It is possible to open a personal bank account in Georgia as a foreigner remotely, without visiting the country. In this article, I will provide details about how to open a bank account in Georgia remotely. Also, I will explain how we (TPsolution LLC) can support you in opening a Georgian bank account remotely.
Opening a Bank Account Online in Georgia
You will need to send us a signed power of attorney (POA) and a copy of your passport via post (local banks do not accept scanned copies). We will provide a draft of the POA. Both documents must be appropriately approved (apostilled, notarized, or legalized, depending on the country; the approval process is explained below).
We then take the POA and copy of your passport to a translator at a Georgian notary, translate the documents into the Georgian language, and the Georgian notary subsequently approves the translation (to do this, we will need to do two physical visits to a notary office). As a next step, we take the translated POA and copy of your passport to a bank and request the opening of a bank account on your behalf.
We offer our clients the option of opening a bank account in two of the biggest, most reliable and most used Georgian banks: Bank of Georgia (BOG, including SOLO) or TBC bank (including TBC Concept). However, if a client prefers a different bank, we will gladly support them in this process too.
Procedures for Opening a Bank Account in Georgia
Opening a bank account is quite a smooth process in both banks; however, opening an account online may take more time, and the mentioned banks have different approaches.
Recently, TBC has tightened its procedures around identifying clients who switch to online banking services (after an account has been opened).
At TBC, the process is as follows:
After we open your bank account (debit cards are prepared on the second day), the bank provides you with your account information via email. Then, you order a debit card (TBC bank can send it to you directly if you open a TBC Concept account for a fee, which is usually not expensive). You must make at least two transactions before setting up your online banking.
For example:
- Transfer money to your Georgian bank account (you will already have all the details to make a transfer).
- Make a payment with your Georgian debit card.
After you perform two operations and you have received your debit card(s), TBC will contact you via mobile and will complete identification verification by using your bank account number, the last few digits of your debit card and identification of the last two transactions.
Due to current sanctions, it has become much more complicated for Russian and Belarussian citizens to open a bank account in Georgia, especially remotely. Although opening a bank account is more difficult for citizens of those countries, it is still possible.
Important changes to the Internal Procedures of TBC Bank
A recent change with TBC is that now they offer the sending of debit/credit cards and smoother procedures for the remote opening of a bank account if you open a TBC Concept account. However, for the remote opening of a TBC Concept account, they now ask for a Power of Attorney (POA) with quite a broad scope, much more comprehensive than before (e.g., the attorney should have control over the account while the POA is in force), which are relatively new and negative changes in TBC’s internal procedures. I do not understand the reason for introducing such changes.
In comparison, the remote account opening process at BOG for a SOLO bank account (the individual banking service of Bank of Georgia, similar to TBC Concept) requires a narrow POA where the attorney has the right to only open a bank account and switch on banking services on behalf of the principal.
The introduction of new requirements by TBC (the need for a wider scope POA) creates some inconveniences. For example, we do not feel comfortable having a broad-scope POA issued to us by the client, and the client may also be uncomfortable; this is why we suggest a SOLO bank account. Alternatively, you can issue a wide-scope POA for a TBC Concept account but with a limited timeframe (e.g., for two months) and start using the account after the POA expires.
Procedures for Opening an Account at Bank of Georgia (BOG) Remotely
After we open your bank account at Bank of Georgia (including your SOLO account), they will send online banking login details to your foreign mobile number (without the need for further identification) so that you can start to use your bank account online.
However, sometimes, there is a technical issue with sending online banking details to a foreign mobile number. In such cases, the banker sends the online banking details to the attorney’s mobile (please note that when I write “attorney”, I mean a service provider in Georgia to whom the client grants a POA). The attorney will send the online banking login details to you. When you receive the details, you should change the password to your online banking and log in with the new password; your banker will amend the number in your bank account information section from the attorney’s number to your mobile number so that this process is simple and entirely safe.
At SOLO, the bank can send debit cards directly to you based on what you request, even if you are located outside of Georgia (almost anywhere in the world), similar to TBC Concept. So, if you open a SOLO bank account, you do not need to involve the attorney (the service provider) in organizing and sending the debit cards, which would cost you more than if the bank sends them directly.
On the other hand, when it comes to an ordinary BOG account (not a SOLO account), based on our observations, BOG is more hesitant to send debit cards directly to you outside of Georgia. In such cases, we may need to organize sending the cards to you without having access to the PIN code or other sensitive information.
Documents Needed to Open a Georgian Bank Account Remotely
In certain countries, apostilled or legalized documents are unnecessary, and just approval by a notary will suffice. The exhaustive list of such “privileged countries” are the following (countries which are a member of The Minsk Convention):
Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine.
In addition, documents from most other countries, particularly those members of the Hague Conference of 5 October 1961, must be apostilled.
Documents from other countries that are neither a member of the Hague Conference nor the Minsk Convention need to be legalized, which is a more complicated process than using an apostille or notary.
Power of Attorney to Open a Bank Account in Georgia Remotely
After you request our support with opening a bank account and we commence the process, we will provide you with a draft of the POA as a Word file for you to review.
Please note that in case of support in the opening of a SOLO bank account remotely, we will have limited rights granted by you via the POA. In particular, we will only be entitled to open and/or close your bank account, request information on transactions (optional), and switch on different banking services (online banking, SMS, individual banking services). Please note that based on the POA, we will not have access to your bank account, login information, PIN or any other sensitive banking details.
In short, the rights granted by the POA will be strictly limited to rights we need to open a bank account on your behalf, while for opening a TBC Concept account, we will need a broader scope POA.
This is why we now suggest you try opening a SOLO account if you would like to open a bank account remotely.
Please bear in mind that you state your email address and mobile number in the POA granted to us. The banks will use this email and mobile number to contact you directly; thus, it is crucially important that you state an email and mobile number that is at your disposal and on which you can receive emails, SMS, and calls without delay.
Also, please note that if you and another person (e.g., spouse, sibling, friend, and so on) are planning to use our bank account opening service, bear in mind that you will need to issue separate POAs. You cannot put the same number and/or email in those POAs; the number/email should be different for each client.
The Biggest and Most Used Banks in Georgia
The two biggest and most used banks in Georgia dominate the banking sector. TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia are those banks.
To illustrate how significant a portion the banks mentioned above take of the Georgian banking market, I will cite the ranking of Georgian banks based on their net profit published by BMG:
Profit figures per bank out of a total of fourteen for H1 of 2022 and 2021 are as follows:
- TBC Bank: 2022 – GEL 430,597,636; 2021 – GEL 485,819,370;
- Bank of Georgia: 2022 – GEL 368,709,502; 2021 – GEL 434,871,593;
- Liberty Bank: 2022 – GEL 20,620,466; 2021 – GEL 23,247,257;
- Basis Bank: 2022 – GEL 31,738,152; 2021 – GEL 15,622,275;
- Credo Bank: 2022 – GEL 12,834,346; 2021 – GEL 16,529,589;
- ProCredit Bank: 2022 – GEL 22,385,001; 2021 – GEL 19,351,459;
- Tera Bank: 2022 – GEL 15,276,615; 2021 – GEL 15,032,351
Individual Banking Services in Georgia
TBC and BOG have individual banking services, which allow clients to have personal bankers and do their banking operations with their support online, with less effort.
The package of individual banking services also includes various benefits like a higher withdrawal limit, less commission, lower interest rates on loans, a priority queue at the bank, and discounts on services/goods offered by partner companies.
The individual banking service of Bank of Georgia is called SOLO. The monthly commission for a SOLO account is 35 GEL (approx. 13 USD), including a debit card (either Visa and/or MasterCard), SMS and online banking services.
Besides SOLO, Bank of Georgia offers other packages for lower monthly fees (with fewer benefits, however).
TBC Concept in Georgia (the premium account of TBC Bank)
The individual banking service of TBC bank is called TBC Concept. The monthly commission for a TBC Concept account is 25 GEL (approx. 9 USD) for Georgian citizens and 50 GEL (approx. 18 USD) for foreign citizens, including up to three debit cards (VISA and MasterCard), SMS and online banking services.
Besides the Concept Account, TBC offers other packages for lower monthly fees (with fewer benefits, however).
One year ago, I wrote an article on a similar topic where I suggested TBC Concept because, at that time, a narrow scope POA was required, and the price of TBC Concept was 25 GEL for both citizens and non-citizens of Georgia. Both conditions have changed as of today.
Online Banking Services in Georgia
TBC and BOG have smooth mobile applications for online banking, making it easy for clients to conduct banking operations online.
TBC has the following applications for online banking:
- TBC
- TBC business
- TBC pass (for online passcodes)
BOG has the following applications for online banking:
- BOG
- BOG Business
- BOG Digipass (for online passcodes).
Generally, Georgian banks are well-trusted, and many foreigners open bank accounts here. Besides trust, there are other reasons for foreigners to open a bank account in Georgia.
For example:
Georgia taxes only Georgian source income of individuals as the country applies the so-called “territorial taxation principle”. Therefore, in many cases, receiving funds from a Georgian bank account may not be subject to any tax in Georgia (however, each case still needs to be analyzed individually).
Regarding territorial taxation in Georgia, you can read my article here.
Do Georgian banks automatically report your bank transactions?
Currently, Georgian banks are not obliged to automatically report your transactions to the Georgian Revenue Service (GRS). Therefore, local banks do not do any automatic reporting.
On the other hand, if the GRS requests explicit information regarding your transactions, the bank will be obliged to make such information available to them. The GRS has NO access to your banking transactions except the information banks, or you provide based on any such specific requests.
In addition, Georgia is not a member of any system of automatic exchange of information between countries as of today (this may change in the future, but there is no draft legislation available yet).
Consulting/Accounting firm that provides a bank account opening service in Georgia
TPsolution LLC is a Georgian consulting and accounting company specializing in taxation, accounting business registration and support in opening a bank account.
We offer full support in opening a bank account in one or more Georgian banks, remotely or in person.
We have significant experience in opening personal (as well as business) bank accounts online for individuals around the world. Our success rate in opening a personal bank account remotely is almost 100%.
Opening a Georgian Personal Bank Account Online- Summary of Procedures
Opening a personal bank account remotely in Georgia is not always a complicated process. You will need to send us a properly approved POA (a draft of which we will provide after commencing our opening of your bank account) and a copy of your passport via post, and we will do everything for you.
After receiving the POA and copy of your passport, we will take care to open your account. After your account is open and you gain access to your account’s online banking, you will have direct contact with a banker without our involvement anymore. We have established our own draft POA, which is frequently used and well-adapted, where our rights will be limited to only such rights as needed to open/close a bank account on your behalf at SOLO Bank, while TBC Concept now requires a broader scope POA. This is one of the main reasons we now suggest first trying to open a bank account at SOLO bank in addition to the lower monthly fee of the SOLO account compared to TBC Concept.
Our success rate of almost 100% speaks for itself about the quality of the service we provide.