust is involved. You are normally limited to the banking relations provided by your trustee. If you have specific banking requirements, make sure you discuss those with your trustee and if they can't provide it through their relations, you are more likely to have success going with a different trustee than attempting to shop around for banks on your own.

Hi Sols,

Noted, thanks a lot for the info.

David

 

[clemens]

Is there any EMI that is offering their services to such entities in Nevis & St. Kitts ?

 

[dav19e]

Sols, I guess I forgot to ask. Can I use a TransferWise or Revolut bank account as my main bank account for my Nevis LLC & Trust? I'm curious about this one.

 

[JohnLocke]

If you look here Transfer Money Online | Send Money Abroad with TransferWise and scroll down the list in the field "Country of residence" complete the first fields it let you register. If that means you can use TW for St. Kitts entities I don't know but may be worth to send them a ticket. In average I get replies from them within a few hours.

 

[Sols]

Revolut will say no as it's not really within their risk appetite. TransferWise might say yes, though.

 

[clemens]

So Transferwise may be the only option we have to open an account for an St. Kitts entity?! @dav19e if you get in touch with TW or get an account there will you please get back here and let us know?

 

[dav19e]

So Transferwise may be the only option we have to open an account for an St. Kitts entity?! @dav19e if you get in touch with TW or get an account there will you please get back here and let us know?

Hi Clemens,

As I understand, besides Republic Bank, there are not many other reputable options out in St. Kitts & Nevis right now. Therefore, I came to understand that banking does not absolutely have to take place in St. Kitts & Nevis. I was recommended to use TW to harmonize sales funds and manage wire transfers, and IB (Interactive Brokers) to store large sums. If someone could approve/disapprove/counter this recommendation that would be appreciated.

Thank you, David

 

[dav19e]

Get power of attorney in St Kitts through a registered agent there and have them open the account for you.

Thanks for the advice fxmonk!

David

 

[JohnLocke]

Get power of attorney in St Kitts through a registered agent there and have them open the account for you.

Do you have any personal experience with that? I believe it would require a little more?

 

[dav19e]

So Transferwise may be the only option we have to open an account for an St. Kitts entity?! @dav19e if you get in touch with TW or get an account there will you please get back here and let us know?

For a quick update, I just asked TransferWise whether if it was possible to open an account using a Nevis corporation and you can't. Here's their answer:

"We do not accept or on board businesses in Saint Kitts & Nevis unfortunately. -TransferWise"

 

[Silvio]

Before you waste too much money on flights and companies you can't use, realize that if you are Canadian you got no secrecy and any bank account you will open for this company (which will be hard to open anyway) will be reported to Canada. Not to mention if you add a trust into the picture which lead to more rejections from banks unless you're willing to put a big amount of money in that account.
If you don't physically leave Canada and move to a low state country this is pointless for you and will be a big waste of money.
This is unless you are willing to bank in non-CRS countries which are shittier and riskier.
Consult with a CANADIAN tax lawyer. Many offshore lawyers tell you what you want to hear because they want to charge you MONEY for useless and overly-complicated structures...

 

[Khareem Cabey]

I'm from and live on St. Kitts and I would advise you to look into the Bank of Nevis and the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank. Although St. Kitts and Nevis is seen as one Country, the legislation in Nevis is a bit different to that of St. Kitts when it comes to offshore companies.

 

[dav19e]

I'm from and live on St. Kitts and I would advise you to look into the Bank of Nevis and the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank. Although St. Kitts and Nevis is seen as one Country, the legislation in Nevis is a bit different to that of St. Kitts when it comes to offshore companies.

Thanks for your recommendation Kareem. Much appreciated.

David

 

[unicorn]

Do NOT form an LLC now or you'll pay 33 % tax.

Form a LLC Foundation instead and you'll pay 1 % tax. you can do all the same things and the price for setting it up is about 800 USD difference.

You can then for 300 USD or so transform your LLC foundation into a trust foundation.

I suppose you want the LLC to manage your trust foundation ?

not 1 bank in Nevis is trustworthy.

you can open a remote account with CBS Bank in the Cook Islands.

I'ld be interested to hear your lawyers and registered agent's names and learn if you were happy with their service.

and see which accountant they recommend if possible ?

Also note that Nevis is since short on the OECD white list - meaning fully compliant. Legislation has been changed but there is a problem : 100.000's of LLC, trusts, foundations, etc. and ... hardly any accountants on the island. So not sure how that could work out ? Perhaps Khareem has a better view on this ?

Unsolved Nevis questions : perhaps Khareem can help out (or find someone who can) ?



as information received from Nevis lawyers / registered agents is contradicting, the registrar can not provide information, the existing act is rather vague and there have been some recent changes in the Nevis (tax) laws :

1. Some claim a company foundation can NOT engage directly in business activities (such as consulting) and can only be the owner / shareholder of companies that engage in business or hold IP or hold bank accounts etc and can only receive PASSIVE income – others claim a company foundation can itself offer professional services and perform ACTIVE business activities ; which one is correct please ? (my personal guess is : YES, LLC foundation CAN engage directly in business activities)

1. Some claim that incorporating in Nevis is enough to be considered a Nevis resident foundation and be fully tax-exempt worldwide – others claim that, to avoid having to pay taxes in the EU, it is better to choose the option of being a Nevis tax resident company and pay 1 % tax with a minimum of +/- 1000 euro each year even if there are no business activities in Nevis ; which one is correct please ? (I have no clue on the tax part)

1. Some claim the founder must report all profits / income derived from such a foundation in his country of tax residence and pay personal income tax on those – others claim the founder doesn’t have to report or pay anything but the beneficiaries who receive funds from the foundation must declare these funds in their personal income tax ; which one is correct please ?

1. Some claim there is no annual tax return to file, no audit is needed, just keeping books and records is enough – others claims that an annual tax return is mandatory as well as a registration fee 220 USD + an annual return fee +/- 1000 USD – others even claim that a company foundation is taxed like a regular LLC ; which one is correct please ? (my guess is the latter)

1. Some claim the founder must first create business entities in his personal name and then “give” those to the foundation – others claim the foundation can create business entities itself ; which one is correct please ? (the last part would be more interesting)

anyone knows ?



PS : paypal works perfect with an LLC but does NOT work with foundation, trust, etc.

 

[lonizzita]

I'm from and live on St. Kitts and I would advise you to look into the Bank of Nevis and the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank. Although St. Kitts and Nevis is seen as one Country, the legislation in Nevis is a bit different to that of St. Kitts when it comes to offshore companies.

I spoke to an accountant Nevis, for a company that works online and has clients outside Nevis, did he say he has a 33% tax?

I'm not a Nevis resident

could you confirm or deny?