- →
-
Contact Form
-
Under section 5 of the Banks and Trust Companies Act (2025 Revision), no banking business may be carried on from within the Cayman Islands without a licence from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA). An “A” licence covers banking within and outside the Islands. A “B” licence is restricted: its holder may not take deposits from Cayman residents, except from other licensees and from exempted or ordinary non-resident companies that do not carry on business in the Islands. CIMA regulates the banks; companies are registered by the Registrar of Companies.
That exception fits what an exempted company is. Under the Companies Act (2026 Revision) its objects are carried out mainly outside the Islands, and section 174 forbids it to trade in the Islands except in furtherance of its business abroad, unless it holds a local licence. A Cayman bank account for a company whose business is elsewhere is therefore the ordinary case.
The Cayman Islands has no deposit insurance scheme and no deposit protection fund. Cayman National Bank’s own legal notice states that there are no compensation or other insurance schemes in the Islands covering deposits or investments, and CIMA’s March 2026 update on crisis management deals with recovery planning pending future legislation, not with deposit insurance.
What the law provides is a preference. Schedule 2 of the Companies Act makes sums due to eligible depositors of a bank incorporated in the Islands and holding an “A” licence a preferred debt in its winding up, where they do not exceed the deposit limit of CI$20,000 per depositor. Companies are not excluded, but other banks, insiders, holders of 5% or more of its shares and its group companies are. In the 2015 Caledonian Bank case the Grand Court held that a depositor with more than the limit is not preferred for any part of it. Balances at a “B” licence bank, at a branch of a foreign bank or with an e-money firm fall outside the preference.
Summarised from each provider’s own pages in October 2026:
| Provider | Type | What it publishes for companies | How you apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butterfield Bank (Cayman) | Bank | Corporate current accounts in KYD, USD, CAD or GBP; the form asks for every owner above 10%, any bearer shares in the chain, the source of the opening funds, expected deposits and main counterparties | Form returned in person or by mail; an account not funded within 30 days may be closed |
| Cayman National Bank | Bank | Corporate accounts for businesses based locally or abroad, with a full document list including stamped registers, references and source of wealth | Application and copies by email or at a customer service centre; notarised originals if sent by courier or mail |
| RBC Royal Bank (Cayman) | Bank | An IBC Account in a range of currencies, described as ideal for international, special or tax-exempt companies | Not stated |
| Wise Business | E-money institution | Lists the Cayman Islands among places where money can be held; refuses businesses with bearer shares | Online |
| Airwallex | Payment and e-money provider | Accepts businesses registered in the Cayman Islands, onboarded to its Hong Kong entity | Online |
Revolut Business and Mercury do not take Cayman companies: Revolut wants a UK, EEA or US company, Mercury a US one.
Cayman National’s list for a corporate account is the most complete:
The good standing certificate depends on the company’s own record: under section 200A of the Companies Act a company is in good standing if nothing is owed to the Registrar under the Act and the Registrar knows of no default.
Two thresholds coexist. The Anti-Money Laundering Regulations (2025 Revision) define a beneficial owner as anyone who owns or controls 10% or more of the shares or voting rights, or otherwise controls the company, and that is the figure both banks’ forms use. The register kept under the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act, 2023 uses 25%; it is not public, but financial institutions can search it for customer due diligence, so the owners you declare should match your corporate services provider’s filing.
Regulation 25 also lets a bank rely on a written assurance from a regulated introducer covering the company’s identity, owners, purpose and source of funds; the bank stays responsible, and accepting introductions is its own choice.
The law asks for a registered office in the Islands with a licensed corporate services provider and imposes no residence test on directors or shareholders of an exempted company. What banks add is paperwork rather than travel, as the checklist above shows, and no bank we reviewed publishes an opening time, so it varies by provider.
CIMA issues the Cayman Islands dollar, whose value against the US dollar is fixed by Cabinet order under the Monetary Authority Act, and business accounts are commonly held in KYD or USD. The Cayman Islands is not in SWIFT’s IBAN registry and not in SEPA, so payments arrive by SWIFT to the local account number; Butterfield routes incoming US dollars through BNY Mellon in New York and euros through Barclays in Frankfurt.
The FATF removed the Cayman Islands from increased monitoring on 27 October 2023, the UK dropped it from its high-risk list in December 2023 and the EU from its anti-money laundering list from 7 February 2024.
As in most Caribbean offshore jurisdictions, a Cayman shelf company that already has a bank account is not readily available. An existing account belongs to the company and stays with it, but on a change of owners the bank re-runs its due diligence on the new beneficial owners, directors and signatories and may keep the account, ask for more documents or close it. A ready-made exempted company still saves the incorporation step; if it is more than a year old, expect Cayman National to ask for its certificate of good standing.
We can supply a ready-made Cayman exempted company or arrange company formation in the Cayman Islands, and help prepare the bank application; no one can promise that a bank will accept it. See also our Cayman Islands company overview and the guide to shelf companies with bank accounts.
For a company, choose a CIMA-licensed bank, complete its corporate application and send certified company documents with notarised identity and address documents for directors, signatories and owners of 10% or more. Cayman National accepts applications by email and wants a bank reference covering at least three years and a professional reference for non-residents; Butterfield takes its corporate form by mail.
Not by insurance. There is no deposit insurance scheme or deposit protection fund. If a bank incorporated in the Islands with an “A” licence is wound up, eligible depositors with CI$20,000 or less are preferred creditors under Schedule 2 of the Companies Act. Companies can qualify, but a depositor with more than that gets no preference at all, as the Grand Court held in 2015.
Mainly that it fits how an exempted company works: the law expects it to do business outside the Islands, banks open accounts in KYD, US dollars and often other currencies, and even a restricted “B” licence bank may hold its deposits. The Cayman Islands levies no corporate income tax. The trade-offs are no deposit insurance, no IBAN or SEPA, and the paperwork described above.
Both list the Cayman Islands. Wise includes it among the places where customers can hold money, confirms at sign-up whether it supports a particular business, and refuses businesses with bearer shares. Airwallex accepts businesses registered in the Cayman Islands and onboards them to its Hong Kong entity. Balances with either sit outside the Companies Act preference for bank depositors.
The banks we reviewed do not say so. Cayman National takes the application and due diligence copies by email or at a customer service centre and wants notarised originals if you send the file by courier or post, and Butterfield accepts its corporate form by mail. Expect notarised passports, address documents and references instead of a visit.
As in most Caribbean offshore jurisdictions, a pre-banked shelf company is not readily available in the Cayman Islands. An existing account belongs to the company and stays with it, but after a change of owners the bank re-runs its due diligence on the new owners, directors and signatories and may keep the account, ask for more documents or close it.