How to Open a Business Bank Account in Cyprus

What documents will the bank ask for?

The Central Bank of Cyprus publishes the list, and every bank it supervises works from it. Paragraph 37 of its 2025 directive on money laundering and terrorist financing says what a bank must verify about a company. This table turns that into a working checklist. The English text is an unofficial translation, so your bank's own wording may differ.

A new company has no accounts, so that last line is where your preparation does the talking. Bring an opening position, a forecast, and evidence of the contracts or customers behind it. The steps before this one are in our guide to registering a company in Cyprus.

Build the economic profile first

The economic profile is the form that decides most applications. The directive says a bank must gather this information before the relationship starts and before any transaction. Write your answers down before you approach anyone. Here is what it asks, with an illustrative answer from an imaginary two-person software company in Limassol.

Name countries and main partners. The directive gives those as examples. "International trade" as a description will produce more questions, while "we sell X to Y in Z" will not. Keep your forecast consistent with your website, your contracts and your tax registration, since a compliance officer will compare them.

Will your company count as a shell?

Possibly, and it is the question to answer before you apply. The directive treats a company as a shell if it has no physical presence or activity in its country of registration, or no established business and little independent economic value. A third party who merely acts as your representative or secretary does not count as physical presence on its own.

There is a fair route out. The directive says these circumstances may indicate real business activity:

• Holding shares in other businesses with identifiable owners.
• Holding intangible or other assets, such as property or an investment portfolio.
• Acting as a group treasurer or managing group activities.
• Any other case where you can show legitimate business with identifiable owners.

Companies working remotely may also fall outside the definition, for example those selling products or services online, producing content, or providing consulting and technology services. The bank must verify that activity, and it collects evidence such as financial statements, tax returns, website data, customer details and contracts. This is why we suggest finishing your digital launch before you apply, even if it means a small first site at Cyprus website prices.

Even a company that meets the shell definition is decided case by case, on a documented risk-based view. The hard stop is narrower. A shell must be refused if it is also registered in a jurisdiction with no audited accounts requirement and prepares none voluntarily, or if it is tax resident in a listed non-cooperative jurisdiction or has no tax residence at all.

Who has to deal with the bank?

The real owner, in most cases. If a third party referred you and carried out the identification checks the bank relies on, the bank must meet the real owner or controller before any transaction. That meeting may be held online with safeguards such as recording. A meeting with the introducer, or with a nominee shareholder, does not count.

So a formation provider can prepare your file, and it cannot stand in for you. If you plan to use nominees, the same directive gives the bank a right to see the contract behind them. For foreign founders, our page on opening a company in Cyprus as a foreigner covers what changes.

What are your options if a Cyprus bank is slow or says no?

You have three, and it pays to think about them early.

1. Repair the file and reapply. Most weak applications have a weak element: vague activity, unclear source of funds, or an ownership chain that is hard to follow.
2. Use an account in another EU country. Under Article 9 of Regulation 260/2012, a payer making a credit transfer, or a payee accepting one, must not specify the member state of an EU payment account that is reachable under the regulation. A customer should not refuse you for that reason alone.
3. Use a licensed payment or electronic money institution. The Central Bank supervises these firms in Cyprus. Check the licence on the relevant regulator's register, and ask how your funds are safeguarded.

Other parties may have their own requirements for how they want to be paid, so check with your accountant before you rely on a non-Cypriot account.

When should you start?

Start before you finalise the structure, because the bank's questions can change it. Law firm A. Danos & Associates, writing for Legal 500, says founders should expect requests for ownership information, source of funds, business plans and evidence of commercial substance. A structure that is awkward to explain will stay awkward at every bank.

Banks decide who they accept, so nobody can promise an account. Your lawyer or corporate services provider can advise on the application. We can give you a credible online presence to show the bank through our company launch service.