Seeking Recommendations for Personal Bank Accounts in Serbia for Non-Residents

[Lekstadt]

Hello everyone,

I’ll have the opportunity to visit Belgrade soon, so I’m currently exploring options for opening personal bank accounts in Serbia as a non-resident and would appreciate any recommendations or insights you may have. If there’s already a comprehensive thread on Serbian banks, I’d be grateful if you could point me in that direction.

The bank should offer a personal checking account that can receive funds from overseas business entities via SWIFT, support multiple currencies (Euro and/or Dollar) and include at least one debit card.

Could anyone provide insights into the complexity and length of the process of opening a bank account with any of the potential candidate banks? Does the process typically require legal assistance or official translations or is showing up with your passport generally sufficient? Will being there one or a few days be good enough? I’m also curious if Serbian banks or the Serbian tax agency inquire about income sources or impose any charges on non-resident accounts.

Additionally, would it be advisable to explore opening a business account for a US LLC in Serbia, or could that potentially complicate matters with the IRS?

 

[SCHLOSSFINANZ]

US LLC account in Serbia is totally impossible unless you register a local branch.

For a private account if you have a little bit more you can invest try

Raiffeisen banka a.d. Beograd

fwr.raiffeisenbank.rs

 

[kilor]

Raiffeisen Bank may indeed be hungry for new private customers with lot's of money. Otherwise you need to setup a company in Serbia or have some good connections.

 

[Lekstadt]

What about this post? Need offshore banking personal use for eu resident

I did call Raiffeisen Bank and they mentioned that you need to have a work contract as a non-resident, which is what everyone said in this forum, but then there was that post from 2022 I posted the link to above. Any Serbian locals can share their insights, please?

 

[JohnnyDoe]

OTP bank is fine, but you need to have a company to open a personal account

 

[SCHLOSSFINANZ]

If you do Raiffeisen Private Banking you don't need to have a work contract, but
you have to invest more money

 

[Lekstadt]

If you do Raiffeisen Private Banking you don't need to have a work contract, but
you have to invest more money

Yeah, that's not gonna happen, specially given the current situation in that area.

Either way, all these banks seem a little sketchy to say the least, not gonna lie. Not because they're unregulated, but because whoever picks up the phone just says whatever they feel like.

For example, Erste Bank Serbia offers an account called FX payment account on their English version website. It literally says that it's available for non-resident foreigners (with legal and business capacity). So I send an e-mail asking more information and they legit told me they don't offer accounts to non-residents unless you are married, work permit and so on. What the actual hell...

I called Banca Intesa and some old lady picked up the phone and told me that in order to open the account as a non-resident, I need a residency certificate and that the hotel registration document isn't enough. I asked about if they were giving out cards and she said they are, but I am pretty sure it's all incorrect.

And then there's that post from 2022 I linked above, where a user claimed Raiffeisen gave him an account "in 10 minutes" with minimal paperwork.

At this point I am probably gonna have to either consider Zenus or do something really unorthodox.

 

[SCHLOSSFINANZ]

Don't get me wrong, you want a non-CRS account with minimal effort. That won't work.
Get yourself a law firm which can help you in the process.

Maybe try Mira Bank (UAE owned)

Home page | Mirabank

www.mirabankserbia.com

 

[Lekstadt]

Don't get me wrong, you want a non-CRS account with minimal effort. That won't work.
Get yourself a law firm which can help you in the process.

Maybe try Mira Bank (UAE owned)

Home page | Mirabank

www.mirabankserbia.com

Any trustworthy Serbian law firms for this purpose? It would be great to get some recommendations. I don't think there's any on Resources here, but I might be wrong.

 

[SCHLOSSFINANZ]

Platinum standard is

Karanovic & Partners / Commercial Law Firm

Karanovic & Partners is a regional legal practice in the Southeast Europe with tradition spanning two decades and cooperating offices in Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania.

www.karanovicpartners.com

 

[Piano]

Maybe more luck in North Macedonia …?

 

[SCHLOSSFINANZ]

non-resident banking is nowadays non existent in North Macedonia,
sat down with Central Bank rep they don't want that lol

from my personal poit of view these exercises non-CRS don't work out anyway,
for example OP asked for a bank account and be able to make SWIFT transfers.

Ehhmmm SWIFT sits in Brussels Belgium in a CRS country lol.

 

[Piano]

non-resident banking is nowadays non existent in North Macedonia,
sat down with Central Bank rep they don't want that lol

from my personal poit of view these exercises non-CRS don't work out anyway,
for example OP asked for a bank account and be able to make SWIFT transfers.

Ehhmmm SWIFT sits in Brussels Belgium in a CRS country lol.

Really ?

What does this than mean ?

https://www.kb.com.mk/content/General-conditions-non-residents.pdf

https://kb.com.mk/content/Documents-required-for-opening-of-non-reresident-account.pdf

Opening a bank account in Macedonia - Nimrod Yaron Albania

If a non-resident wants to open a bank account in Macedonia, the bank will need to inform them about the specific regulations that apply to

y-tax.al

Stopanska banka

“for a non-resident – a valid travel document or a valid identity card if the person comes from a EU member state or from a state with which the Republic of North Macedonia has concluded a bilateral agreement for cross-border travel of citizens of both countries, from which the permanent place of residence abroad is identified. If the permanent place of residence abroad is not indicated in the travel document or in the identity card, the Bank shall supply this information with a statement signed by the non-resident in which the permanent place of residence is indicated abroad or through reliable and independent sources. The written statement shall not be accepted for non-residents from the neighboring countries of the Republic of North Macedonia, and they shall be obliged to submit a copy of the last utility bill with the address of the place of residence abroad.”

Transaction accounts

Payment accounts

www.stb.com.mk

Offshore Banking in Macedonia

Macedonia (officially the Republic of North Macedonia) is a country in Southeastern Europe (Balkan peninsula) and a European Union candidate since 2004. Despite carrying substantial risks, Macedonia can be considered as an alternative offshore destination when looking for essential banking...

thebanks.eu

 

[Sols]

non-resident banking is nowadays non existent in North Macedonia,

Non-resident in North Macedonia is alive and well.

Ehhmmm SWIFT sits in Brussels Belgium in a CRS country lol.

SWIFT isn't in scope for CRS.

 

[Lekstadt]

Does anyone know if any banks in North Macedonia support remote account opening, or is an in-person visit required? Additionally, can anyone clarify what happened in Serbia? It seems they used to allow non-residents to open accounts without any local ties, but that no longer appears to be the case. Did they face external pressure or regulatory changes?

On a different note, it puzzles me the way Erste Bank Serbia advertises their "FX Payment Account", allegedly availble for non-resident foreigners. It seemed marketed to nomads and people that spend a lot of time abroad, yet when I asked about it, a support agent informed me that all accounts are only available to residents or legal ties to the country (spouse, kids, work, etc.). I wonder if they were misinformed to be honest. These Serbian banks are all unregulated, so they offer services at their own discretion, why would they do this...

 

[Sols]

Does anyone know if any banks in North Macedonia support remote account opening, or is an in-person visit required?

Non-face-to-face account opening in this region is very rare unless you're VIP, known to the bank already, or have someone vouching for you (introducer).

Additionally, can anyone clarify what happened in Serbia? It seems they used to allow non-residents to open accounts without any local ties, but that no longer appears to be the case. Did they face external pressure or regulatory changes?

They still allow it, but they are pressured to decrease the risks they take. Account opening face-to-face is considered far less risky than non-face-to-face.

It's the same thing all over the world. The difference lies in how risky the regulator deems non-face-to-face to be and how well the regulator believes its licensees manage that risk.

On a different note, it puzzles me the way Erste Bank Serbia advertises their "FX Payment Account", allegedly availble for non-resident foreigners. It seemed marketed to nomads and people that spend a lot of time abroad, yet when I asked about it, a support agent informed me that all accounts are only available to residents or legal ties to the country (spouse, kids, work, etc.). I wonder if they were misinformed to be honest.

Front-line support often has no idea how things work beyond the day-to-day banking services that 99% of the bank's customers need. You might need to go via an introducer of some sort, or arrange an in-person meeting with the bank.

These Serbian banks are all unregulated, so they offer services at their own discretion, why would they do this...

What do you mean by "unregulated"? Do you not recognize the sovereignty of the National Bank of Serbia and the licenses it issues? What kind of alternate timeline are we on here?

 

[Lekstadt]

Non-face-to-face account opening in this region is very rare unless you're VIP, known to the bank already, or have someone vouching for you (introducer).

As expected, I only asked just in case they happened to offer that possibility, because I really want to avoid traveling to North Macedonia.

They still allow it, but they are pressured to decrease the risks they take. Account opening face-to-face is considered far less risky than non-face-to-face.

It's the same thing all over the world. The difference lies in how risky the regulator deems non-face-to-face to be and how well the regulator believes its licensees manage that risk.

I actually found a Serbian bank with a competent support agent who kindly explained everything I needed to know. They just ask for the passport and the police registration paper. He was even kind enough to provide me with the name of the document in his language, just to make sure he wasn't talking about some residence certificate.

I'm not fully convinced about certain aspects of the accounts they offer, but at least they're a large international group. It's certainly a better option than using crypto ATMs. If they can do it, I don't see why others couldn't. I will continue searching for more options before I travel.

What do you mean by "unregulated"? Do you not recognize the sovereignty of the National Bank of Serbia and the licenses it issues? What kind of alternate timeline are we on here?

I simply meant that there shouldn't be any obstacles for these banks to open accounts for non-residents. However, some appear to impose barriers even without strict regulatory requirements.

 

[Sols]

I simply meant that there shouldn't be any obstacles for these banks to open accounts for non-residents. However, some appear to impose barriers even without strict regulatory requirements.

It's ultimately just all about risk. If a bank thinks you pose too much of a risk, they are required to not proceed with account opening.

Applying for a bank account in Serbia on a non-face-to-face basis without any connection to Serbia makes you a higher risk applicant than someone who appears in person and/or has a connection to Serbia. To a bank, the former reeks of tax evasion and money laundering risks. The latter at least has been had their identity verified in person and/or has a reason to bank in Serbia.