Armenia is a beautiful country located between Asia and Europe and sharing borders with Turkey and Russia, the official language of Armenia is Armenian and the official currency is Armenian Dram. If you are planning to stay for long term as an expat or as an investor in Armenia it is always best to open a bank account in Armenia to carry out your day to day financial transactions. You need a local bank account to pay your rent or receive your salary for you work or service you provide in Armenia.
There are more than 15 banks which are available in Armenia , we are going to list the top banks with more branches around Armenia to have a hassle free service.
Since all banks in Armenia are controlled by the central bank of Armenia , they are more reliable and follow all the government compliance .
Armenia has both local and international banks operating in the country. So check if your home bank has any branch in Armenia.
The top banks in Armenia are :
Not all local banks accepts to open a account for Non residents and offshore companies , it is always advisable to ask the bank of your choice before making an application. If the banks dont feel confident on your intention , they might reject your application to open an account.
Expats and foreign corporation will feel easy to open accounts with international banks like HSBC Armenia.
Choose the right bank which will cater your needs and choose the bank depending on your location and branches available.
All banks provide the basic facilities like internet banking , mobile banking and debit and credit card with a one time fees.
There are some neo banks like Wise, which operates online like a traditional bank and provide all the basic facility of a traditional bank. You can open a Wise account online without visiting a physical branch.
It is easy for a resident to open a bank account with a minimal documents and non resident will require few additional documents which vary from bank to bank.
Some of the documents required are :
If you are US citizen you should complete your FATCA ( Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) compliance in order to open a account in Armenia .
Some banks allow you to open a account remotely through zoom call and by duly submitting the original documents verified by the notary public.
Entities and corporation should have physical presence in the country to open an account
It takes 2 days for a resident to open a bank account after submitting all the required documents. For a non resident this process may take from 2-3 weeks after providing full set of documents. If you are a non resident coming for work, it is easy to open a bank account where you employer already has the banking relationship.
Generally it is free to open a personal bank account in AMD (Armenian Dram).
There is no minimum deposit and account balance fees. The annual accounts maintenance cost will be 1000 AMD to 5000 AMD depending on your account. It can go up to 300000 AMD.
Cash deposits to the account is free up to 50,000 AMD and cash deposit in foreign currency will attract a conversion charges.
International SWIFT transfers charges in different currencies are from 0.2%. And there are no charges for bank account closure.
All banks works on Monday to Friday from 9 Am to 6 Pm , following all general holidays in that region. Some banks with branches follows different timings, it is best to check with the bank before visiting.
