Opening Bank account in HK

[Martin Everson]

Did you try CIBC, Cayman National or even Capital Union Bank?

seobuddy said:
- Euro Pacific Bank (Puerto Rico) <- approved, just need to certify my documents and get going
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Yes their core business is banking shell companies or tax evaders. They are bottom of the barrel when no other options exist for clients and they know this sadly. Keep it ias an option if you have absolutely no choice.

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

 

[Artemis Eleutheria]

Not sure on your case, but maybe FirstCaribbean International Bank - Personal Banking would consider you.

They told me they needed more of a connection with the Island in order to be able to do anything. (I used to have an account with them a long time ago ... when they still were called "Barclays").

The other commercial banks did not even answer my emails.


PS. SaxoBank in Singapore is open for business it seems ... they are a brokerage though

 

[AlbanyJames]

seobuddy said:
- Royal Bank of Canada (Nassau / Bahamas), but they want $5,000 setup fee and then $250 / month + annual review of $150
- Euro Pacific Bank (Puerto Rico) <- approved, just need to certify my documents and get going.
- HSBC (Hong Kong) <- sent document, waiting for Compliance to review and then set up appointment <- but I doubt this will works.
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Any updates on this? Interested as a Bahamian also.

 

[seobuddy]

AlbanyJames said:
Any updates on this? Interested as a Bahamian also.
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I successfully open with Euro Pacific Bank in Puerto Rico for the Bahamian IBC, and so far I can't complain, it's working as expected.
Even though Puerto Rico is in the USA, it's impossible to link this Bank Account to the PayPal account of the Bahamian IBC.

If my business gets more traction, I might still end up accepting to pay the fee to be with the Royal Bank of Canada in Nassau.

 

[Clip]

seobuddy said:
Euro Pacific Bank in Puerto Rico for the Bahamian IBC,
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Can you receive bank transfers from Europe?

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Expat in Hong Kong - There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt. - John Adams

 

[seobuddy]

Yes, I fund the account with an account from EU without any problem.

 

[Clip]

I'm curious to know if you can have a nominee in UK that can "resell" your services in EU and that could be accepted by auditors

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Expat in Hong Kong - There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt. - John Adams

 

[seobuddy]

I'm not providing such services. I'm just talking about my own experience for my own needs.

 

[AlbanyJames]

seobuddy said:
I successfully open with Euro Pacific Bank in Puerto Rico for the Bahamian IBC, and so far I can't complain, it's working as expected.
Even though Puerto Rico is in the USA, it's impossible to link this Bank Account to the PayPal account of the Bahamian IBC.

If my business gets more traction, I might still end up accepting to pay the fee to be with the Royal Bank of Canada in Nassau.
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I am not comfortable with EPB from my research for the amounts in question.

I was more curious about the HSBC sprint account you applied for. I guess it was rejected?

 

[seobuddy]

Yes, HSBC Sprint account I try (hard) :

- Complete their online form,
- Wait for somebody to contact me (they don't care about your timezone and contacted me by phone at 2 am)
- Complete their KYC form (with certified copy),
- Send Business Plan and explain my business (SEO related),
- Wait for three business days

And ultimately, I was rejected without any reason by their compliance team.
Total waste of my time.

 

[JohnSeed]

Thank you for this great review and information. There has been a lot of bad information around this forum about EPB so I would not touc hthem, but lets's hope it will work out well for you.

 

[Jezzawalt]

Did you end up finding a solution? I have a HK company and have decided against Euro Pacific Bank and also I know I have no chance with HSBC.

On another note, how were you planning to get offshore tax exemption? I've heard it's expensive, timely and just overall difficult to obtain. If I could get this exemption easy enough I would stick with my current online HK bank "currenxie" - I have a CBD business and they even accepted me so chances are other businesses shouldnt have any issues, they don't have a debit card, yet and you do have to get payees approved first etc which is a bit of a hassle but may be of interest to you if you've obtained offshore exemption.

 

[seobuddy]

I end up with Euro Pacific Bank (so far, so good, but at the same time my startup is very small, I'm still working hard on my product-market fit)
It was impossible for me to open a Bank Account in HK.

I use to have an HK Company + Offshore Status for a previous successful venture, and it works very well until the HSBC compliance team decided otherwise...
Get offshore status required to have a certified CPA doing your accounting, audit your account, and submit the request.

It was a stressful moment every year, but as long as you don't do business with HK it was always ending with a positive answer from the IRD.
The cost depends on how big is your business (how many invoices, receipt, etc...), in my situation, it was pretty big and cost $5k / year

And it was definitively worth it, I miss to have my company in HK 🙂

 

[Jezzawalt]

seobuddy said:
I end up with Euro Pacific Bank (so far, so good, but at the same time my startup is very small, I'm still working hard on my product-market fit)
It was impossible for me to open a Bank Account in HK.

I use to have an HK Company + Offshore Status for a previous successful venture, and it works very well until the HSBC compliance team decided otherwise...
Get offshore status required to have a certified CPA doing your accounting, audit your account, and submit the request.

It was a stressful moment every year, but as long as you don't do business with HK it was always ending with a positive answer from the IRD.
The cost depends on how big is your business (how many invoices, receipt, etc...), in my situation, it was pretty big and cost $5k / year

And it was definitively worth it, I miss to have my company in HK 🙂
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Thanks for the info, everytime I mention the offshore exemption to my accountant he avoids the topic or simply does not reply. I'll be saving around 60k USD per year so it's a no brainer. Do you by chance have the contact for who sorted this out for you? Cheers

 

[seobuddy]

Yes, but please contact me by email (check contact section of my website)

 

[Jezzawalt]

Thanks, what is your website? I can't find it im sorry.

 

[seobuddy]

My username on this forum, with .com at the end 🙂

 

[CaptK]

GiGoGo said:
I'm curious to know if you can have a nominee in UK that can "resell" your services in EU and that could be accepted by auditors
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If you put together some license agreements that they sell the software and the get a small commission that will work.

 

[Clip]

CaptK said:
If you put together some license agreements that they sell the software and the get a small commission that will work.
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That's what some people are doing with their Bvi patent box

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Expat in Hong Kong - There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt. - John Adams

 

[onemansomewhere]

HSBC is absolutely the worst bank to open a bank account in HK if you are not ready to invest with them at least 10 million HKD. There are better banks, where chances to be accepted are much higher if you do things good.

I would never ever open a bank account with EPB.