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A business bank account in Panama is held with a bank licensed by the Superintendencia de Bancos de Panamá (SBP). Article 41 of the Banking Law, the single text adopted by Executive Decree 52 of 2008, allows three licences: a general licence for banking business in Panama and abroad, an international licence for transactions concluded or taking effect outside Panama from an office in the country, and a representation licence for offices of foreign banks. The SBP also sets the anti-money laundering rules banks apply to an S.A. or a private interest foundation, chiefly Acuerdo 10-2015 and its June 2022 amendments.
Panama has no central bank. The US dollar is legal tender at par with the balboa under Article 1171 of the Fiscal Code, and the SBP has told banks they may not refuse dollars for payments or deposits. Panama is not in SWIFT’s IBAN registry and is outside SEPA: an account is identified by the bank’s SWIFT code and a local account number, 12 digits at Banesco, and dollar transfers arrive through correspondent banks in the United States.
Panama has no deposit insurance scheme. The IMF’s January 2024 note on Panama’s financial safety net, published on the SBP’s website, states that the country does not possess a deposit insurance framework or a lender of last resort; only the state-owned banks carry an explicit government guarantee.
What the Banking Law gives instead is an order of payment if a bank is put into forced liquidation. Under Article 167, deposits of ten thousand balboas or less rank second, after new deposits taken during a reorganisation; where one person holds several, only the largest is paid, up to B/.10,000, an amount the SBP may change. Article 161 has the liquidator pay them within fifteen days of the liquidation order taking effect, but only from the liquid assets available. Companies are not excluded: the SBP’s 2014 liquidation report for ES Bank (Panama) lists companies in that class. A larger deposit ranks with the remaining deposits and obligations, paid pro rata from whatever is left.
Two layers apply. The SBP rule sets the minimum: the bank must identify every shareholder with 10% or more of the issued shares, and for registered shares it accepts a copy of the share certificate, a sworn declaration signed by the president or secretary, the share register, or a certificate from the resident agent naming the owners and their percentages. It must also identify the directors and officers (dignatarios) and establish whether any of them are nominees supplied by the resident agent. For bearer shares it needs the minutes placing them in the custody regime of Law 47 of 2013 and the custodian’s certificate naming the owners.
Bank policy adds the rest. Summarised from each bank’s own pages in October 2026:
| Bank | What it publishes for company accounts | Opening from abroad |
|---|---|---|
| Banco General | Sworn declaration of owners with 10% or more, looking through corporate owners; board minutes and income evidence; for foreigners new to the bank, a passport or permanent residence card and a link with Panama | No remote route published |
| Banesco (Panamá) | International company accounts, with a separate list for Panamanian companies that have no aviso de operación | Can be opened without being in Panama, with more detailed checks |
| Towerbank | Pacto social, Registro Público certificate, identity documents, financial statements or, for a new company, a business plan; a separate foundation list | From abroad, by virtual appointment |
| St. Georges Bank | Regional private banking business account: registered shares only, a Registro Público certificate under three months old, two photo IDs for each director, officer and shareholder above 5%, a bank reference letter | Not stated |
| Global Bank | Checklist built around Panamanian cédulas and an APC credit bureau authorisation | Not stated |
Banesco’s list for a Panamanian company without an aviso de operación is the most detailed: the pacto social and amendments, a certificate of good standing, proof of the company’s address, passports of the directors, officers, signatories and shareholders, and one income document, either a tax return, financial statements signed by a Panamanian CPA, or a projection and business plan for a new company. For a holding company it wants evidence of the shareholders’ income, and documents issued abroad must be apostilled or legalised.
A foundation has no shareholders, so banks look through it to the people who benefit. Towerbank asks for the founding act, a Registro Público certificate no older than three months, a certification of the beneficiaries or a copy of the foundation’s regulations, and an account resolution of the foundation council. Banco General’s beneficial owner declaration names each beneficiary with a percentage, lists secondary beneficiaries as set in the regulations, and is signed by the protector where there is one. Banesco asks a foundation for evidence of where its money comes from.
By law every S.A. has a resident agent, a Panamanian lawyer or law firm, which also files its beneficial owners into the register created by Law 129 of 2020. That register is private: only the resident agent and designated Superintendency officials can see inside it, so a bank cannot check your declaration against it, although the resident agent’s certificate of the shareholders is one of the documents the SBP accepts. The law does not require a director or shareholder who lives in Panama.
An aviso de operación, the operating notice issued through PanamaEmprende, is required to start certain commercial or industrial activities in Panama’s territory, and Banesco treats companies without one as a separate case. Bank policy can still ask for a tie to the country, as Banco General does for foreigners new to the bank. No bank page we reviewed publishes an opening time, so the timeline varies by bank.
Panama left the FATF’s increased monitoring list on 27 October 2023 and is not on the EU’s current anti-money laundering list of high-risk third countries, but the EU’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, as revised in February 2026, still named it for its foreign-source income exemption regime, so European banks and counterparties may ask more questions.
An existing account belongs to the S.A. and stays with it when the shares change hands. What changes is that the bank re-runs its due diligence on the new beneficial owners, directors, officers and signatories under the same SBP rules, and may keep the account, ask for more documents or close it. Note that St. Georges Bank and Towerbank make an account inactive after six months without movement. A ready-made S.A. saves the incorporation step and arrives with its Registro Público record, but the bank still decides on your profile.
We can supply a ready-made Panamanian S.A. or handle company formation in Panama, and help prepare the bank application; no one can promise that a bank will accept it. For the wider picture see our Panama company overview and the guide to shelf companies with bank accounts.
Yes, on each bank’s terms. Banesco offers international company accounts and says they can be opened without being in Panama, with a more detailed validation, and Towerbank opens accounts from abroad by virtual appointment. Banco General asks foreigners who are new to the bank for a link with Panama. Every bank must identify shareholders with 10% or more and any nominee directors supplied by the resident agent.
No. Panama has no deposit insurance scheme, as the IMF noted in January 2024, and only the state-owned banks carry a government guarantee. If a bank is liquidated, Article 167 of the Banking Law pays deposits of B/.10,000 or less ahead of most other creditors, within fifteen days and only from the liquid assets available. Company deposits can qualify; larger deposits rank with the remaining creditors.
That depends on the bank; we found no legal rule that you must attend in person. Banesco says a company account can be opened from abroad and Towerbank offers virtual appointments, while Banco General publishes no remote route. Documents issued outside Panama normally have to be apostilled or legalised, and no bank we reviewed publishes how long opening takes.
The founding act and usually the regulations, a recent Registro Público certificate and a resolution of the foundation council authorising the account. Towerbank wants the certificate no older than three months and a certification of the beneficiaries or the regulations. Banco General’s declaration lists each beneficiary with a percentage, any secondary beneficiaries and the protector’s signature. Banesco also asks where the foundation’s money comes from.
Banco General, Banesco, Towerbank, St. Georges Bank and Global Bank all publish company account requirements, though Global Bank’s checklist is built around Panamanian identity cards. The usual fintech names do not help: Panama is not on Wise’s or Airwallex’s lists, Revolut Business needs a UK or EEA company and Mercury a company formed in the United States.
Only where the bank agrees to keep the account after reviewing you. The account belongs to the company and stays with it, but 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. Some Panamanian banks also make an account inactive after six months without movement.