How to Open a Business Bank Account in Georgia

Registering as an individual entrepreneur or an LLC takes one day, while a bank can spend weeks on your application and still turn it down without giving a reason. That is why the business account is often the least predictable step for a foreigner starting a company in Georgia.

Why You Need a Separate Account Even If You Have a Personal One

No law stops you from running a business through a personal account, but in practice banks keep a close eye on the activity in that account. Regular payments from different counterparties, transfers with a "per contract" reference, and volumes that look too large for an individual all trigger a review, and the bank can freeze the personal account until you show where the money comes from.

A separate account for an individual entrepreneur in Georgia removes that risk from day one. The same goes for an LLC in Georgia. A dedicated business account also makes it easier to handle VAT and to set up most payment services.

Which Banks Work With Foreigners

Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank, the two largest banks in the country, both open accounts for individual entrepreneurs and for LLCs with foreign founders, and both are headquartered in Tbilisi. The Bank of Georgia headquarters sits in a well-known building at 29a Gagarin Street, a landmark of Soviet Brutalism designed by the architects Giorgi Chakhava and Zurab Jalaghania.

The TBC Bank head office occupies a 1912 building at 7 Kote Marjanishvili Street, once the Central Department Store of Tbilisi. Smaller banks also take foreign clients, among them Liberty Bank, Basisbank, and Terabank. Their requirements can be less strict, but less of their service is available in English.

Which Documents You Need

An individual entrepreneur brings a passport, an extract from the register of entrepreneurs, and proof of a registered address. An LLC needs a fuller package: the company charter, an extract from the register of legal entities, and ID documents for the director and for every beneficial owner who holds more than 25% of the company. Under Georgia's anti-money-laundering law, the bank has to identify each of them.

In Person or Through a Power of Attorney

Bank of Georgia does not open accounts remotely for non-residents, so the director or a beneficial owner has to come to Tbilisi and sign the documents at a branch in person. TBC Bank handles remote applications from legal entities better, especially when the company is already registered in Georgia with a registered address and a tax number.

Even there, a remote application usually goes through a representative with a notarized power of attorney. A power of attorney signed in the US, the UK, Ireland, Canada, or Australia needs an apostille from that country, and in Georgia it is translated into Georgian with the translation certified by a notary.

Real Ties to Georgia: What Banks Check Most Strictly

In recent years banks have tightened their requirements mainly for companies with no visible presence in the country. A shell LLC with a virtual office address from a service provider, no office, no staff, and no local counterparties raises more questions and gets refused more often. A real lease, local clients or suppliers, and at least one employee noticeably improve your chances.

Banks are especially cautious with companies owned by a foreign company rather than an individual. In that case the review takes longer, and the answer is more often no.

The KYC Check: What Exactly Banks Ask For

The bank's compliance team looks at three things: the source of wealth, meaning where the founder's money originally came from; the source of income, meaning how the company will actually make money; and the expected turnover, a rough estimate of the monthly or yearly transaction volume.

A gap between the declared turnover and the real activity on the account in the first months is a common reason for a later freeze, so give realistic figures instead of lowering them to get a quick approval.

Timelines and Fees

The bank usually decides anywhere from a few days to a few weeks after you submit a complete package. TBC Bank can open an account within a week of receiving the documents, while Bank of Georgia usually takes about two weeks to decide after your meeting with a relationship manager at the bank.

The fee for opening a business account differs from bank to bank and depends on the service package, so confirm the current rate directly with the bank before you apply. Banks change these figures more often than the government changes its fees.

Enhanced Checks for Certain Countries

Citizens of countries on the FATF gray list or blacklist go through enhanced due diligence: the bank asks for more documents, takes longer to review the application, and more often brings in the head-office compliance team rather than only the local branch. This does not mean an automatic refusal, but allow more time and be ready to provide a wider set of supporting documents.

If the Bank Says No

A refusal from one bank does not mean no bank will open an account. Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank follow different practices, and an application declined at one can be approved at the other. While you look for a bank or wait for a decision, a business account with Wise or Payoneer can temporarily cover international payments.

Neither replaces a full account at a Georgian bank, which you still need for taxes and VAT among other things, but they take the pressure off at the start.

Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank are the two banks foreigners turn to most often, but they are only part of the market. Georgia has 17 licensed commercial banks, and their requirements, review times, and openness to foreign clients can differ a great deal. Treat the two largest banks as a starting point rather than the final word, and look at the wider banking market before you choose.

Bebgur can serve both as a first source of information and as a way to get personal advice, whether from partner banks or from companies in the directory that help with setting up a business and opening a bank account in Georgia.