Azerbaijan is a beautiful country situated in the southwestern Asia with the great Caucasus mountains in the north and has boundaries with Eastern Europe. The official currency is Azerbaijan Manat and the official language is Turkic. The banking system is limited and relatively small when compared to other nation. Some private banks has started operations post soviet era , but the local banks hold the majority of banking operations in Azerbaijan. If you are planning to stay long term, it is best to open a bank account in Azerbaijan for your day to day financial operations.
What are the banks available in Azerbaijan ?
The banking system in Azerbaijan is little unstable and all the banks are governed by Central Bank of Azerbaijan , which regulates the banks and financial policies in the country . If you are a natural resident, you can open an account in a local bank. If you are a expat or a foreign resident it is best to open a bank account in an International Bank which gives the best and secure service.
Since Azerbaijan has a cash based economy, most of the business centers don’t accept debit or credit card. So, open a bank account if you are staying for long term and handling huge money in your commercial activity.
There are more than 45 banks available in Azerbaijan and we are listing few best banks available,
If the banking website has an English version , those banks caters international clients.
There are no online account opening facility at present, so you have to walk in to the nearest branch to open a bank account with the required documents.
Choose the banks based on your needs and your location ,choose the bank which has a good ATM facilities around the nation.
You can open a ;
- Checking Account – for your day to day usage , these accounts don’t earn any interest for the money in the account and have a account maintenance cost.
- Savings account – These are the accounts comes with withdrawal restriction and you will get interest on the money saved.
- Corporate Account – These accounts used by business entity and commercial establishments.
Some international banks provide internet banking services for their customer , and can apply debit or credit card to make online transactions.
Your debit card and credit card are applied through your bank and collected at the same branch you opened your account.
What are the documents required to open a bank account in Azerbaijan ?
Collect the application form from the bank and submit the filled application with the required documents. You can open the account in local currency or in USD, EURO, or in British pounds.
If you are natural resident you can open a bank account with few documents like ;
- Resident ID
- Proof of address
- Utility bill
- Local phone number
- Passport size photo
For a non resident , you need the below documents ;
- Temporary resident permit ( TRP)
- Passport
- Visa
- Local mobile number
- Utility bills
- FACTA compliance – for US residents
- Work permit
- Tax number – for business
- Business registration certificate – for business
- ID proof of all directors and partners – for business
- Passport size photo
If you are on a work visa, ask your employer to help in securing a local bank account, which will makes the process easy.
If you are an business entity there would be other documents required from the notary public, kindly contact the bank to verify the list of documents required.
How long it will take to open a bank account in Azerbaijan ?
If all the documents are correct, it will take less than 14 business days to open your bank account in Azerbaijan.
What are the banking hours in Azerbaijan ?
Banks in Azerbaijan operates from Monday to Friday on 9.30 Am to 5.30 Pm . Banks follows the general public holiday in that region. So kindly check the local holidays before visiting your bank.
How to transfer funds to your Azerbaijan account ?
Once you open a bank account Azerbaijan, you have to transfer your funds from your home country, this you can do either by a SWIFT wire transfer or through a money exchange . Both attracts heavy exchange rates and time consuming process.
If you are transferring small amount you can use Wise for your service , or you can compare the best exchange rates on Monito, if you have large amount to transfer ( Anything more than 30000 EURO).