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This page is about Georgia the country, where a company banks with a commercial bank licensed by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG). The NBG also supervises microbanks, registers payment service providers and virtual asset service providers, and oversees the securities market: brokerage companies, securities registrars, the stock exchange and the central depository.
Deposits are insured by a separate body, the Deposit Insurance Agency, whose supervisory board includes the NBG’s President. Since 1 April 2026 it covers up to GEL 50,000 per depositor in each commercial bank or microbank, and the cover includes resident and non-resident legal entities, so a Georgian LLC’s balance is protected. Accounts at one bank are added together, foreign currency deposits are insured on the same terms but paid in lari at the NBG rate, and payment follows within 20 calendar days. Financial institutions, administrative bodies, a bank’s own managers and its shareholders with 5% or more are excluded. On 28 September 2026 the Agency announced a rise to GEL 100,000 from 1 January 2027.
What three banks publish on their own pages, summarised in October 2026:
| Bank | What it publishes | Route for owners abroad |
|---|---|---|
| TBC Bank | A business account route for companies registered in Georgia whose shareholder, partner, director or beneficial owner is an expat; a multi-currency account opened on the spot | In person at a TBC branch; non-residents cannot open a business account online |
| Bank of Georgia | An online “Opening First Account” route through its Business Internet Bank, with no stated conditions for directors who live abroad | Not published for companies; non-resident individuals may need to visit a service centre within 30 days of approval |
| Liberty Bank | Remote registration for a sole director whose founders are Georgian residents or residence permit holders, with no legal entity at the second level of ownership; corporate accounts in GEL, USD, EUR and GBP at service centres | Service centre, unless every remote condition is met |
Liberty Bank has been 95.99% owned by Basisbank since April 2026, with NBG approval, and the two operate independently. Bank of Georgia’s rules for personal accounts exclude pass-through use, crypto-related transfers and business activity, and do not let citizens of Russia or Belarus open a first account through a power of attorney.
For non-residents, TBC opens business accounts only in person at a branch, whether in Tbilisi, Batumi or Kutaisi. The company’s director, beneficial owner and controlling person must each be registered as TBC clients first. The beneficial owner registers with an uncertified passport copy. The director registers in person at the branch or, when an authorised representative opens the account, through a certified copy of the director’s passport and a valid power of attorney. For personal clients TBC notes that NBG regulations require the original identity document. So either the director makes one visit, or someone in Georgia holds a power of attorney.
Every Georgian bank applies the Law on Facilitating the Suppression of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing of 30 October 2019. Article 10 makes the bank:
A beneficial owner holds 25% or more of the voting shares or ownership interest, directly or through other companies, or controls the company by other means; failing that, the bank turns to the people who manage it. Georgia keeps no central register of beneficial owners: the Public Registry shows partners and directors, so the bank does this work itself. If the checks cannot be completed, the law forbids the bank to open or continue the relationship. Higher-risk customers face enhanced measures, including senior management approval and evidence of the source of wealth and funds, which are mandatory for a company registered, operated or administered in a jurisdiction on the NBG’s high-risk list.
TBC publishes the fullest list:
Expect questions about where the money comes from: for personal applicants Bank of Georgia cites employment contracts, registry extracts and CVs as evidence, and its review may continue after opening.
Nothing in the AML law bars a Georgian LLC held through a company in the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus or elsewhere, but the structure changes the route. Liberty Bank’s remote registration is out of reach: every founder must be a Georgian resident or a non-resident with a residence permit, and no legal entity may sit at the second level of ownership. Whichever bank you use, it counts shares held through companies controlled by the same people when it looks for 25% owners, and TBC may ask for a share register extract and an AML questionnaire. Expect to document every layer up to the individuals at the top.
The lari (GEL) is the national currency, and the banks also open accounts in other currencies: TBC’s business account is multi-currency, and Liberty opens corporate accounts in GEL, USD, EUR and GBP. Georgian IBANs have 22 characters, begin with GE, contain a two-letter bank code set by the NBG, and have been mandatory since 1 January 2013. Georgia is outside the SEPA schemes, so euro payments to and from Europe are international transfers.
Payment service providers must be registered with the NBG under its rule on their registration and regulation, Decree 77/04 of 1 May 2023, and virtual asset service providers register with the NBG too. Both are obliged entities under the AML law in their own right, like banks and brokerage companies. A ready-made LLC from the shelf has never traded and holds no NBG registration, so buying one does not buy a payment licence.
We can supply a ready-made Georgian LLC or handle a new company formation in Georgia, and help prepare the bank application; whether an account is opened is for the bank alone to decide. If a company you buy already holds an account, the account stays with the company, but the bank must identify the new beneficial owners and update its records, and it may keep the account, ask for more documents or close it. Our page on shelf companies with bank accounts explains that mechanism, and the Georgia company hub covers tax and residency.
Yes. Georgian law sets no residency test for an LLC’s partners or director, and TBC publishes a business account route for Georgian companies whose shareholders, partners, directors or beneficial owners are expats. The account is opened at a TBC branch, by the director or a representative holding a power of attorney. Liberty Bank’s remote registration, by contrast, needs founders resident in Georgia or holding a residence permit.
Not necessarily yourself. TBC opens business accounts for non-residents only at a branch, but the director may send an authorised representative with a valid power of attorney and a certified copy of the director’s passport. Bank of Georgia publishes an online route for a company’s first account without stating conditions for directors abroad; non-resident individuals may need a service-centre visit within 30 days of approval.
Yes. The Deposit Insurance Agency covers resident and non-resident legal entities as well as individuals: up to GEL 50,000 per depositor in each commercial bank or microbank since 1 April 2026, in any currency, paid in lari within 20 calendar days. Financial institutions and administrative bodies are excluded, and a rise to GEL 100,000 has been announced for 1 January 2027.
Not through Liberty’s remote registration, which requires every founder to be a Georgian resident or residence permit holder and allows no legal entity at the second level of ownership. Liberty also opens corporate accounts at its service centres, where, as at any Georgian bank, the AML law makes the bank trace ownership through holding companies to the individuals holding 25% or more.
No. A ready-made LLC from the shelf has never traded, and payment service providers must be registered with the National Bank of Georgia under its 2023 rule before they operate; virtual asset service providers register with the NBG too. Both are obliged entities under the AML law, with customer due diligence duties of their own.
If your country takes part in the Common Reporting Standard, expect so: the OECD lists Georgia among jurisdictions that committed to first automatic exchanges by 2024. US persons are covered by the FATCA agreement in force since 18 September 2015, so declare the company and its account where you are tax resident.