Upon a visit to Bishkek I decided it'd be more fun to open a bank account than buying souvenirs, so after 1h I ended up with a new personal account at BAKAI Bank.
Pros:
- Multicurrency (USD, EUR, RUB, etc.)
- Good Internet Banking (EN/RU)
- USD debit card
- USD cash withdrawals in ATMs in Kyrgyzstan and worldwide
- No residency proof required
- No maintenance fees
Cons:
- Kyrgyzstan isn't part of the IBAN system for EUR accounts (so it doesn't seem to work with Transferwise)
- Wires through correspondent banks
I went there for a personal account and didn't want to ask a lot of questions but I did ask specifically if they'd open an account for an offshore company and they said "Yes, but that's a lot more documents". I forgot to ask if they'd open it remotely but maybe someone in the forum knows?
In general I had a good impression of the capital and of the bank, but I know it's Kyrgyzstan, an ex-USSR republic with rampant corruption and strong ties to Russia. I opened it mostly for fun, like a solution in search of a problem.
Does anyone have any experience with Kyrgyz banks or would like to comment?
Pros:
- Multicurrency (USD, EUR, RUB, etc.)
- Good Internet Banking (EN/RU)
- USD debit card
- USD cash withdrawals in ATMs in Kyrgyzstan and worldwide
- No residency proof required
- No maintenance fees
Cons:
- Kyrgyzstan isn't part of the IBAN system for EUR accounts (so it doesn't seem to work with Transferwise)
- Wires through correspondent banks
I went there for a personal account and didn't want to ask a lot of questions but I did ask specifically if they'd open an account for an offshore company and they said "Yes, but that's a lot more documents". I forgot to ask if they'd open it remotely but maybe someone in the forum knows?
In general I had a good impression of the capital and of the bank, but I know it's Kyrgyzstan, an ex-USSR republic with rampant corruption and strong ties to Russia. I opened it mostly for fun, like a solution in search of a problem.
Does anyone have any experience with Kyrgyz banks or would like to comment?