Georgia Banking Fees in 2026: What TBC and Bank of Georgia Actually Charge
Table of contents
Georgia Banking Fees in 2026: What TBC and Bank of Georgia Actually Charge
Georgia banking fees in 2026 at TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia follow one shared structure: a possible one-off opening fee for non-residents, a monthly package fee, card charges, and transfer and conversion costs. In Georgia (the country), the exact amounts change often. Check each bank's published tariff page before you apply.
The structure matters more than any single number. A freelancer who converts 4,000 EUR into GEL every month loses 40 EUR for each 1% of exchange spread. That cost often beats the monthly package fee.
Most foreigners open accounts at one of these two banks. Both run large branch networks in Tbilisi, English-language apps, and multi-currency accounts in GEL, USD and EUR. Their pricing differs in where the money goes, not in what gets charged.
What Georgia Banking Fees Actually Cover
Georgian banks publish tariffs in fixed fee categories. Once you know the categories, you can compare any two banks in minutes. The categories split into fees you pay once, fees you pay every month, and fees you pay per transaction.
One-off fees
These hit at the start of the relationship:
Account opening fee, which banks have historically charged non-residents more often than residents
Card issuance, which varies by card tier (standard, gold, premium)
Document certification, if the bank asks for notarised or apostilled papers
A company account adds registry extracts and founding documents to the list. Getting those translated and legalised costs money before the bank charges anything.
Recurring fees
Monthly costs usually come bundled in a service package. The package combines account maintenance, a debit card and some free transfers. Premium tiers raise the monthly price and cut transaction costs.
If you move small amounts, the cheapest package wins. If you move 10,000 USD or more a month, a premium tier often costs less overall.
Transaction fees
This is where most of your annual banking cost sits:
Incoming SWIFT transfers, often a percentage with a minimum and maximum
Outgoing SWIFT transfers, priced higher than incoming
Currency conversion, charged through the spread between buy and sell rates
Cash withdrawals at other banks' ATMs or abroad
Internal transfers within the same bank, often free or near-free
Why Non-Residents Pay More: Bank of Georgia KYC and Account Status
Your residency status shapes your fees before you send a single transfer. Both banks classify you as resident or non-resident at onboarding. That label affects the opening fee, the review depth and sometimes which products you can access.
What triggers extra scrutiny
Bank of Georgia KYC, like TBC's, follows anti-money-laundering rules supervised by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG). Compliance teams look harder at applicants who:
Have no Georgian address, employer or company
Expect large or frequent incoming foreign transfers
Hold citizenship of countries on the bank's higher-risk lists
Work in crypto, gambling or other sensitive sectors
Extra scrutiny means more documents, longer waits, or a refusal. A Bank of Georgia non-resident applicant from a high-risk jurisdiction can be declined with no detailed reason given.
How long it takes to open a bank account
A straightforward personal account often opens in a single branch visit, as of 2026. Remote bank account opening in Georgia through a representative with a power of attorney commonly takes one to several weeks. Enhanced reviews take longer.
Company accounts add a step. The bank checks your LLC extract from the House of Justice registry and your tax ID from rs.ge. If you still need the company itself, see our guide to LLC registration in Georgia.
When you should not open one
Skip a Georgian account if you can't document your source of funds. A rejection stays in the bank's records and can complicate a later application. Our remote bank account opening service prepares the file before it reaches compliance.
TBC Bank vs Bank of Georgia: Fee Structure Side by Side
Feature (as of 2026) | TBC Bank | Bank of Georgia |
Parent group listing | TBC Bank Group PLC, London Stock Exchange | Bank of Georgia Group PLC, London Stock Exchange |
Premium banking line | TBC Concept | SOLO |
Business banking brand | TBC Business | Bank of Georgia Business |
Non-resident opening fee | Check current tariff on tbcbank.ge | Check current tariff on bankofgeorgia.ge |
Remote opening via POA | Case by case, depends on profile | Case by case, depends on profile |
Account currencies | GEL, USD, EUR and others | GEL, USD, EUR and others |
Which bank costs less for a freelancer
Picture a Polish developer registered as an individual entrepreneur with small business status. She invoices EU clients 5,000 EUR a month. She converts about half into GEL for rent and living costs.
Her real cost driver is the conversion spread on 2,500 EUR each month, plus incoming SWIFT fees. The monthly package fee is minor next to those two. She should compare both banks' published FX rates on the same day, at the same time, before choosing.
Which bank suits a company account
A company account carries its own tariff schedule, separate from personal banking. Business packages bundle payroll transfers, multiple users and corporate cards. Their monthly fees run higher than retail packages.
The deciding factor is often relationship support. Ask each bank whether you get a named business manager at your expected turnover. That person speeds up compliance questions when a large client payment gets held for review.
Hidden Costs Behind the Headline Tariff
A freelancer invoicing a German client for 2,000 EUR often receives less than 2,000 EUR. The tariff sheet does not explain the gap. Intermediary bank fees, deducted before the money reaches Tbilisi, are the usual cause.
How SWIFT charge codes move costs onto you
Every international SWIFT transfer carries one of three charge codes. The code decides who pays the banks along the route.
OUR: the sender pays all fees, so the full amount should arrive.
SHA: costs are shared. Intermediary banks can still deduct their cut.
BEN: the receiver pays everything, and deductions come off your amount.
Most payroll and invoicing platforms default to SHA. Put the preferred code on your invoice, or agree a gross-up clause with recurring clients.
Correspondent banks on USD and EUR payments
USD transfers usually pass through a US correspondent bank before reaching Georgia. EUR transfers may route through a European correspondent. Each hop can take a fixed deduction that neither TBC nor Bank of Georgia controls.
Your bank's tariff covers only its own incoming fee. Ask your relationship contact which correspondents they use for each currency. Some routes are cheaper for certain sending countries.
Small charges that add up over a year
The fees below rarely appear in package comparisons. They still show up on statements:
Card reissue after loss, theft or a name change.
Bank reference letters, often needed for visa or residence applications.
Paper statements or certified statement copies for foreign authorities.
Cash withdrawals abroad on Georgian debit cards, plus the foreign ATM operator's charge.
Package fees on idle accounts, which keep accruing after you leave Georgia.
That last item catches many short-stay remote workers. They open a premium package, leave after three months, and the monthly fee keeps draining the balance.
How to Cut Your Banking Costs Step by Step
Most foreigners overpay because they choose a package before they know their payment pattern. Each step below follows from the one before it. Take about two weeks of real transactions before locking anything in.
Steps 1-2: Map flows, then match the package
Map your payment flows. List every recurring inflow and outflow by currency, amount and frequency. A UX designer from Poland paid monthly in EUR has a very different profile from a trader moving USD weekly.
Match the package to the map. Choose the package that discounts the transactions you actually make. A premium package only pays off when its included transfers or card benefits exceed its monthly fee.
What to compare at this stage
Number of included outgoing international transfers per month.
Incoming SWIFT fee per payment, in each currency.
Card issuance and annual card fees.
Whether internet banking transfers cost less than branch transfers.
Steps 3-4: Currency sub-accounts and transfer codes
Open sub-accounts in your earning currencies. Georgian banks let one client hold GEL, USD and EUR accounts under a single relationship. Receiving EUR into a EUR sub-account avoids forced conversion on arrival.
Set the right transfer codes. Ask clients to send with OUR, or add the expected SWIFT cost to your invoice. For your own outgoing payments, compare the bank's OUR surcharge against the deduction your recipient would otherwise absorb.
Convert to GEL only when you need lari for local spending or taxes. Batching conversions into fewer, larger trades usually gets a better rate than many small ones.
Step 5: Review quarterly and renegotiate
Review statements every quarter. Export your statements and sort all fee lines by type. Most people find one or two fee categories driving most of their cost.
If your monthly turnover grows, ask for a tariff review. Business clients with steady volume can often get individual pricing that does not appear on public tariff sheets. A bookkeeper who already reads your statements can flag these patterns, which is one practical benefit of ongoing tax accounting and bookkeeping.
Which Fees Matter Most for Your Profile
Profile | Account set-up | Fee lines that dominate | First thing to ask the bank |
Remote employee paid by a foreign employer | Personal account, USD or EUR sub-account | Incoming SWIFT fees, card fees | Incoming fee per SWIFT payment in your salary currency |
Freelancer as Individual Entrepreneur | Dedicated IE account, multi-currency | Incoming SWIFT fees, FX conversion to GEL | Whether IE accounts sit on retail or business tariffs |
LLC with local staff | Business package with payroll module | Payroll transfers, user licences, monthly package | Per-employee payroll transfer cost and included users |
E-commerce seller using payment processors | Business account, USD or EUR | Payout fees, FX on settlements | Fee for receiving payouts from your processor |
Crypto-related business | Business account after enhanced due diligence | Compliance reviews, account refusal risk | Written list of documents needed for source-of-funds checks |
Investor holding savings only | Personal account, deposit products | Package fees, early withdrawal terms | Penalty for breaking a term deposit early |
The table shows where to focus. It does not replace the live tariff. Both banks publish their current tariff schedules, and you should check them on the day you apply, as of 2026.
Profile-specific traps
Individual Entrepreneurs
An IE under small-business status pays 1% turnover tax up to an annual threshold. Your bank statements become your main evidence of turnover. A dedicated IE account keeps personal transfers out of that record. This matters if you plan to apply through Individual Entrepreneur registration. Confirm the current threshold on rs.ge before relying on it.
LLCs running payroll
Payroll fees scale with headcount, not turnover. A 15-person team paid twice a month generates 30 transfers per month. Package choice matters far more here than for a solo founder. If you outsource salary runs through payroll management services, check whether transfers leave your account or the provider's.
Crypto income
Georgian banks apply enhanced due diligence to crypto-linked funds. Expect requests for exchange statements and wallet transaction histories. Even individuals who benefit from the personal tax treatment covered in our crypto tax guide must document where fiat deposits came from.
When a Georgian account is the wrong choice
A Georgian bank account does not suit everyone. Skip it, or delay it, in these cases:
Short stays under three months with income already landing in a foreign multi-currency account. A local account adds KYC effort and package fees for little gain.
No local spending or tax obligation in GEL. If you neither pay Georgian taxes nor spend much in lari, conversion and incoming fees may outweigh any benefit.
High-risk business models without documentation ready. Applying without source-of-funds evidence can lead to a refusal. That refusal may come up again in later applications.
In these situations, keep your existing banking. Open a Georgian account once you register a business, become tax resident, or start paying local costs regularly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I close a Georgian bank account from abroad?
Closure usually requires an in-branch visit or a notarised power of attorney for a local representative. If you sign the power of attorney abroad, it typically needs an apostille. Settle any outstanding package fees first, and withdraw or transfer the full balance. Accounts with a negative balance from unpaid fees can stay open and keep accruing charges.
What happens if my account sits unused for months?
Banks can move long-inactive accounts into dormant status. You may then need to visit a branch and re-verify your identity before you can transact again. Package fees often continue during inactivity. Downgrade to the cheapest available package before you leave Georgia for an extended period.
Are bank fees a deductible business expense for a Georgian LLC?
Yes, fees on a company account are normal business costs and belong in your accounting records. Georgia taxes LLC profit mainly when it is distributed. Expenses unrelated to the business, such as fees on a director's personal account paid by the company, can be treated as taxable distributions. Keep company and personal banking strictly separate.
Which currency are fees charged in if I hold several sub-accounts?
Each tariff line specifies a currency, often GEL for package and card fees. If your GEL account is empty, the bank may debit another sub-account and convert at its own rate. That adds a hidden FX cost on every fee. Keep a small GEL buffer to absorb lari-denominated charges.
How long does a compliance hold on an incoming payment usually last?
A held payment often clears within a few business days once you send the requested documents. Typical requests include the invoice, the client contract and proof of the service delivered. Delays come mostly from slow responses or mismatched details, such as an invoice amount that differs from the transfer. Keep a folder of signed contracts ready for your largest clients.
Does a bank reference letter for a visa or residence permit cost extra?
Most banks charge a separate fee for reference letters and certified statements. Some foreign authorities also require the letter in English, stamped, or apostilled, which adds time. Order it at least one week before your appointment. Check whether your package includes any free letters per year.
Can I switch from Bank of Georgia to TBC without losing incoming payments?
Yes, if you run both accounts in parallel for one or two billing cycles. Send your new IBAN to every client and platform, then confirm each has updated before closing the old account. Payments sent to a closed account usually bounce back to the sender, minus SWIFT fees on both legs. Recurring payers who use saved bank details are the most common source of lost transfers.
