Personal Bank account for Company dividends

[LuckyLuciano]

Hello,

I own and operate a Wyoming LLC. It operates in the fintech and digital marketing space.

I'm researching what are the best options for opening a bank account for the purpose of paying myself dividance from my company activities. Of course, it should be a private bank account and I'd like to have the option of having a credit card and some form of wealth management or investing. My company is in the startup phase so I won't be depositing large amounts at the beginning. The goal, for now, is to deposit two to three transactions to the account yearly. The amount will be around 5-8k per transaction.

What country and bank should I consider for this? Also, it should have the option to open accounts remotely.

 

[Forester]

What is your citizenship and country of residence?
Just generally, for 2-3x 5-8k per year, almost any bank will not have much interest for such a business; but you can be well served by some EMI or perhaps some neobank.
Also, you unfortunately cannot expect any (personalised) help with wealth management for such a sum.

Last edited: Jan 28, 2023
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I am just a simple countryman. Anything I say is only a personal opinion, not a certified advice 🙂

If you think it makes sense, you can like it; if opposite, please, tell me, why I am wrong...

 

[turtle]

Wealth management for $20k per year? It is not possible any kind of wealth man. service or similar service for such a sum. Just go with trustable EMI like Wise.

 

[LuckyLuciano]

Forester said:
What is your citizenship and country of residence?
Just generally, for 2-3x 5-8k per year, almost any bank will not have much interest for such a business; but you can be well served by some EMI or perhaps some neobank.
Also, you unfortunately cannot expect any (personalised) help with wealth management for such a sum.
Click to expand...

I'm from Serbia so most EMIs don't have the option for Serbian people to use their services. Could you recommend some good EMIs and nonbanks which allow international clients?

turtle said:
Wealth management for $20k per year? It is not possible any kind of wealth man. service or similar service for such a sum. Just go with trustable EMI like Wise.
Click to expand...

well, I'm just asking and looking into different options to invest. Who knows maybe the 20k turns into 200k. My business is growing rapidly. Yeah WISE is a good option but they don't have credit card options for Serbian nationality.

 

[turtle]

You can check Interactive Brokers, SaxoBank or Swissqoute to invest. They might open an account for low balances.

 

[Martin Everson]

LuckyLuciano said:
well, I'm just asking and looking into different options to invest. Who knows maybe the 20k turns into 200k. My business is growing rapidly. Yeah WISE is a good option but they don't have credit card options for Serbian nationality.
Click to expand...

US company + Serbia residency + roughly 20k a year = 😕

Forget about credit card option or wealth management stuff for now. Maybe look at some Puerto Rico banks. Take whatever you can get my friend and be happy.

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Please note my posts should not be taken as financial or tax advice. Please seek professional advice in that respect.

 

[LuckyLuciano]

turtle said:
You can check Interactive Brokers, SaxoBank or Swissqoute to invest. They might open an account for low balances.
Click to expand...

got it I guess it's just not the right time to look into investment options. Do you perhaps know any good bank which good open an account and give me the option of a credit card?

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

You could open with a Cyprus bank, like Eurobank and once you have developed a good chink of cash you could also be transferred to their private banking department.

 

[MiddleEuroAsia]

LuckyLuciano said:
got it I guess it's just not the right time to look into investment options. Do you perhaps know any good bank which good open an account and give me the option of a credit card?
Click to expand...

Credit card = Brex *& ramp.
Regular cards (debit&virtual) = mercury, novel, and relayfi

 

[Forester]

turtle said:
Just go with trustable EMI like Wise.
Click to expand...

If you consider Wise to be a trustable EMI for such an use-case as of @LuckyLuciano, I respect your opinion but I do not share it at all and I would warn everyone before doing it. Wise can be usable if you work as a porter, pay for your groceries and from time to time send some amount to your parents somewhere, or perhaps if you have a grocery shop and pay to your local suppliers. With 2-3x per year 5-8k USD from US/WY LLC you beg for a trigger of AML compliance and your funds frozen for a unspecified time.

LuckyLuciano said:
I'm from Serbia so most EMIs don't have the option for Serbian people to use their services. Could you recommend some good EMIs and nonbanks which allow international clients?
Click to expand...

To be honest, I do not possess a lot of specific information re: options for Serbian people; but perhaps you can try some Swiss neobanks (or investment platforms) like Dukascopy, Swissquote or Flowbank or some EMI's like Verifo or Nebeus. Or some bank in North Macedonia (Halkbank, Pro Credit Direct, Silk Road Bank), although your business is generally small.
BTW, can you share why you do not consider banking in your home country? (I can speculate but it is not worth much.)

LuckyLuciano said:
well, I'm just asking and looking into different options to invest. Who knows maybe the 20k turns into 200k. My business is growing rapidly.
Click to expand...

Good for you; but for opening some more banking and investing possibilities you will have to wait, I am afraid.

LuckyLuciano said:
Yeah WISE is a good option but they don't have credit card options for Serbian nationality.
Click to expand...

Re: Wise see above; concerning the card, do you mean really the credit card or just a debit one? If former, I am afraid that your only chance is some US subject as @MiddleEuroAsia suggested.

turtle said:
You can check Interactive Brokers, SaxoBank or Swissqoute to invest. They might open an account for low balances.
Click to expand...

Agreeing.

CyprusLawyer101 said:
You could open with a Cyprus bank, like Eurobank and once you have developed a good chink of cash you could also be transferred to their private banking department.
Click to expand...

It sounds really surprising for me as per my experience Cyprus banks are definitely not very open to non-residents nowadays; but I assume you know well what you are talking about (and probably you are able to help, too). Could you please elaborate more about the background? I simply wonder... (Feel free to PM me if you do not like to share publicly; and it is not extremely important.)

Last edited: Jan 29, 2023
Toggle signature
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I am just a simple countryman. Anything I say is only a personal opinion, not a certified advice 🙂

If you think it makes sense, you can like it; if opposite, please, tell me, why I am wrong...

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

Forester said:
If you consider Wise to be a trustable EMI for such an use-case as of @LuckyLuciano, I respect your opinion but I do not share it at all and I would warn everyone before doing it. Wise can be usable if you work as a porter, pay for your groceries and from time to time send some amount to your parents somewhere, or perhaps if you have a grocery shop and pay to your local suppliers. With 2-3x per year 5-8k USD from US/WY LLC you beg for a trigger of AML compliance and your funds frozen for a unspecified time.

To be honest, I do not possess a lot of specific information re: options for Serbian people; but perhaps you can try some Swiss neobanks (or investment platforms) like Dukascopy, Swissquote or Flowbank or some EMI's like Verifo or Nebeus. Or some bank in North Macedonia (Halkbank, Pro Credit Direct, Silk Road Bank), although your business is generally small.
BTW, can you share why you do not consider banking in your home country? (I can speculate but it is not worth much.)

Good for you; but for opening some more banking and investing possibilities you will have to wait, I am afraid.

Re: Wise see above; concerning the card, do you mean really the credit card or just a debit one? If former, I am afraid that your only chance is some US subject as @MiddleEuroAsia suggested.

Agreeing.

It sounds really surprising for me as per my experience Cyprus banks are definitely not very open to non-residents nowadays; but I assume you know well what you are talking about (and probably you are able to help, too). Could you please elaborate more about the background? I simply wonder... (Feel free to PM me if you do not like to share publicly; and it is not extremely important.)
Click to expand...

Well, under the right approach, things are possible. We have done similar accounts.

 

[turtle]

Forester said:
If you consider Wise to be a trustable EMI for such an use-case as of @LuckyLuciano, I respect your opinion but I do not share it at all and I would warn everyone before doing it. Wise can be usable if you work as a porter, pay for your groceries and from time to time send some amount to your parents somewhere, or perhaps if you have a grocery shop and pay to your local suppliers. With 2-3x per year 5-8k USD from US/WY LLC you beg for a trigger of AML compliance and your funds frozen for a unspecified time.
Click to expand...

EMIs are not banks and in case of compliance issues, you should expect more problems and delays compared with banks. This rule applies to all EMIs including Wise.

Wise is the biggest EMI and they're publicly traded company. I don't think you can find a more trustable EMI than Wise right now. I used Wise for my business in the past(7 figures annual turnover) and I haven't faced any issues that's why 3 x 8k USD is not a problem as long as your business is legit and complies with Wise terms of service agreement.

 

[LuckyLuciano]

Forester said:
If you consider Wise to be a trustable EMI for such an use-case as of @LuckyLuciano, I respect your opinion but I do not share it at all and I would warn everyone before doing it. Wise can be usable if you work as a porter, pay for your groceries and from time to time send some amount to your parents somewhere, or perhaps if you have a grocery shop and pay to your local suppliers. With 2-3x per year 5-8k USD from US/WY LLC you beg for a trigger of AML compliance and your funds frozen for a unspecified time.
Click to expand...

Indeed, plus in my case, they don't support debit cards for Serbia.

Forester said:
To be honest, I do not possess a lot of specific information re: options for Serbian people; but perhaps you can try some Swiss neobanks (or investment platforms) like Dukascopy, Swissquote or Flowbank or some EMI's like Verifo or Nebeus. Or some bank in North Macedonia (Halkbank, Pro Credit Direct, Silk Road Bank), although your business is generally small.
BTW, can you share why you do not consider banking in your home country? (I can speculate but it is not worth much.)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll make sure to check them out. Do you have any knowledge or experience with CIM Bank - it's from Switzerland? Well, Serbian banks are transparent with the wrong people. Basically, my main competitor (ex-employer) could look into my account with some good connections and find out about my company. If they know my company names it's super easy for them to find out who are my partners and I wouldn't like that. So it's not the most obvious reason.

Forester said:
Good for you; but for opening some more banking and investing possibilities you will have to wait, I am afraid.
Click to expand...

Yes, you are right.

Forester said:
Re: Wise see above; concerning the card, do you mean really the credit card or just a debit one? If former, I am afraid that your only chance is some US subject as @MiddleEuroAsia suggested.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was actually referring to debit cards. The options that @MiddleEuroAsia recommended are all for company accounts. For example, I got my company account with mercury bank.

 

[Forester]

LuckyLuciano said:
Thanks for the recommendations, I'll make sure to check them out.
Click to expand...

You are welcome.
Just to add (with an excuse), I have forgotten to mention that North Macedonian banks do not open on-line, a personal visit is necessary (AFAIK) ”“ I must admit, I did not considered to be a problem for you to travel from Serbia to North Macedonia...

LuckyLuciano said:
Do you have any knowledge or experience with CIM Bank - it's from Switzerland?
Click to expand...

Well, CIM Banque is generally fine. Nevertheless, I do not know how they are today with personal accounts but for company accounts they ~2 years ago (my personal experience) wanted initial deposit 10k (generally, no problem ”“ but regarding your use-case...) and even were quite reluctant about opening an account for a company without proven ties to Switzerland... But it is worth trying, especially if another options fail.

LuckyLuciano said:
Well, Serbian banks are transparent with the wrong people. Basically, my main competitor (ex-employer) could look into my account with some good connections and find out about my company. If they know my company names it's super easy for them to find out who are my partners and I wouldn't like that. So it's not the most obvious reason.
Click to expand...

Oh, well. I fully understand.

LuckyLuciano said:
Yeah, I was actually referring to debit cards.
Click to expand...

In such a case, it should not be a (separate) problem. Any of subjects I have named above can issue a debit card for you.

Toggle signature
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I am just a simple countryman. Anything I say is only a personal opinion, not a certified advice 🙂

If you think it makes sense, you can like it; if opposite, please, tell me, why I am wrong...

 

[MiddleEuroAsia]

Forester said:
Well, CIM Banque is generally fine. Nevertheless, I do not know how they are today with personal accounts but for company accounts they ~2 years ago (my personal experience) wanted initial deposit 10k (generally, no problem ”“ but regarding your use-case...) and even were quite reluctant about opening an account for a company without proven ties to Switzerland... But it is worth trying, especially if another options fail.
Click to expand...

I have an account with them, but their KYC is super strict, I always have my documents in order anyway so that wasn't a problem. But just a heads up for anyone who is considering opening an account with them, here are some of the questions that they asked me:

Quote:

" 1. Your marital status

2. Name of your spouse

3. Do you have any children?

a. How many children?

b. What are their names?


Financial situation questionnaire:

1. Do you own any real estate?

a. What is its estimated value?

b. In which country?

2. Do you have other banks accounts / shares?

a. What is their estimated value?

3. What is your yearly income?

4. Do you own companies?

a. If yes, what are their names/jurisdiction and how many shares do you own?

b. What is the activity of these companies?

c. Please provide with their address and website

d. Do the companies have a relationship with the United States (group entity subsidiaries)?



Employer questionnaire:

1. What is your profession & education?

2. Your position?

3. Please describe your current job:

4. Name, address, website of your employer:

5. Can you please describe in detail the activity of your company?


Bank account questionnaire:

1. Please describe in a few sentences the goal of this bank account? (eg. Receiving payments/accumulation of wealth, etc.) ,

2. What is the origin of the deposited funds? (eg. Savings, real estate sale, professional activity, etc.)

3. Potential deposit on the account in the next 12 months?

4. Number & amount of monthly incoming transfers into the account?

5. Number & amount of monthly outgoing transfers from the account?

6. Where will the incoming transfers come from?

a. What countries?

b. From whom accounts? For what services?

7. Where will the outgoing transfers go to?

a. What countries?

b. To whom accounts? For what services?

8. Do you expect any cash transactions (withdrawals or deposits) for an amount greater than CHF 25'000?

9. What amount is going to remain on the account permanently?

10. Could you clarify the maximum amount of turnover expected on the account within the upcoming year? "

As you can see, a whole list of questions and not only that, they followed up and requested a lot of documents to support the claims made for said questions.
So, if you don't have an answer to them, don't bother and look elsewhere. You will save both time and money.

 

[turtle]

@MiddleEuroAsia That's crazy. If you open an UBS Private Bank in Switzerland, they require a minumum $5M deposit and they won't ask half of those questions.

 

[MiddleEuroAsia]

turtle said:
@MiddleEuroAsia That's crazy. If you open an UBS Private Bank in Switzerland, they require a minumum $5M deposit and they won't ask half of those questions.
Click to expand...

Same with credit Suisse in Switzerland. I have both personal and business account with them and they don't ask these kind of questions.

Also DBS Singapore, only 500k deposited with them, and I transfer money from Vanuatu, Seychelles, Hongkong, Labuan and Dubai regularly without a single question.

CIM is just this bizarre, but they have their use cases.

 

[LuckyLuciano]

Forester said:
You are welcome.
Just to add (with an excuse), I have forgotten to mention that North Macedonian banks do not open on-line, a personal visit is necessary (AFAIK) ”“ I must admit, I did not considered to be a problem for you to travel from Serbia to North Macedonia...
Click to expand...

yes, it's super close.

Forester said:
Well, CIM Banque is generally fine. Nevertheless, I do not know how they are today with personal accounts but for company accounts they ~2 years ago (my personal experience) wanted initial deposit 10k (generally, no problem ”“ but regarding your use-case...) and even were quite reluctant about opening an account for a company without proven ties to Switzerland... But it is worth trying, especially if another options fail.
Click to expand...

Hmmm....in that case I might consider them as a backup option and I'll explore some of the EMIs that you recommended to me before.

LuckyLuciano said:
Yeah, I was actually referring to debit cards. The options that @MiddleEuroAsia recommended are all for company accounts. For example, I got my company account with mercury bank.
Click to expand...

I actually started the process with Verifo and looks like it works, just need to verify my account and check if they can issue a debit card. Really appreciate the tip!

 

[Forester]

LuckyLuciano said:
I actually started the process with Verifo and looks like it works, just need to verify my account and check if they can issue a debit card. Really appreciate the tip!
Click to expand...

You are welcome.

Just one more comment:

turtle said:
EMIs are not banks and in case of compliance issues, you should expect more problems and delays compared with banks. This rule applies to all EMIs including Wise.
Click to expand...

I agree, generally, although you can face horrible compliance issues in banks, too.

turtle said:
Wise is the biggest EMI and they're publicly traded company. I don't think you can find a more trustable EMI than Wise right now.
Click to expand...

With all due respect, if something is big and publicly traded then it does not imply that it works well. If you mean trustable as you need not to be afraid about being scammed, then I agree. Otherwise, Wise (as well as Revolut, BTW) is really well known to have one pitfall: blocking transactions and even closing the (especially business) accounts without any warning or notice, without any reasonable explanation and freezing the cash for undefined time. Yes, AFAIK, nobody lost the money, finally they return it to the owner but even freezing your cash for some months can ruin your life and/or business perfectly.
Of course, it can happen with another EMI, too; but with Revolut/Wise it is IMO quite frequent. Yes, I understand that a big, even perhaps major part of horror stories that you can read here and elsewhere is de facto concerning an account misuse or abuse but it is not always so.

I guess that the core problem with Wise is that they are
”“ too big (and probably underpowered in resources) to handle all the agenda properly;
”“ too known not to attract very different people, sometimes definitely with really shady intentions...
As a result, you can simply have a bad luck quite often ”“ when their AI (or underpowered staff) makes a false assumption or a mistake.

turtle said:
I used Wise for my business in the past(7 figures annual turnover) and I haven't faced any issues
Click to expand...

Good for you 🙂

turtle said:
that's why 3 x 8k USD is not a problem as long as your business is legit and complies with Wise terms of service agreement.
Click to expand...

Well... it should be so, definitely. Nevertheless, I would be really afraid 😉

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I am just a simple countryman. Anything I say is only a personal opinion, not a certified advice 🙂

If you think it makes sense, you can like it; if opposite, please, tell me, why I am wrong...

 

[gatrader]

If wise decides to freeze for example 5m every week and release whenever they want (never respecting the terms they mention) is it like a free loan?