Open your Georgian bank account, personally or for a company

Which banks should foreigners actually use in Georgia?

Four banks dominate foreign-founder onboarding in Georgia in 2026, regulated by the National Bank of Georgia^[1]:

• TBC Bank — generally the most polished international experience. English-speaking relationship managers, a well-built mobile app, and US-dollar / EUR / GBP multi-currency accounts as standard. Slightly slower onboarding than Bank of Georgia for most foreigners.
• Bank of Georgia (BoG) — the largest domestic bank by assets. Faster personal-account onboarding for first-time foreign nationals; corporate accounts comparable in timeline to TBC.
• Liberty Bank — historically focused on payroll and pension administration; less common for foreign-founder corporate accounts but a reasonable alternative for Georgian-citizen-owned businesses.
• Credo Bank — formerly a microfinance institution, now a full-service bank. Strong in retail and small-business lending; less common for foreign founders.

For most foreign founders, the practical choice is TBC Bank or Bank of Georgia. Most of our incorporated LLCs hold their primary corporate account at one of these two.

How long does corporate account opening actually take?

The honest answer: 3 to 10 business days for a foreign-owned LLC, sometimes longer for non-CIS, non-EU founders or for businesses in higher-risk industries (crypto, gambling, high-volume international trade). Plan for two weeks end-to-end.

The bottleneck is KYC documentation review by the bank’s compliance team. The bank wants to understand:

• Who the ultimate beneficial owner is (UBO).
• What the business actually does (sample contracts, sample invoices, website).
• Where money flowing into the account comes from (source of funds).
• Whether the founder or company appears on any sanctions list.
• Whether the founder is a Politically Exposed Person (PEP).

A complete, well-organised KYC pack on day one cuts the timeline roughly in half. We package this for every client.

What documents does the bank actually need?

For a corporate account at Bank of Georgia or TBC Bank, the standard pack:

• Recent extract from the Public Service Hall Business Register.
• The notarised LLC charter.
• The director’s passport and TIN.
• The shareholders’ passports and TINs (UBO declaration).
• Proof of registered legal address (rental contract or property document).
• A short business-model description with sample invoices.
• Source-of-funds statement (typically self-declaration plus supporting evidence — bank statements, prior year financial statements, etc.).
• A signed bank-specific UBO declaration form.
• For founder-directors: evidence of professional background (LinkedIn, previous employer, etc.).

For a personal account: passport, Georgian address, and a Georgian SIM card with KYC-completed mobile number is the baseline. Visa-free nationals can typically open same-day. Non-visa-free nationalities may need additional documentation.

Will the founder need to attend a branch in person?

Yes — for both personal and corporate accounts at all four major banks. Remote onboarding for foreign clients is not standard practice in Georgia in 2026, despite some online portals suggesting otherwise. The director or founder needs to attend a Tbilisi branch in person, sign physical documents, and complete biometric KYC capture (a face photo, sometimes fingerprints).

Founders unable to attend can grant a Georgian lawyer power of attorney for some procedural steps, but the founder’s biometric capture cannot be delegated. Plan a Tbilisi visit of at least three to five days for the banking step.

What about multi-currency, international transfers, and online banking?

Both Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank offer multi-currency accounts (GEL, USD, EUR, GBP) with reasonable spreads on conversion. SWIFT international transfers work in both directions. SEPA inbound works to TBC and BoG via correspondent-bank relationships.

Mobile and web banking are well-built at both banks. The TBC app is genuinely best-in-class for the region. Both banks offer English-language interfaces; TBC additionally offers Russian.

For Wise, Revolut, and similar EMI-style services as alternatives: yes, they work for receiving and holding funds, but they don’t replace a Georgian bank account for tax purposes (RS.ge expects to see a Georgian-bank-account payment trail for VAT and certain other contexts) or for establishing economic substance for the entity in Georgia.

What are the most common banking pitfalls?

Three issues that come up regularly:

1. Underestimating compliance review time.The company is registered, the founder is in Tbilisi — but the bank’s compliance team takes another week. Don’t book a flight for the day after registration; allow a buffer.
2. Mixing personal and business banking.Receiving company revenue into a personal account, or paying company expenses from a personal account, creates audit risk and confuses the books. Open the corporate account properly before invoicing.
3. Sub-threshold cross-border transfers.Both BoG and TBC apply enhanced due diligence to large or unusual transfers. Founders who get surprised by a held transfer typically didn’t pre-notify the relationship manager. A 30-second heads-up email prevents most holds.