Best Banks in Georgia for Foreigners: Bank of Georgia vs TBC

Every guide to banking in Georgia says the same thing: open at Bank of Georgia or TBC, both are comfortable with foreigners, done. That is not wrong, but it skips the actual decision, and it leaves out two banks, Credo and Liberty, that genuinely fit some foreign-owned businesses better than either giant. The best banks in Georgia for foreigners depends on what your business needs day to day: branch reach, a stronger app, faster onboarding, or the lowest cost on transfers abroad. Here is how the four compare, and what a SWIFT transfer actually costs once you are moving client payments through it every month.

Georgia's banking market, in four names

The National Bank of Georgia licenses 17 commercial banks in total, but for a foreign-owned business the conversation almost always narrows to four: Bank of Georgia, TBC Bank, Credo Bank and Liberty Bank. The other thirteen are mostly niche players, fintech-adjacent banks or institutions built around a single foreign parent's regional strategy, and they rarely come up when someone is choosing where to bank a Georgian Individual Entrepreneur or LLC.

Bank of Georgia and TBC are not just the two most recommended, they structurally dominate the market. Based on the National Bank of Georgia's own published data, the two together have historically held close to four-fifths of total bank assets in the country, a concentration that has held for over a decade through a run of mergers on both sides. That is why almost every "best bank" conversation collapses into a choice between the two of them, and why Credo and Liberty deserve to be named specifically rather than folded into "other banks."

There is one more thing worth knowing before comparing features. TBC Bank's parent, TBC Bank Group PLC, and Bank of Georgia's parent, now named Lion Finance Group PLC but still trading under the ticker it built its name on, are both listed on the London Stock Exchange. That means both file public accounts and sit under a listed-company auditor, a layer of scrutiny the other Georgian banks do not carry. For a foreign owner deciding where to hold working capital, that is not a footnote. It is one more data point about who actually answers for the bank if something goes wrong.

Bank of Georgia vs TBC

Both are comfortable opening accounts for foreign-owned businesses, both run multi-currency accounts holding GEL, USD and EUR side by side, and both offer English-language online banking that genuinely works rather than a translated afterthought. The differences that actually matter come down to how you expect to manage the account day to day.

If your business runs entirely online and you would rather never walk into a branch, TBC's app-first approach tends to be the more comfortable fit. If you expect to visit in person occasionally, need cash handling, or simply want the option of a branch in more towns than Tbilisi and Batumi, Bank of Georgia's network is the wider one. Neither is a wrong choice for a standard foreign-owned IE or LLC, and we have opened accounts at both for clients with near-identical businesses who simply preferred one interface over the other.

Both banks also run their own online card-payment gateways for merchants who hold a business account with them, letting a Georgian company accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express payments directly through its own website or an invoice link, without routing through any foreign processor at all. We cover why that matters more than most founders expect in paying a Georgian company by card.

Credo Bank and Liberty Bank: the real alternatives

Neither Credo nor Liberty is a niche curiosity. Both are licensed and supervised by the National Bank of Georgia on the same terms as Bank of Georgia and TBC, and both show up often enough in our own client work that they earn a proper comparison rather than a footnote.

Credo Bank built its reputation on small business and personal lending rather than corporate banking, and it shows in how it treats a new foreign client: faster onboarding, a more personal relationship with an actual banker rather than a queue, and noticeably less friction for someone who does not yet have a long Georgian financial history. Credo's own expat offering bundles day-to-day banking into a single annual package at 45 GEL, aimed at individuals living in Georgia rather than at corporate clients specifically, but it signals the bank's general posture: quicker, more personal, less bureaucratic than the two giants. For a solo founder running an Individual Entrepreneur with Small Business Status who wants a bank that treats them as a person rather than a file number, Credo is worth a serious look.

Liberty Bank is the country's third-largest by assets, with a branch network that in some respects rivals Bank of Georgia's, built originally around pension and social-payment distribution for the domestic retail market. That heritage means Liberty is genuinely everywhere, including small towns neither Bank of Georgia nor TBC bothers with, but its corporate and foreign-client banking is less polished than its retail side. We see it work well for businesses with a genuinely local footprint, retail, hospitality, anything touching cash in a smaller city, and less well for a remote software business whose only Georgian presence is the registration certificate.

Neither Credo nor Liberty typically beats Bank of Georgia or TBC on pure feature count. What they offer instead is a different kind of relationship, and for some businesses that trade is the right one.

What a business account actually costs

Opening the account itself is free at all four banks, and none of them charge a monthly maintenance fee or require a minimum balance on a standard business account. Where the real, recurring cost sits is in moving money in and out.

The account fees are close enough between the four banks that they rarely decide anything. Transfer costs are where a genuine difference shows up, particularly if your business receives dozens of international payments a month rather than a handful.

SWIFT transfers: what the fee actually buys you

A SWIFT transfer between Georgia and almost anywhere else in the world routes through one or more correspondent banks, and each one can take a cut before the money reaches you. Banks handle this in one of two ways, and which one your sender picks changes what actually lands in your account.

Under a SHA arrangement, the sender pays their own bank's fee and the receiving side absorbs whatever the correspondent banks deduct along the way, so the amount that arrives is somewhat less than what was sent. Under an OUR arrangement, the sender pays extra upfront, usually somewhere in the $20 to $30 range, specifically so the intermediary fees are covered in advance and the full amount lands untouched. If a client is sending you a large payment and the difference matters, it is worth asking them to select OUR rather than assuming the standard option.

Timing is fairly consistent across all four banks: a standard SWIFT transfer typically lands in one to five business days depending on the destination and how many correspondent banks the payment passes through. Same-currency transfers within Georgia, by contrast, are effectively instant.

Business Bank Account Opening

We'll handle bank selection, document preparation, Georgian translations and the branch visit itself, for a fixed fee. Tell us how you expect to use the account and we will point you at the bank that actually fits, not just the biggest name.

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How to actually choose between them

Strip away the marketing and the decision comes down to a short list of real questions.

• How often will you be in Georgia? Frequently or planning to live here, Bank of Georgia's branch reach is worth something. Rarely, TBC's app-first approach means less is lost by not walking into a branch.
• How many international payments do you receive a month? A handful, the fee difference barely registers. Dozens, it is worth asking each bank for its actual current SWIFT pricing before committing, since published fee schedules move more often than marketing pages get updated.
• Do you want a relationship or a platform? Credo's smaller scale tends to produce more of an actual relationship with a banker who knows your file. Bank of Georgia and TBC are built for volume, and you will mostly interact with an app and a call centre.
• Is your business genuinely local or genuinely remote? A business with real Georgian customers, staff or a physical premises fits Liberty's network reasonably well. A remote service business invoicing clients abroad gains little from Liberty's small-town branch strength and more from either giant's digital tools.

None of these four is a wrong choice for a properly registered foreign-owned business. What actually sinks an application, at any of them, is rarely the choice of bank. It is a business the bank cannot understand from the file in front of it, which is a separate and more important problem than which logo is on the card. We cover exactly what causes that, and how to fix it before it becomes a rejection, in why Georgian banks reject accounts.

Getting from "chosen a bank" to "have an account"

Choosing between these four only matters once your business actually exists. Every one of them opens an account for a registered entity, not a plan for one, so the Individual Entrepreneur or LLC registration has to be finished first. Once it is, the account itself is usually fast: a business day to prepare the file properly, then one to two hours at the branch, with approval typically landing the same day. For the full walkthrough of documents, the compliance interview and what to bring, see opening a business bank account in Georgia.

If you are hoping to skip the branch visit entirely, it is worth being honest about the odds before you plan around it. We go through exactly what remote account opening actually involves, and where the marketing overstates it, in opening a Georgian bank account remotely.

For most clients running an Individual Entrepreneur under Small Business Status, the account choice matters less than getting the underlying registration and tax status right first. The bank is where that arithmetic becomes visible every month. It is rarely where the real risk in the whole process sits.

Key takeaways

• Bank of Georgia and TBC dominate the market and both work well for foreign-owned businesses; the choice between them usually comes down to branch access versus app quality.
• Credo Bank suits a solo founder who wants faster onboarding and a personal relationship over a big platform.
• Liberty Bank fits a business with a genuine local footprint better than a remote service business.
• Account opening and monthly maintenance are free at all four banks; the real recurring cost is SWIFT transfer fees, typically $15 to $40 outgoing.
• Georgian banks are not yet full SEPA members, so euro transfers still route through SWIFT pricing rather than SEPA's flat low fee.
• The business must be registered before any bank will open an account; none of the four banks skips this requirement.

Frequently asked questions

Which bank is best for a foreigner opening a business account in Georgia?

There is no single answer that fits everyone. Bank of Georgia and TBC are the safest default for most foreign-owned businesses, with TBC generally preferred for a fully digital operation and Bank of Georgia for anyone who values a wider branch network. Credo is worth considering if you want faster onboarding and a more personal relationship.

Is Bank of Georgia or TBC bigger?

They are close. Both sit at the top of Georgia's banking sector by assets, and together they have historically held close to four-fifths of the market. Bank of Georgia generally runs the wider branch and ATM network, while TBC is usually considered to have the stronger digital platform.

Can Credo Bank open a business account for a foreigner?

Yes. Credo serves foreign clients and small businesses directly, and tends to move faster on onboarding than either of the two larger banks. It is a genuinely different kind of banking relationship rather than a smaller version of the same thing.

Is Liberty Bank a good choice for a foreign-owned company?

It depends on the business. Liberty has the third-largest asset base and an extensive branch network, built originally around domestic retail and pension payments, which makes it a strong fit for a business with real local operations and a weaker fit for a remote company with no Georgian footprint beyond its registration.

How much does a SWIFT transfer to or from Georgia cost?

Typically $15 to $40 for an outgoing transfer, depending on the bank and the destination, with incoming transfers often free or subject to a small flat fee. The exact figure depends on whether the sender pays extra to guarantee the full amount arrives, so it is worth checking before a large payment goes out.

Does Georgia use SEPA for euro transfers?

Not yet. The National Bank of Georgia applied to join the Single Euro Payments Area in 2022, and Parliament has since passed the legislation needed to accede, but full membership had not been confirmed as of this writing. Georgian accounts carry SEPA-format IBANs, but a euro payment in or out of the country currently still runs through SWIFT and SWIFT pricing.

Do Georgian banks charge a monthly fee on business accounts?

Most business accounts at all four banks carry no monthly maintenance fee and no minimum balance requirement. The recurring cost that actually matters is transfer fees, not account-keeping charges.

Can I hold US dollars and euros alongside lari in one account?

Yes, at all four banks. Multi-currency accounts holding GEL, USD and EUR side by side are standard, and Georgia's freely floating exchange rate means you convert at the market rate whenever you choose to, rather than being forced to convert incoming currency immediately.

Do I need to choose a bank before I register my business?

No, and it is usually better not to lock in a choice too early. Registration comes first, since every bank needs a registered entity to attach the account to. Most clients decide on a bank once the registration is confirmed and they know exactly what documents they are working with.

Why would I use a bank's own card-payment gateway instead of a processor like Stripe?

Because a Georgian company cannot open a Stripe account in the first place. Both Bank of Georgia and TBC run their own card-payment gateways for merchants holding a business account, letting you accept card payments directly without a foreign processor, an option most founders arriving from a Stripe-first market do not know exists until they need it.