Why You Should Consider Opening A Bank Account in Serbia

An account with a Serbian bank makes it possible to perform financial operations in Europe. If you meet certain requirements, you can open a bank account and order a plastic card without any trouble.

Advantages of banking in Serbia include a high speed of banking service acquisition, confidentiality of personal information, security, and comparatively low commissions charged by the banks. The National Bank of Serbia regulates and monitors the operations of all commercial banks in the country in accordance with the Banks Act. Domestic and foreign banks operate in Serbia.

Requirement that you have to meet to set up a bank account in Serbia

You have to submit the following documents to open a personal bank account in Serbia:

• A copy of your passport or a similar ID;
• A proof of address (a bank statement or a utility bill);
• A Certificate of money origin (if you are planning to make a deposit);
• An application for account opening;
• A completed KYC form;
• Your TIN.

The following documents need to be submitted when opening a corporate bank account in Serbia:

• Company By-laws (with a translation into Serbian);
• Passports of company officers and UBOs (copies);
• A certificate authorizing the applicant to open a bank account on behalf of the company (original and its translation);
• Certificate of Good Standing;
• Apostilled extract from the Register (not more than three months old and translated into Serbian);
• A description of the company’s activities.

The list of documents is subject to change as a particular Serbian bank may have its own requirements. Many financial institutions make it possible to send scanned versions of the documents by email to bring the originals later. Besides, Serbiawealth offers a preapproval service – an opportunity to obtain provisional consent from the bank before collecting the full set of application documents necessary to set up a bank account in Serbia.

Similarly to any other country, banks in Serbia conduct due diligence procedures. They have to divert the risk of financial fraud, money laundering, and financing terrorists. Your personal data will be carefully checked and your biometrics may be required. After the bank account is opened for you, the transactions that you use it for are also going to be monitored. The bank has to do it because it is going to be fined in case it provides financial services to an untrustworthy individual or company.

Why Serbia?

According to the latest statistics, the Serbian banking system remains attractive for foreign investors. The main advantages of banking in Serbia include the following ones:

• Simplicity and high speed of bank account opening in the country (the account can be opened remotely by proxy);
• A short list of application documents;
• As opportunity to set up a bank account in different currencies (Serbian dinars, US dollars, euros, Swiss francs, British pounds, and so on);
• Freedom of financial operations all across Europe;
• An opportunity to pay in European online shops;
• An opportunity for a company to enter the European markets.

In addition to that, all deposits are insured in Serbia. If the bank goes bankrupt or liquidated, your compensation can be up to 50,000 EUR. If a foreign national including a foreign entrepreneur opens a bank account in Serbia, his/ her deposit is insured similarly to deposits made by Serbian citizens.

Secure cashless payments, an increasing number of POS terminals, availability of premium services  (SWIFT) – these and other factors contribute to the development of the quality of financial services in Serbia.

The Government of the country is also working on legislation that would regulate operations with cryptocurrencies. A Digital property Act has recently been passed and it opens wide perspectives for the development of the capital market in Serbia. Virtual assets can be traded and used as a means of payment in business operations including international ones.

Types of bank accounts in Serbia

In most cases, your personal presence is required if you would like to open a bank account in Serbia. In some cases, a bank account can be opened by proxy but you will have to clarify this issue with the particular bank that you are applying for services to.

You can open the following types of bank accounts in Serbia:

• A personal account
  

  Opened on a personal visit to the bank within 1 day. Serbian citizens and legal residents have unlimited access to banking services in the country. If a foreigner wants to set up an account with a Serbian bank, he or she has to justify the need to have a bank account in the country. The foreign applicant has to supply proof of a local address and state the purposes of his/ her prolonged stay in Serbia. Once the account is opened, you can top it up and use it for online payments. In addition, you can order a plastic card to pay in offline stores.

• A corporate account
  

  If you register a company in Serbia (which is quite possible with some professional support), you will have to set up a corporate account in the country. The procedure is longer and it normally takes 2 to 3 weeks to set up a corporate bank account in Serbia. Multicurrency accounts are available to corporate clients. You should also bear in mind the fact that a foreign company owner qualifies for legal residence in Serbia. This status is important because non-residents have access to a smaller amount of banking services in Serbia and some banks charge them higher commissions.

• An investment account
  

  Serbian banks open investment accounts for non-resident security traders. If you have a business partner in Serbia, you can use this account for international transactions. In this case, the procedures are going to be simpler and the commissions are going to be lower. Opening an investment bank account can reduce your operational costs thus increasing your profits. A foreign investor in Serbia can enter the European economic zone.

Choosing the bank in Serbia

As of 2024, there are around 20 banks in Serbia and most of them perform international money transactions. When choosing the bank, you should take into consideration its reliability, accessibility, ratings, and availability of additional services (bonuses, accrual of interest on the account balance, overdraft opportunities, etc.). Before signing a service agreement, you have to find out about the account maintenance costs, commissions on money transfers, and opportunities for taking out loans.

Serbian banks guarantee a high level of confidentiality, as they do not automatically exchange the information about non-resident account holders. This factor contributes to the popularity of Serbian banks with foreign nationals.

We recommend the following Serbian banks to you but you can certainly consider other options too.

Applying for banking service in Serbia is an attractive opportunity to consider but we recommend that you should seek professional support in the process.