Bahrain is a small country located in the bay on the southwest coast of Persian Gulf . It attracts lots of expats for work and business entities to start their operation to support the Middle East region. The official currency is Bahraini Dinar (BHD) and the official language is Arabic , but you will find English speaking tellers in the bank . If you are some one who is going to settle here for work or do business , it is better to open a bank account in Bahrain for your day to day transaction, for your lease deposit and to start receiving your salary, since Bahrain is strict on remitting salary in a local account.
Bahrain has a well established banking system at par with international standards , so opening a bank account will be an easy process.
What are the banks available in Bahrain ?
There are many possibilities to find your home bank operating in Bahrain, it will be easy to open a bank account providing minimum proof since you have a existing relationship with your bank. If you don’t find your home bank , you can open your bank account with any of the below banks ,
- Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait
- National Bank of Bahrain
- Gulf International Bank
- Bahrain Development Bank
- Arab Banking Corporation
- Al Bakra Bank Group
- Ahli United Bank
- Ithmar Bank
- Arcapita
- InvestCorp
Choose the right bank which serves your need and provides good services at lesser fees . Also check which bank has a good ATM coverage along the region and provides free debit and credit card. Make sure you read and compare all the charges before opening an account.
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.
- Salary Account – Expats who come here for work get to open this account to receive salary and this account comes with lot of leniency on transactional charges.
- Islamic Account – These accounts follow the Sharia law and there are no interest charged for these accounts. Residents and people who follow Muslim religion would prefer these accounts.
The minimum account opening balance vary from bank to bank , 500BHD is the minimum amount for business accounts and 300 BHD for personal accounts .
Remote account opening is not yet functional in Bahrain, the account holders need to visit the bank to open an account.
If you are tourist or a traveler you can use a Wise multi currency account , which can be a better use when you travel abroad.
What are the documents required to open a bank account in Bahrain ?
Once you choose your bank , take an appointment with the bank and fill the account opening application and submit with the required documents.
Some of the required documents are ,
- Valid Passport
- Resident Permit
- Valid Visa – You cannot open an account with your tourist visa, you need a valid work visa or an investor visa
- Bahrain ID – for nationals
- Address proof – Utility bills , Rental agreement
- Reference letter – From your employee or your existing home bank
- Income proof – Salary slip or source of fund
- No objection certificate – an NOC is required from your employer to open a bank account.
- Local phone number
- Passport size photo.
If you are opening a business account you might need a local partner ID card , business registration and Tax certificate and other documents to support your business entity.
How long it will take to open a bank account in Bahrain ?
If there are no complication on your documents bank accounts are opened within 1-7 days of your application.
How to transfer funds to your Bahrain account ?
Once you open a bank account in Bahrain, 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.
You can use Wise which has affordable charges , or you can compare the best exchange rates on Monito, if you have large amount to transfer ( Anything more than 30000 $.)
What are the banking hours in Bahrain ?
Banks are open from Sunday to Thursday on 7.30 Am to 2 Pm , Fridays and Saturdays are holidays , some bank work on Saturdays. All the banks follow national holiday in that region. During Ramzan and Eid all the banks works for half the day. Kindly contact your bank before visiting.