In short
- A Cyprus bank opens a company account in 4 to 12 weeks, Wise or Revolut in 1 to 5 working days.
- In our files Bank of Cyprus takes 10 to 12 weeks for a new company with owners outside the EU.
- Deposits are covered up to €100,000 per depositor in each bank, for companies too.
- Most refusals come from five causes, and each can be fixed before the application is filed.
In this guide
Bank or payment account: two ways to bank a Cyprus company
| Question | Cyprus bank | Payment account |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Bank of Cyprus, Eurobank Limited, Alpha Bank Cyprus | Wise, Revolut |
| Opens in | 4 to 12 weeks | 1 to 5 working days |
| Used for | The main account: salaries, loans, card payments from customers | Payments, invoicing and currency exchange from the first week |
| How you apply | With a full application. Some banks hold a video call with the directors | Online |
| Counts as the €200,000 investment of a company of foreign interests | Yes | No |
Founders use both. The payment account takes the first invoices while the bank reviews the application.
The two also differ in how the money is protected. Deposits in a bank licensed in Cyprus are covered up to €100,000 per depositor in each bank, and the scheme covers companies. Money held with an electronic money institution (EMI) is safeguarded: the provider keeps it apart from its own funds, in a separate bank account or in low-risk assets.
We prepare and file the bank application for you. The service and its price are on the page Cyprus bank account for your company.
Banks: which Cyprus bank opens a corporate bank account for a non-resident owner
The Central Bank of Cyprus licenses the banks and publishes the register of them, so check a bank there before you apply. We apply to three, and each opens accounts for companies owned from abroad: Bank of Cyprus, Eurobank Limited and Alpha Bank Cyprus.
Two names from older guides are gone. Hellenic Bank merged with Eurobank Cyprus on 1 September 2025, and the bank is now Eurobank Limited. The banking business of AstroBank passed to Alpha Bank Cyprus on 31 October 2025.
In our files Bank of Cyprus takes 10 to 12 weeks for a newly registered company whose owners live outside the EU. Alpha Bank Cyprus takes 4 to 8 weeks for such owners and identifies them by video call. Legarithm is an official introducer of Bank of Cyprus: we submit the application to the bank's account opening department, and you do not travel to Cyprus.
What a Cyprus bank checks
A bank reads the application for the answers to four questions:
- Who owns the company. Every person who owns or controls more than 25% of it, through every company in the chain.
- What the business does. Its activity, markets, main customers and suppliers, with the turnover and the payments it expects.
- Where it is managed. The office, the staff or the directors the company has in Cyprus.
- Where the money comes from. A salary, the sale of a business or investment income, each shown with documents.
A company with no office, staff, contracts or website to show is turned down by every Cyprus bank. Businesses in crypto-assets and gambling pass an enhanced check and send their licences with the application.
Documents: what a Cyprus bank asks from a company
The bank asks for two sets. It wants recent certificates, issued in the last 3 to 6 months. The Registrar issues them with a code that anyone can check online for 90 days, so order them close to the application.
The company
- Certificate of incorporation
- Memorandum and articles of association
- Certificates of directors and secretary, of shareholders and of the registered office
- Certificate of good standing, for a company older than 12 months
- Chart of the ownership structure, signed by the beneficial owner (UBO)
- Business profile: activity, expected turnover, countries, main customers and partners
- First contracts, invoices or letters of intent
- Latest financial statements, where the company has them
Each director and each owner of 25% or more
- Certified copy of a valid passport
- Proof of address, no older than 3 months
- Bank reference letter, no older than 3 months
- Documents on the source of funds and the source of wealth
- CV
The source of wealth is the part banks read most closely. Write it as a short account of where the capital came from and which business produced it, and attach the tax returns or audited accounts that support it.
We do this for you Cyprus bank account for your company Application to a Cyprus bank, from €1,500
Steps: how to open a business bank account in Cyprus
- Register the company. A bank opens an account for a company that has its certificate of incorporation.
- Open a payment account. Wise or Revolut answer in 1 to 5 working days after you apply, and the company can invoice. Help with a Wise account is part of our Standard formation package.
- Choose the bank. Compare the three banks with your owners, your activity and the countries your payments come from.
- Prepare the application: the bank's forms, certified copies and, for documents issued abroad, an apostille.
- File it and answer the questions. The bank can ask for more detail on the owners, the contracts or the funds, and some banks hold a video call with the directors.
- Receive the account. The bank sends the IBAN, the online banking access and the card. From filing to this point takes 4 to 12 weeks.
A company that applies for both accounts on Monday 12 October 2026 has its payment account between 13 and 19 October. On the 4 to 12 weeks above, its bank account opens between 9 November 2026 and 4 January 2027.
Step 1 is described in the guide on how to register a company in Cyprus.
Holding and new companies: what else a Cyprus bank asks
Cyprus banks know holding companies and open accounts for them. The bank wants an ownership chain it can read to the last person and a plain explanation of what the company holds and why. It also asks for documents on the subsidiaries and assets, and for the source of funds of the beneficial owner. The structure itself is covered in the guide to a holding company in Cyprus.
A newly registered company has no history to show, so the bank reads its plan in place of its accounts. Name the markets, the kinds of payments and their size, and add a draft contract or a letter of intent from a customer.
A company that will take payments for crypto-asset or gambling services says so in the application and attaches its licence. A bank finds such an activity during its review, and an activity it was not told about ends the application.
Refusals: why a Cyprus bank account is refused, and what to do after one
Most refusals we see come from five causes. Each can be fixed before the application is filed.
- A vague source of funds. The word savings is no answer. A bank wants the path of the money: the salary, the sale or the investment, with the papers.
- Owners behind opaque companies. A chain the bank cannot read to the last person is declined.
- No sign of a business. A draft contract, a letter of intent from a customer or a website shows that the company will trade.
- Documents that disagree. A proof of address older than 3 months, or a structure chart that differs from the certificate of shareholders.
- An activity that was not disclosed. Crypto-assets, gambling and financial services need their licences in the application from the start.
After a refusal the company can close the gap and apply to another bank, and its payment account keeps taking payments meanwhile. A dispute with a bank or a payment institution goes to the institution first, in writing. A small company, with a turnover of up to €350,000, can then turn to the Financial Ombudsman within 12 months of that complaint, for a fee of €20.
Limits of a payment account: when a company needs a bank
Some steps need a bank licensed by the Central Bank of Cyprus. One is registration as a company of foreign interests, the route for hiring staff from outside the EU. The company shows an investment of €200,000 paid in from abroad to its account at such a bank. Accounts with electronic money institutions and payment institutions are not accepted for it. A bank alone takes cash and gives loans and overdrafts.
A company with either plan starts the bank application as soon as it is registered. We choose the bank with you, prepare the application and answer the bank's questions until the account is open.
