Bank Accounts for Seychelles Offshore/IBC [2020 and 2021]

[welld]

Did anyone of you guys manage to open a bank account for an IBC/Offshore Company registered in Seychelles? (With and without an EU passport). I know it's hard getting accounts in Seychelles, so what are the options?

I am an EU passport holder but recently got a passport in another country (non-EU), which I might use for my new company. Mainly because the EU country I'm residing in has strict taxation rules.

I know there have been many threads here, but some are very outdated. With this thread let's focus on experiences and possibilities in 2020/2021.

 

[Sols]

Al-Salam Bank in Seychelles might be an option. With an introducer, you can try banks in Mauritius (ABC, AfrAsia, MCB, SBM).

There are some banks in Caribbean and Vanuatu but they are generally speaking not that great to work with and with aggressive de-risking by major correspondent banks, they are very careful with client onboarding nowadays. A Seychelles company without a very compelling business plan will probably get rejected.

Other than that, you're limited to EMIs and depending on your overall risk profile, they may in turn limit you to SEPA/EUR only, meaning no access to SWIFT and transactions outside of SEPA zone.

Remember you're taxed on where you live, not your citizenship (unless you're American or a few other nationalities, then it's both). Showing a non-EU passport and EU address means you get reported to the EU country anyway under CRS/AEOI.

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This is the probably the answer to your question.

 

[bigladsmith]

Try using TransferWise - they take Seychelles companies. You'll need to set-up an personal TW account first so I'd say you want to set up a personal account correctly where you have your second passport to be sure you have no ties with you EU country.

Then apply for the Seychelles business account. A point to note, TW will ask for the details of the company nominees (if you have any) and ask for DoB etc. its down to you what info you supply in this regard.