Open a private bank account in Montenegro

Published: 02.apr.2024

Our company "Galerija Jadrana" LLC from Budva, provides its clients with high-quality support in opening personal bank accounts in Montenegro. The cost of our services for opening a personal account in Montenegro is 1452.00 euro, all taxes are included, we are working on the result. We have an excellent business reputation, as well as extensive experience and practical knowledge in the field of banking law and finance of Montenegro.

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Opening accounts in Montenegrin banks for non-resident individuals

Our Montenegrin Company "Galerija Jadrana" LLC, assists in opening accounts for non – resident individuals in popular Montenegrin banks or international banks with a subsidiary in Montenegro with a high rating, and in obtaining Bank cards for the client. Since 2022, many Montenegrin banks have tightened the procedure for opening personal accounts; the applicant is required to have a Montenegrin residence permit.

We provide consulting services and act as an intermediary between the client and the bank. We are also residents and citizens of Montenegro, we know the legislation of the country well, we speak languages, we have a good business reputation in the banking sector of Montenegro, therefore we cooperate with several banks and accompany our clients in opening an account, even if they do not have a Montenegrin residence permit. 

We have an agreement with the management of some banks in Montenegro to open personal non-resident accounts for our clients who do not have a residence permit in Montenegro. This is a legal practice, the right of the bank, at its discretion, to open an account to a non-resident on our recommendation. For our clients and business partners, it is a privilege, an individual approach, they appreciate it, they successfully use accounts and e-banking services. The only restriction for non–resident accounts is that account balances should not exceed 100,000 euro.

The main advantages of opening personal accounts in Montenegrin banks

- Back in July 2022, Montenegro pledged to share information related to the suppression of tax evasion. Since September 2023, Montenegro should bee on the list of signatories to the Multilateral Convention on automatic exchange of financial information on accounts - CRS MCAA (Common Reporting Standard Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement), but it does not figure anywhere or it is not activated exchange relationships for Country by Country reporting (CbC), due to the lack of proper software for information systems, which has not been purchased.

Exchanges of information under the AEOI Standard (as on 16 November 2023)

There is also no automatic exchange of financial information with the Federal Tax Service of Russia. In 2018, the FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) agreement with the United States came into force. The client signs a FATCA form before opening a bank account.

- In Montenegro, used the IBAN code (International Bank Account Number). If you want to receive a money transfer to your personal Bank account from the EU countries, you need to have an IBAN code in your Bank details. For example, Russian banks do not use it, so they cannot provide it. The legislation of the Russian Federation does not require its banks to create such codes, so they simply do not exist, the SWIFT identifier is used. 

- Receiving debit Bank cards that are linked to the current account. You can transfer funds in euro, Swiss francs, and British pounds (only in dollars is not allowed) to a Montenegrin currency account, and receive payment for services from European banks. Through the Bank Client service, you can transfer them to your current account, and withdraw funds from your account through ATMs anywhere in the world, and you can also pay with a Bank card for goods or services. Using the Bank Client service, you can transfer funds from your currency account to your current account – an internal account that is in euros and is linked to the client's Bank card. IBanking interface-managing your account through the Client Bank, very convenient, in two languages (Serbian and English),

- Confidentiality of customer service and protection of Bank data in Montenegrin banks is at the highest level. Excellent customer service and individual approach to each client,

- Guaranteed amount of Deposit Protection in Montenegrin banks is 50,000 euro, and is carried out by the Montenegrin Deposit Protection Fund (Fond Zastite Depozita). Deposit Protection applies to all banks in Montenegro, and applies to deposits and accounts of legal entities, entrepreneurs and citizens – residents and non-residents.

The presence of the applicant is mandatory. Opening an account and obtaining access to an account – activation of on-line banking occurs immediately, and obtaining a bank card (VISA or MasterCard) takes from 5 to 10 working days.

For convenience, the Bank opens two accounts for the applicant at once, which are connected to each other:

- An internal account that is linked to a debit card, and

- Multi-currency, international account.

The cost of our company's services, including VAT

The cost of the services of our company "Galerija Jadrana" LLC for opening a personal non-resident account in Montenegro is 1452.00 euro.

Partner banks

Our business partners in opening non-resident accounts for individuals are several banks in Montenegro, which charge a one-time fee for opening a non-resident account. The following tariffs apply in one of the banks:

- 250,00 euro for citizens of group "A" countries, which includes citizens of Serbia, North Macedonia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Albania, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Georgia, EU countries, USA, Canada,

- 500.00 euro for citizens of group "B", which includes the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus and Turkey,

- 1500.00 euro for citizens of group "C" countries. Group "C" includes all countries not mentioned in groups "A" and "B".

Our company's services when opening accounts include:

- Correspondence with the Bank's management about opening an account for the applicant and our recommendations,

- Support of the client at all stages in the Bank – assistance in filling out questionnaires, interpretation, consultations, communication with the Bank's programmers when registering the Bank Client service, ordering and receiving a ready-made debit card and checking its activation,

The documents required to open a current bank account as a foreigner include (send us to an email):

1. A copy of the applicant's passport,

2. Completed Bank application form (KYC) for opening an account, (provided by our company);

Procedure for opening a personal Bank account in Montenegro: 

We usually receive a response from the bank to our request to open an account within one business day, and if the response is positive, we will arrange a meeting at the bank on a certain date and time when the client must personally fly to Montenegro and sign an agreement with the bank to open an account.

We provide full support to the client at the bank - meeting, assistance in filling out questionnaires, assistance in obtaining a debit bank card, setting up iBanking and consulting.

We are working on the result, payment is made on the day of account opening.

For more information about opening a personal Bank account in Montenegro, please contact us on: +38267378403 (Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram) or send us an email: prevalitana@t-com.me