Banking Services in Cyprus

All companies require a bank account but opening accounts is becoming increasingly difficult due to international transparency and anti-money laundering initiatives. Many banks will no longer open accounts for non-resident companies. Others will only open accounts for companies that have been introduced by a recognised and licensed service provider that is on their ‘approved list’.

All banks now undertake increased due diligence – not just when opening accounts but also on a transactional basis. Account opening procedures differ widely between banks, sometimes even between different branches of the same bank. Applications can be complicated and documents often have to be certified or notarised and translated.

Cyprus has a sophisticated and advanced financial services sector, which is fully harmonised with EU legislation and Directives. Banking is the largest component of the sector. Commercial banking arrangements and practices follow the UK model and there are currently over 40 Cypriot and international banks operating in Cyprus. All banks maintain correspondent networks around the world and carry out both traditional and specialised financial transactions.