Georgia will let you open a business bank account without citizenship, without a residence permit, and often on the same day you walk into a branch. What actually decides the outcome is not the residency question - that part is genuinely easy - but everything the bank needs to see before it says yes: a business it can understand, documents that match what you told it, and money it can trace back to somewhere real. Here is what opening a business account in Georgia actually involves, and where it goes wrong.
Why you need a Georgian account at all
Every registered business in Georgia - an Individual Entrepreneur with Small Business Status or an LLC - files a monthly tax declaration and owes money to the Revenue Service by the 15th. That bill gets paid from somewhere, and in practice it gets paid from a Georgian account. You can run a business without a US dollar account or a UK one. Running a Georgian company without a Georgian bank account is possible on paper and painful in practice.
Beyond the tax cycle, a local account is what most Georgian counterparties expect to see, what makes rs.ge filing straightforward, and what your accountant will ask for every month. It is also the thing that turns "I registered a company" into "I can actually operate it."
There is a narrower, more practical reason too. Most clients paying you from abroad, and most Georgian suppliers you will eventually pay, expect a Georgian IBAN somewhere in the chain. A foreign personal account can receive money, but it does not sit inside the local banking system the way a Georgian business account does, and that difference shows up the first time a payment gets delayed for no obvious reason.
Opening a business account as a non-resident
Georgian banks do not require citizenship, a residence permit, or any minimum number of days spent in the country to open a business account. That surprises people coming from jurisdictions where non-resident banking is genuinely difficult, and it is the main reason Georgia gets recommended at all.
What is required is a registered Georgian business. The account exists to serve an entity, not a plan for one. If your Individual Entrepreneur or LLC has not been issued its registration certificate yet, there is nothing for the bank to attach an account to, regardless of how ready your documents otherwise are.
Georgian commercial banks operate under supervision of the National Bank of Georgia, and every account opening runs through the identification and due-diligence obligations set out in Georgia's anti-money-laundering law. In practice that means the bank will ask what your business actually does, where your clients are, and where the money in the account is going to come from - not as a formality, but as the actual basis for the decision.
A business account needs a business to attach to. If your registration certificate has not been issued yet, or you are still deciding between an Individual Entrepreneur and an LLC, the bank has nothing to open an account for. This is the single most common reason someone walks out of a branch without an account and assumes it was a personal rejection - the real reason was sequencing, not substance. Register first, then bank.
The compliance interview: what the bank actually asks
Every application includes some version of a conversation, not just a form. The questions are ordinary once you expect them, and vague once you don't: what does the business actually do, who pays you and from where, roughly what volume moves through the account each month, and why Georgia specifically. None of it is designed to trip you up - it is the bank building a picture it can defend later if a regulator ever asks why it opened your account.
The businesses that sail through are the ones that can answer in one or two plain sentences. "I am a software developer, my clients are agencies in the US and Germany, they pay by wire, and I expect 8,000 to 15,000 GEL a month" tells the officer everything they need. A vague answer, or one that shifts between what the registration says and what you tell the interviewer, is what turns a routine appointment into a referred one.
Documents you actually need to bring
The list is short, and it differs by structure. Bring less than this and the appointment stalls; bring exactly this and it usually does not.
| Individual Entrepreneur | LLC |
|---|---|
| Valid passport, 6+ months remaining | Valid passports for every director and shareholder |
| IE registration certificate | Company extract from the public registry |
| Proof of your registered address | Company charter |
| Tax identification number | Director's resolution appointing the signatory |
| - | Proof of the company's registered address |
Proof of address usually means the consent document from whoever owns the property your business is registered at - your own lease if you hold one, or a virtual office consent letter if you do not. Foreign-issued documents sometimes need certified Georgian translation before the bank will accept them, which is worth arranging before the appointment rather than at the counter.
The LLC list is longer because there is more to verify: every shareholder above a certain ownership threshold typically gets checked individually, not just the director who shows up to sign. If you registered with two or three founders, expect the bank to ask for all of their passports even if only one of you plans to be the day-to-day signatory. Missing one shareholder's documents is the most common reason an LLC application takes longer than an IE one, not any difference in how the banks treat the entity type itself.
The branch visit
This is the part that still, almost always, requires you in the room. Preparing the file is one business day if your documents are in order: matching the business description to your actual activity, translating what needs translating, and putting together a summary the bank officer can read in under a minute.
The appointment itself runs one to two hours. Expect a conversation, not a form-filling exercise - what the business does, who the clients are, roughly how much is expected to move through the account and from where. Approval typically lands the same day, with online banking access set up before you leave. Georgian banks' apps and web portals genuinely work in English, which is not something to take for granted regionally.
Can you open one remotely?
Rarely, and it is worth being honest about that upfront rather than after you have paid for it. Registering a company remotely under Power of Attorney works reliably - the tax treatment does not care where you signed the paperwork. Banking is different. Georgian banks generally want the account signatory physically present in the branch, and a handful of cases get approved without it, but it is assessed case by case rather than offered as a standard product.
If your situation genuinely cannot include a trip, the honest answer is to plan for a short visit once the company exists, rather than assume the account will follow the registration automatically. We cover what is actually possible, and what marketing claims get wrong, in opening a Georgian bank account remotely.
One thing worth knowing before you fly in: the signatory named on the account is whoever the bank spoke to and identified in the branch. For an LLC with two directors who split responsibilities, it is worth deciding upfront who that person is going to be, because adding a second signatory later means a second appointment, not a form submitted online.
Multi-currency accounts: GEL, USD and EUR together
This is one of the genuine advantages of banking here. A single business account typically holds Georgian lari, US dollars and euros side by side, with no requirement to convert incoming foreign currency into GEL before it lands.
One caveat on euro transfers, because the marketing is misleading. Georgian accounts carry SEPA-format IBANs, which is not the same as Georgia being in the Single Euro Payments Area. The National Bank applied in 2022 and Parliament has passed the legislation needed to accede, but membership has not been confirmed. Until it is, a euro payment in or out routes through SWIFT and carries SWIFT pricing rather than the flat low fee EU residents expect. Budget for it as an international transfer, not a domestic one.
Georgia runs a freely floating exchange rate with no restrictions on holding or converting foreign currency, which is why the multi-currency structure works as cleanly as it does. You convert at the market rate when you choose to, not because a regulation forces the timing. For a business invoicing clients abroad, that means you can hold a EUR payment as EUR for as long as you want, and only convert the portion you actually need in GEL to pay tax or local suppliers.
Wise, Payoneer and similar services are genuinely useful for receiving and sending money, but they sit alongside a Georgian account rather than instead of one. You still pay your monthly tax bill from a local account, and Georgian landlords, suppliers and counterparties generally expect to see one.
Bank of Georgia or TBC?
The two retail banks that come up in almost every conversation about business banking here are Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank. Both offer multi-currency business accounts, English-language online banking, and are comfortable working with foreign-owned companies. Bank of Georgia runs the wider branch and ATM network; TBC is generally considered the stronger digital platform, which matters if you expect to manage the account entirely from your phone.
Neither is a wrong choice for most businesses, and the differences that matter - fees on international transfers, how each handles a specific business type, turnaround on card issuance - are detailed enough to earn their own comparison, which we cover in choosing between Georgia's banks.
What it actually costs
Opening the account itself is generally free at both banks, and most business accounts carry no monthly fee and no minimum balance requirement. What you pay for is everything around the account: preparing the file properly, translating documents, and having someone in the room who can answer the compliance questions in Georgian.
International transfers are where the real, recurring cost sits - typically in the $15 to $40 range per SWIFT transfer depending on the destination, charged by the bank rather than by us. Budget for that as an ongoing cost of doing business with foreign clients or suppliers, not a one-off.
| Item | Typical cost | Who charges it |
|---|---|---|
| Opening a business account | Free | The bank |
| Monthly account maintenance | Free at most banks | The bank |
| Outgoing SWIFT transfer | $15-40 | The bank |
| Incoming SWIFT transfer | Often free, sometimes a small flat fee | The bank |
| Full opening service - selection, documents, translation, branch visit | ₾800 | Us |
We handle the account-opening process - bank selection, document preparation, translations, and the branch visit itself - for a fixed fee rather than an hourly one, because you should know what this costs before you start it.
We'll handle the entire account-opening process for you, end-to-end - bank selection, document preparation, Georgian translations and accompaniment to the branch. Fixed fee, and approval usually lands the same day.
See what it costs
Why applications get rejected
Refusals almost always trace back to the bank not being able to follow the story. An activity description that does not match your registered codes, a nationality that trips a sanctions-adjacent flag, or money whose source nobody can explain will all stall an application regardless of how complete the paperwork otherwise looks.
The practical fix is preparation, not persistence. A coherent business description, documents that agree with each other, and an honest, specific answer about where the money comes from resolve most of what goes wrong before it becomes a rejection. We go through the specific red flags and how to recover from a rejection in why Georgian banks reject accounts.
Setting up the account once you have it
Once the account is open, the operational side is straightforward: online banking in English, a business debit card, and the ability to pay your monthly Revenue Service bill directly. Most clients fold this into their monthly accounting rather than track filing deadlines manually, since the account and the tax cycle are really the same routine viewed from two angles.
If you registered under Small Business Status and are paying the 1% rate, the account is also where that arithmetic becomes visible month to month - what you invoice, what gets converted, and what leaves for tax. Our 1% tax guide covers how that number gets calculated in the first place.
Key takeaways
- No citizenship or residency requirement to open a Georgian business account - but the business must be registered first.
- Documents differ by structure: passport, IE certificate, address proof and tax ID for an IE; passports, extract, charter and director's resolution for an LLC.
- The branch visit usually takes one to two hours, with same-day approval typical once documents are prepared.
- Multi-currency accounts hold GEL, USD and EUR together, with free conversion at the market rate and no capital controls.
- Remote account opening is the exception, not the rule - plan for a short visit once the company exists.
- Bank of Georgia and TBC are the two main retail options; both work well for foreign-owned businesses.
- Rejections usually come down to an unclear business description or an untraceable source of funds, not nationality alone.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner open a business bank account in Georgia?
Yes. There is no citizenship or residency requirement, and no minimum time spent in the country. What is required is a registered Georgian business - an Individual Entrepreneur or an LLC - and a valid passport for the signatory.
Do I need to be a Georgian tax resident to open a business account?
No. Tax residency and banking are separate questions entirely. Plenty of business owners hold a Georgian account and are tax resident elsewhere, and the bank does not ask about your residency status as a condition of opening the account.
What documents do I need for an IE account versus an LLC account?
An Individual Entrepreneur needs a valid passport, the IE registration certificate, proof of the registered address, and a tax identification number. An LLC needs passports for every director and shareholder, the company extract, the charter, a director's resolution naming the signatory, and proof of the company's address.
Can I open a Georgian business account without visiting Georgia?
Rarely. Company registration can be done entirely under Power of Attorney, but banks generally want the signatory physically present in the branch. Remote account opening is assessed case by case rather than offered as standard, and it is honest to plan for a short trip once the company exists.
How long does opening a business account take?
One business day to prepare the file if your documents are in order, then one to two hours at the branch. Approval typically lands the same day, with online banking access set up before you leave.
Can I hold US dollars and euros in the same account as lari?
Yes. Multi-currency accounts holding GEL, USD and EUR side by side are standard at both major banks, with free conversion between them at the market rate. Euro transfers run over SWIFT rather than SEPA, because Georgia is not yet a SEPA member, so price them as international transfers.
Do Georgian banks charge monthly fees?
Most business accounts carry no monthly fee and no minimum balance requirement. The recurring cost that actually matters is international transfer fees, typically $15 to $40 per SWIFT transfer depending on the destination.
Why do business account applications get rejected?
Usually an unclear or mismatched business description, a nationality that trips a compliance flag, or a source of funds the bank cannot trace. Preparing a coherent, consistent file before the appointment prevents most of what goes wrong.
Should I use Bank of Georgia or TBC?
Both work well for foreign-owned businesses and offer multi-currency accounts with English-language banking. Bank of Georgia has the larger branch and ATM network; TBC is generally the stronger digital platform. The choice usually comes down to how you expect to manage the account day to day.
Do I still need a Georgian account if I use Wise or Payoneer?
Yes. Fintech platforms are useful for receiving and sending money, but they do not replace a local account. You pay your monthly Georgian tax bill from a Georgian account, and local counterparties generally expect one.
What happens if my business activity looks unusual to the bank?
It slows the process rather than automatically ending it. Unfamiliar or hard-to-categorise activities - certain crypto-adjacent work, for instance - invite more questions about source of funds and business substance. Being specific and consistent about what you actually do resolves most of it; vague answers are what turn a slower approval into a rejection.