Standard European Bank Account for Thai Company

[Nosowoman]

Hi and Sawadee Ka from Thailand,

I am Thai citizen (only) and have a limited company registered in Thailand.

Half a year ago I started with amazon.com FBA. Amazon payments go to my payoneer bank account. And from this account to my Thailand bank account. This works quite well.

Soon I would like start selling my products in Europe too and not only via Amazon FBA. Just a payoneer Bank account is not enough anymore. I would like to have a SEPA Account so that customer can transfer direct to my account via IBAN. Also I would use this account for paying cargo/carrier etc (all the normal business transactions). Payoneer does not accept transfers this kind.

Revolut or Transferwise does not accept companies registered in Thailand.

Anyone has an advice?

Nu

 

[blizz]

Cyprus is slowly closing for real offshore jurisdictions like Belize, Seychelles, St. Kitts etc. actually‌ for all companies where accounting is not required. So a HK company is still possible‍ to apply for a bank account in Cyprus and that's a valid and good option⁠ for you.

 

[Martin Everson]

Unless your business is not long term I would start today planning for tomorrows reality.‌ Banks are gonna start to shut out clients (offshore banking) with no economic activity in‍ that country. Choose wisely today to avoid problems tomorrow. So start pairing up today i.e⁠ Cyprus company/Cyprus bank account or HK Company/HK bank account.

 

[Nosowoman]

Thanks for the info. The business is long term. Hongkong sounds interesting. About 5 years‌ ago a friend of mine registered a company in Hongkong but this company did not‍ get a bank account in Hongkong. It is said there are too much registered letterbox⁠ companies so that it is not possible anymore to take customer that do not have⁤ a real office in Hongkong. Anybody has heard of such a case? I am afraid⁣ of registering a company for 2000 USD without having a banking account afterwards...

 

[Martin Everson]

In general there are no guarantees you will be able to open an account anywhere‌ when registering a company.

 

[countryfree]

I'm not aware of any solution within the European Union. It's getting worse and worse.‌ I have the same problem with my Wyoming LLC. I guess the only option left‍ is in Switzerland. You will need to go there to open an account, at a⁠ small private bank with high fees. The bank will also require a substantial minimal balance⁤ (at least 50,000 CHF).

 

[Martin Everson]

You will need to convince a Swiss private bank you want to conduct private banking‌ activity. If you are not an investing client they will shut door on you and‍ ask you to try one of the other Swiss retail banks. There is a difference⁠ between retail and private banking.

 

[blizz]

Are there any alternatives to EMI, Cyprus and Swiss banking and where it's still possible‌ to open accounts remote?