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Ukrainian Bank to avoid CRS

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juul2

New member
Mar 12, 2020
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#1
I am heading to Ukraine on a short visit in the near future and am considering opening an account with a bank there.
I've settled on privatbank, the largest nation bank in the country. Already being a high risk banking country at least the government is willing to bail it out when they find 97% of its corporate loans went to companies linked to its shareholders rof/%
From my contact with them their staff have been efficient and quick to respond albeit all in Ukrainian however google translate worked fine. They managed to read all my English messages easily but kept responding in Ukrainian
From what I've seen they do not report under CRS and I have had this confirmed in my contact with them, They said all that is required is a passport no need for proof of address or residence.
All you must deposit upon opening is the ~$10 to cover the first monthly payment for the platinum card.
Reasonable fees and have checked with them and they are crypto friendly even saying the account can be funded with bitcoin using their privat24 e-payments service.
They do not offer remote opening but flights are cheap enough at the moment with corona.
Card ready next day

Interesting option in my opinion, wouldn't store my life savings in there though as Russia could flatten it tomorrow.
Anyone got any experience or input on banking in Ukraine or privatbank?
 
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#2
One of the few decent non-CRS jurisdictions in my opinion.

A substantial economy that can stand on its own, not one that depends excessively on tourism, humanitarian aid, and bail-out loans to postpone bankruptcy.

Corruption and political turbulence is a risk, but over-stated. Both are in abundance in France and Italy, whether we like to admit it or not. Russia won't flatten it (militarily-speaking), they have nothing to gain from it. Their purpose is to derail Ukraine from its path to EU membership and to seat a pro-Russia government. Good luck!
 
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#3
juul2 said:
I am heading to Ukraine on a short visit in the near future and am considering opening an account with a bank there.
I've settled on privatbank, the largest nation bank in the country. Already being a high risk banking country at least the government is willing to bail it out when they find 97% of its corporate loans went to companies linked to its shareholders rof/%
From my contact with them their staff have been efficient and quick to respond albeit all in Ukrainian however google translate worked fine. They managed to read all my English messages easily but kept responding in Ukrainian
From what I've seen they do not report under CRS and I have had this confirmed in my contact with them, They said all that is required is a passport no need for proof of address or residence.
All you must deposit upon opening is the ~$10 to cover the first monthly payment for the platinum card.
Reasonable fees and have checked with them and they are crypto friendly even saying the account can be funded with bitcoin using their privat24 e-payments service.
They do not offer remote opening but flights are cheap enough at the moment with corona.
Card ready next day

Interesting option in my opinion, wouldn't store my life savings in there though as Russia could flatten it tomorrow.
Anyone got any experience or input on banking in Ukraine or privatbank?
Click to expand...
Privat has some great internet banking and many interesting applications through their web site. U can have accounts in griven, euro or dollar however the account in griven is mandatory . Debit card without your name printed they will give you right when opening your account. Prepared to be photographed ! The downside : up until now, you can buy whatever you like with your privat cards through internet but cannot send money through internet banking abroad to any IBAN. Last week there were news that this was over but I have not checked it yet. You will need an ukrainian number for their banking and you are destined to have some communication problem when opening the account. Cards you will receive from bank they do not mail home in Ukraine. Not sure if you as a complete foreigner without resident card can open an account right away but whatever they said to you. Other banks with good servicce, web banking are Peireus, Reiffeisen and Monobank...
 
#4
juul2 said:
I am heading to Ukraine on a short visit in the near future and am considering opening an account with a bank there.
I've settled on privatbank, the largest nation bank in the country. Already being a high risk banking country at least the government is willing to bail it out when they find 97% of its corporate loans went to companies linked to its shareholders rof/%
From my contact with them their staff have been efficient and quick to respond albeit all in Ukrainian however google translate worked fine. They managed to read all my English messages easily but kept responding in Ukrainian
From what I've seen they do not report under CRS and I have had this confirmed in my contact with them, They said all that is required is a passport no need for proof of address or residence.
All you must deposit upon opening is the ~$10 to cover the first monthly payment for the platinum card.
Reasonable fees and have checked with them and they are crypto friendly even saying the account can be funded with bitcoin using their privat24 e-payments service.
They do not offer remote opening but flights are cheap enough at the moment with corona.
Card ready next day

Interesting option in my opinion, wouldn't store my life savings in there though as Russia could flatten it tomorrow.
Anyone got any experience or input on banking in Ukraine or privatbank?
Click to expand...
about the " platinum " , " gold " cards etc, etc they give in ukraine, these are just names for debit cards, interesting privat does extend some credit on their debit card ! after some time of use, which is about 7000 griven , around 250 euros.
 
#5
Thanks for the info.
Wow cards with no names, sounds good!
Are you aware of any banks with English internet banking possible?
Are you aware of ATM limits?
 
#6
juul2 said:
I am heading to Ukraine on a short visit in the near future and am considering opening an account with a bank there.
I've settled on privatbank, the largest nation bank in the country. Already being a high risk banking country at least the government is willing to bail it out when they find 97% of its corporate loans went to companies linked to its shareholders rof/%
From my contact with them their staff have been efficient and quick to respond albeit all in Ukrainian however google translate worked fine. They managed to read all my English messages easily but kept responding in Ukrainian
From what I've seen they do not report under CRS and I have had this confirmed in my contact with them, They said all that is required is a passport no need for proof of address or residence.
All you must deposit upon opening is the ~$10 to cover the first monthly payment for the platinum card.
Reasonable fees and have checked with them and they are crypto friendly even saying the account can be funded with bitcoin using their privat24 e-payments service.
They do not offer remote opening but flights are cheap enough at the moment with corona.
Card ready next day

Interesting option in my opinion, wouldn't store my life savings in there though as Russia could flatten it tomorrow.
Anyone got any experience or input on banking in Ukraine or privatbank?
Click to expand...
A word of caution: this bank is blacklisted by many financial institutions around the world for its role in continuous money laundering (I know, almost all banks participate :)) - so you may find yourself in a situation that your card is not accepted at some places. And, generally speaking, don't keep too much of your money with them, who knows how much longer they will operate... :)
 
#7
juul2 said:
I am heading to Ukraine on a short visit in the near future and am considering opening an account with a bank there.
I've settled on privatbank, the largest nation bank in the country. Already being a high risk banking country at least the government is willing to bail it out when they find 97% of its corporate loans went to companies linked to its shareholders rof/%
From my contact with them their staff have been efficient and quick to respond albeit all in Ukrainian however google translate worked fine. They managed to read all my English messages easily but kept responding in Ukrainian
From what I've seen they do not report under CRS and I have had this confirmed in my contact with them, They said all that is required is a passport no need for proof of address or residence.
All you must deposit upon opening is the ~$10 to cover the first monthly payment for the platinum card.
Reasonable fees and have checked with them and they are crypto friendly even saying the account can be funded with bitcoin using their privat24 e-payments service.
They do not offer remote opening but flights are cheap enough at the moment with corona.
Card ready next day

Interesting option in my opinion, wouldn't store my life savings in there though as Russia could flatten it tomorrow.
Anyone got any experience or input on banking in Ukraine or privatbank?
Click to expand...

Have you inquired about corporate accounts?
 
#8
juul2 said:
Thanks for the info.
Wow cards with no names, sounds good!
Are you aware of any banks with English internet banking possible?
Are you aware of ATM limits?
Click to expand...
well the card has no name on it , but it is registered to you. It is just faster this way without printing your name , that is why you can have your card right away. Many banks in the world fo this. Internet banking you can have in Privat, Peireus, Reiffeisen, Credit Agricole strangely not Monobank if remember correctly. ATM withdraws you can only withdraw griven and only in Ukraine. But as I wrote they said this is changing , you must ask about this.
 
#9
Sadhu said:
A word of caution: this bank is blacklisted by many financial institutions around the world for its role in continuous money laundering (I know, almost all banks participate :)) - so you may find yourself in a situation that your card is not accepted at some places. And, generally speaking, don't keep too much of your money with them, who knows how much longer they will operate... :)
Click to expand...
this is pure b@llshit out of your fantasy. Sorry pal I have used Privat' s card everywhere in the world and also cards from the other ukrainian banks I mention
 
#13
What do you consider to be these private cards if I may ask? are they considered to be "anonymous cards" or is it just that they don't bear your name on it that you believe they are anonymous or what is the benefit of it?

I just want to understand it please.
 
#14
Admin said:
What do you consider to be these private cards if I may ask? are they considered to be "anonymous cards" or is it just that they don't bear your name on it that you believe they are anonymous or what is the benefit of it?

I just want to understand it please.
Click to expand...
No they are NOT anonymous ! Opening account and issuing card is a matter of 30 minutes. You go to bank, write applications they photograph you and your photo appears to the cashier when you have monetary transactions in person and right away give you a debit card which for speed of process they do not print your name on the plastic, BUT is registered to you ! Hope I mede it clear...
 
#15
in ukraine everybody has privat card because it is the bigest bank and their site is directly connected with other companies and through privat banking you can buy all kinds of tickets, pay utilities, fines whatever in ukraine and privat card is the most common way from sending money in ukraine from one debit card to the other..
 
#18
ahh you will have problem in ukraine as soon as you try do international transfer over 400000 grivnia is impossible, also take out cash is impossible , is not the lost paradise , all ukraines are going to dubai, you never ask why?
be careful
 
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#19
1. Ukrainian banks will open bank account to anone who is not on inter-bank blacklist. Just personal bank accounts.

2. Ukrainian banks does not open bank accounts fo foreign corporations. If you want a corporate bank account for a foreign company in Ukrain, you need an approval from the goverment. Almost impossible to receive..

3. Debit cards are issued immediately in time of bank account opening. There is no name printed on it. It is embosed mastercard. So it can be used everywhere as usual credit card, but it is a debit card.

4. Ukrainian banks offers also a standard crecit cards like Visa Infinite, Amex Centurion.. but fees for issuing and renewal of this cards are 10 times higher than in a western world.

5. Ukrainian law does not allow to transfer more than 225,000 UAH to a foreign country withour approval of a central bank. It is 6,688 Eur limit for foreign transfers every day.

6. Transfers within country in other currency than UAH is not allowed.

7. To open a bank account, just a passport is needed. They also need to know your residential address, but you do not need any proof usualy. Just write it by a pen in any sheet of paper. They do not care about your real residency nor tax residency.

8. Internet banking of the most banks is very old and not easy to understand. Banks freez internet banking accounts without any reason. You have to go to the bank and ask for reactivation. No one knows why is this happening. It looks like some kind of way how to have customers in a branch from time to time to sell them some more banking products.

9. If you are not ukrainian citizen, you can not have usual credit card. Foreigners can have secured credit cards only. Required secudiry deposit is 125-250 % of a credit limit.

10. You can have account in UAH, EUR, USD, RUB. If you use a privat banking service, you can have also accounts in some lesse usual currencies, which you can not have anywhere else.

11. Bank exchange rates for a currency change are usualy good. But is is cheaper to go to any exchange office in Kiev. Their spreads on EUR are extremely low. For example, they buy EUR for 33.60 and sell for 33.70 today. What is 0.15 % spread. That is great.

12. ATM limit for withdrawal in Ukraine are extremely low. The most ATMs allows you to withdraw no more than 5000 UAH, what is 148.8 Eur.

13. Shops in Ukraine accepts UAH only. But if are buying in the open market, (farmer´s market..) although UAH is freely exchangable for western currencies, sellers will give you 10-20 % discount if you pay by EUR or USD.

14. Debit card limits issued by Ukrainian bank are set very low. You have to ask tof increasing if you want. But a maximum limit which can not be exceeded without approval of a bank namager is 50,000 UAH per day - 1488 Eur in actual exchange rate..

15. You can have a separate debit card for each currency. Their fees are as low that it makes sense to have one for UAH, one for USD and one for EUR.

16. Their fees are extremely low. Many banks have no monthly maintenance fee, or fee lower than 2 Eur per month.

17. It is not possible to open bank account in Ukraine remotely by the law. But based on level of corruption, I believe it is possible if you know someone there.
 
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