How to Open a Business Bank Account in Georgia

Opening a business bank account is the step that both the IE and LLC articles about Georgia call the least predictable. Registering a company takes one day, but a bank can review an application for weeks and still decline without explanation. Here is which banks work with foreigners, what they check, and how to improve your odds.

Why open a separate account if you already have a personal one

There is no formal ban on running a business through a personal account, but in practice banks track transaction patterns: regular payments from different counterparties, transfers labeled "under contract," and volumes higher than typical for an individual. All of this triggers a review and can lead to a personal account being frozen until the source of funds is clarified. A separate account for an IE or LLC removes this risk from the start and is required for VAT registration and most payment systems.

Which banks work with foreigners

Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank, the country's two largest banks, both open accounts for IEs and LLCs with foreign founders, and both have their branches and headquarters in Tbilisi. Bank of Georgia's headquarters sits in a recognizable building at 29a Gagarini Street, a Soviet brutalist landmark designed by architect Giorgi Chakhava. TBC Bank's head office is in a 1912 historic building at 7 Kote Marjanishvili Street, the former Tbilisi Central Department Store. Smaller banks also work with foreigners, among them Liberty Bank, Basis Bank, and Terabank: the bar to entry can be lower, but fewer services are available in English.

What documents are needed

For an IE: a passport, an extract from the entrepreneurs' registry, and a legal address. For an LLC the package is wider: the company charter, an extract from the legal entities' registry, and identification documents for the director and any beneficiary owning more than 25% of the company. The bank is legally required to identify each of them under anti-money-laundering law.

In person or by power of attorney

Bank of Georgia has no remote account opening for non-resident individuals: the director or beneficiary must come to Tbilisi and sign documents at a branch in person. TBC Bank has a more developed remote track for legal entities, especially if the company is already registered with a legal address and a tax ID in Georgia. But even there, filing remotely usually requires a notarized and apostilled power of attorney for a representative.

A genuine connection to Georgia: what gets checked hardest

In recent years banks have tightened requirements specifically for companies with no visible presence in the country: an empty "mailbox" LLC with a legal address from a provider and no office, employees, or local counterparties raises more questions and gets declined more often. A real lease agreement, local clients or suppliers, and at least one employee noticeably improve the odds. Banks are especially cautious about companies owned by another foreign legal entity rather than a person: in that case the process takes longer and the decision is more often negative.

KYC checks: what exactly gets asked

The bank's compliance department evaluates three things: source of wealth, meaning where the founder's money originally came from; source of income, meaning what the company will actually live on; and expected account turnover, a rough estimate of monthly or annual transaction volume. A mismatch between the declared turnover and the account's real activity in the first months is a common reason accounts get frozen later, so it is worth giving realistic figures rather than understating them to speed up approval.

Timeframes and cost

From submitting a full document package to a bank's decision usually takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks: TBC Bank can open an account within a week once documents are ready, while Bank of Georgia's decision usually takes about two weeks after a meeting with a manager. Fees for opening a business account vary from bank to bank and depend on the service package, so it is worth checking the current rate directly before applying, since banks change these figures more often than government fees.

Enhanced checks for certain countries

For citizens of countries on the FATF grey or black list, enhanced due diligence applies: the bank requests more documents, takes longer to review the application, and more often involves head office compliance rather than just the local branch. This does not mean automatic refusal, but it is worth budgeting more time and being ready to provide a wider set of supporting documents.

If a bank says no

One bank's refusal does not mean no bank will open an account: practices at Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank differ, and an application declined at one can still be approved at the other. While searching for a bank or waiting on a decision, business accounts with Wise or Payoneer can temporarily handle international payments. They do not replace a full Georgian account (it is still needed for paying taxes and VAT, for example), but they take the urgency off the start.

This article covers only the two largest banks, the ones foreigners turn to most often. Georgia has 17 licensed commercial banks in total, and requirements, review times, and openness to foreign clients can differ noticeably between them. Treat this article as a starting point rather than the final word: it is worth researching the banking market yourself before choosing a bank. Bebgur can serve both as a first source of information and as a way to get individual advice, from partner banks or from companies in the catalog that offer consulting services for opening a business and a bank account in Georgia.