Apr 21, 2020

Caribbean Connection: The Fastest Bank Account for Your Offshore Company!

Offshore companies have a hard time with opening international bank and brokerage accounts these days. Whilst there are all kinds of great payment processing services (cutting edge fintech apps, fast onboarding, multi-currency debit cards, instant SEPA transfers etc) available in modern fintech businesses in onshore and midshore countries, these banking alternatives are typically difficult to access for non-resident customers… especially offshore corporations.

One bank, however, has set out to break the mould. This article is about a brand new offshore bank, licensed last year but having started operations in 2020, with a pedigree based on traditional Austrian and Swiss private banking. Read on to find out whether this bank could be the solution to your banking problems.

Full Offshore Commercial Banking Service

Here are the main features offered by this Caribbean connection offshore bank:

  • Full set of commercial and private banking services
  • Strict but reasonable compliance policies. 
  • Multi-currency IBAN’s, both SEPA and SWIFT-enabled. 
  • Universally accepted prepaid debit cards. 
  • Fast global money transfers. 
  • Superb account security and data protection. 
  • A full suite of e-banking tools online and in-app. 
  • Seamless link to crypto assets. 
  • Friendly, competent support staff. 

It was only a matter of time before somebody realized that there is a lot of money to be made in offering good old-school offshore commercial banking services for the international market, without the need for massive opening deposits. Why would a new bank try to compete in the overcrowded private banking and wealth management space, when they could put their resources to work in offshore corporate banking, an area with much less competition?

This new offshore bank was formed only last year, but boasts an impressive board that even includes an HRH  (His Royal Highness). It is set to become one of the top offshore banks and top offshore debit card issuers for fast account opening.

There have been a number of interesting offshore commercial banks launches in recent years, but they tend to have fallen down when it comes to correspondent banking relationships. Bank of Asia, the offshore bank that launched recently in BVI, was one such disappointment.

This new alternative offshore bank, that we will call our “Caribbean Connection”, solved the correspondent banking problem by using an intelligent hybrid approach. Instead of trying to open correspondent accounts directly, they have built resilience and redundancy into their money-transfer system by setting up a number of entities in Europe and Hong Kong.

The group’s head office is based in Austria and they have employed many European veteran private bankers, as well as an agressive (in a good way) compliance team in Vienna. 

Our due diligence reveals that this well-funded and professional group acquired a Swiss asset management company that has been in business 1971 and obtained a bank license in the best offshore banking country in the English-speaking Caribbean. Subsequently, they established operations in the UK and Luxembourg that give them access to high quality European correspondent banks. Next stop on the road is Hong Kong.

Be prepared – their fees are on the high side, but the good news is they offer very fast account opening within just 24-48 hours, based on an in-house compliance review, with no minimum deposit. They do open bank accounts for offshore companies, as well as personal accounts of course and traditional private banking using European custodial banks.

Typical Client Profile for our Caribbean Connection Offshore Account

What kind of client profile do we recommend our Caribbean Connection bank for?

  • Small start-up businesses with no track record
  • Businesses with a crypto or forex connection (ICOs, traders etc)
  • Existing offshore businesses looking for back-up accounts without too much work
  • Offshore e-commerce merchants needing banks for settlement
  • Anyone looking for great personal service backed up by fintech.

Onboarding Process

Here’s our typical onboarding process for the Caribbean Connection bank: (note, days specified are working days, Monday to Friday excluding public holidays. Timescales are approximate, based on average risk business, and might vary)

DAY 1:  Contact Offshore Pro Group representative on WhatsApp, explain your business model, company name and send a photo of your passport. Pre-check is completed with the same day.

DAY 2:  You pay Offshore Pro’s consulting fee by credit card, crypto, bank transfer etc. Based on a successful pre-check, we send you an SSL-protected link where you must register on the bank’s website, confirming your phone number, email etc. You fill in the short questionnaire online and upload company documents. 

DAY 4:  The bank will send you their invoice for the account opening fee.

DAY 5:  Bank account opened and active.

What if my company documents are missing or incomplete?

If you find your company documents are incomplete (for example: you will need a recent Certificate of Incumbency, Extract of Commercial Register or equivalent) you should seriously consider obtaining a new offshore company from Offshore Pro Group! We can do incorporations in our fastest jurisdiction, the Marshall Islands, within just a few days. We also have ready made companies available from Nevis, BVI etc. Your Offshore Pro Group representative will take the time to understand your requirements and advise you on the best options.

The Next Step

Contact Offshore Pro today to find out how you can open an account at this bank. We can typically get a pre-check done the same day so you can have your account opened in well under a week. If that’s not an amazing offshore bank account, we don’t know what is! Our experts are standing by and can be conveniently reached via live chat, WhatsApp or e-mail.