VASP Company Bank Account in Georgia : Crypto-Friendly Banking Options
Table of contents
VASP Company Bank Account in Georgia : Crypto-Friendly Banking Options
Securing a vasp bank account Georgia banks will approve is achievable, but it takes more preparation than a standard corporate account. Banks in Georgia (the country) review Virtual Asset Service Providers case by case under enhanced due diligence. Before you apply, have four things ready: National Bank of Georgia registration, a written AML programme, transparent ownership and a credible source of funds.
The company itself is rarely the obstacle. A Georgian LLC often registers at the House of Justice within 1-2 business days. The bank account is where crypto projects stall, because a compliance officer must sign off on every source of incoming value.
Picture a two-founder OTC desk relocating from Kyiv. Their LLC exists within a week. The bank file then takes another five weeks. Most of that delay comes from drafting the AML manual and wallet-screening procedure after the first bank meeting instead of before it. Founders who arrive with a complete file usually move faster.
What Makes Your Company a VASP in Georgia
Georgia's Law on Virtual Assets sets out which crypto businesses need supervision. If your company performs certain services for clients, it qualifies as a Virtual Asset Service Provider. The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) supervises it.
Activities That Trigger VASP Status
The test is what you do for other people, not whether your company touches crypto. Georgia's framework follows the international FATF model. Typical regulated activities include:
Exchanging virtual assets for fiat currency such as GEL, USD or EUR
Swapping one virtual asset for another on behalf of clients
Transferring virtual assets between addresses for clients
Safekeeping client assets, including holding private keys
Servicing a token issuance or sale for a third party
Who Supervises You
Two bodies matter. NBG handles registration and ongoing supervision of VASPs. The Financial Monitoring Service of Georgia receives suspicious transaction reports, because VASPs are obliged entities under Georgian AML law.
Registration carries capital, governance and fit-and-proper requirements. NBG revises these figures, so confirm the current numbers on nbg.gov.ge before you set your budget.
When You Are Not a VASP
Some crypto-adjacent businesses sit outside the definition. Registering as a VASP anyway adds cost and slows your banking for no benefit. Common examples:
A company holding Bitcoin on its own balance sheet as treasury
A software studio building exchange code for a foreign client
A freelancer who accepts USDT as payment for design work
For these cases, the real question is tax, not licensing. Individual founders can check how Georgia treats personal crypto gains in our guide to 0% capital gains for resident individuals.
How Georgian Banks Assess a VASP Account Application
Every bank in Georgia operates under NBG anti-money-laundering rules. Crypto clients usually land in the high-risk category. That label triggers enhanced due diligence before any account goes live.
What Bank of Georgia KYC and Its Peers Look For
Large banks such as Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank run broadly similar checks. Each bank sets its own risk appetite. The bank of georgia kyc review for a crypto business typically asks for:
NBG registration proof, or evidence that your application is pending
AML/CFT policy naming a responsible compliance officer
Ownership files for every ultimate beneficial owner, apostilled if issued abroad
Source of wealth evidence for each founder
Screening tool details, meaning the blockchain analytics service you use
Volume forecast with your main counterparty countries
Foreign corporate and personal documents need legalisation before a Georgian bank accepts them. Our apostille and notary legalisation guide explains that step.
Why Your Volume Forecast Matters
Banks compare your forecast against what actually arrives. Say you project 50,000 EUR a month and then receive 400,000 EUR in week three. That mismatch can trigger a freeze and a fresh review.
Forecast conservatively. Notify the bank in writing before volumes jump, not after.
How Long Does It Take to Open a Bank Account
A standard Georgian LLC account often opens within a few business days once documents are complete. VASP accounts take longer. Market experience points to roughly 3-8 weeks.
A Polish founder who arrives with NBG registration done and an AML manual ready tends to sit at the short end. A team still writing policies sits at the long end, sometimes beyond it.
Standard LLC Account vs VASP Company Account
Factor | Standard LLC account | VASP company account |
Bank risk rating | Usually standard | High risk, enhanced due diligence |
Typical timeline | Often 1-5 business days | Often 3-8 weeks |
Core documents | Charter, registry extract, director ID | Charter plus NBG registration, AML policy, UBO and wealth files |
Compliance interview | Sometimes requested | Almost always, often with founders present |
Crypto-linked inflows | Questioned case by case | Expected, but screened per transaction |
Ongoing reviews | Periodic KYC refresh | Frequent reviews and transaction queries |
Refusal risk | Low with clean documents | Material, varies by bank appetite |
Open Bank Account in Georgia Remotely: What Still Works
Many banks in Georgia let a representative open a standard corporate account with a notarised, apostilled power of attorney. That route suits a consultancy or an IT services LLC with conventional clients. Our remote bank account opening service covers that setup.
VASPs face a stricter bar. Banks often want a director or beneficial owner on a video call or in a Tbilisi branch for the compliance interview. Budget for one short trip, even if the rest of the process runs remotely.
When Remote Setup Is the Wrong Choice
Skip the fully remote route if your founders hold passports from jurisdictions banks rate as high risk. The same applies if your ownership runs through several holding layers. A remote application in those cases often ends in refusal. That refusal can follow you into your next application at another bank. Meeting compliance in person usually resolves questions a document cannot.
Choosing Among Banks in Georgia for a Crypto Business
Searches for the best bank in georgia tbilisi for foreigners usually assume a personal or freelance account. A VASP needs a different filter. The bank's published crypto policy matters more than its app or branch network.
A bank of georgia non resident account for an individual founder is a separate file from the company account. Open the corporate account first. Banks often want to see the business relationship before they extend personal services to a non-resident director.
Pairing a Georgian Account With a European Provider
Some VASP founders run two rails. A Georgian bank holds GEL operating cash and pays salaries and taxes. An EU payment institution with stated crypto appetite handles SEPA euro flows. Before you rely on that second rail, check two things: its licence, and whether it onboards Georgian-registered companies at all.
Keeping a VASP Bank Account Open in Georgia
Most VASP accounts that close do so in the first 12-18 months. Opening was rarely the problem. A pattern of transactions the bank did not expect is what usually triggers the exit.
What Banks Monitor After Onboarding
Your application described an expected activity profile. The bank's monitoring system compares every month against it. A Tbilisi custody startup that declared 50,000 EUR in monthly inflows and then receives 400,000 EUR will get a compliance query within days.
Banks typically watch for:
Volume spikes well above the declared monthly range
New counterparty countries that were not in your business plan
Round-figure transfers from individuals with no invoice trail
Rapid pass-through, where money arrives and leaves within hours
Links to wallets flagged by blockchain analytics tools
Responding to a Compliance Query
A query is not a closure notice. It is a request for context. Answer with documents, not explanations: the contract, the invoice, the client's KYC file, and the on-chain transaction hash.
Most banks set a reply window of a few business days. Silence is the fastest route to a frozen account.
Updating the Bank Before You Change the Business
Tell your bank before you launch a new product. Adding a fiat on-ramp, a new token, or a new market changes your risk profile. Banks react far better to an advance letter than to a surprise in the statements.
A Georgian OTC desk run by a Ukrainian founder is a good example. It planned to add Kazakh clients and sent its bank a short memo two weeks ahead. The account stayed open. A competitor that did the same thing silently faced a 30-day restriction on outgoing payments.
Keeping Your AML Framework Current
NBG rules for VASPs follow FATF standards, including the travel rule on sender and recipient data for crypto transfers. Your bank will ask to see that you collect this data. An AML policy written at launch and never revised is a red flag at the first periodic review.
Plan to refresh these items at least once a year:
AML and KYC policy, with any NBG guidance changes reflected
Risk assessment of clients, products and geographies
Training records for the compliance officer and staff
Blockchain analytics provider contract and screening logs
How to Open a VASP Bank Account in Georgia, Step by Step
A well-prepared vasp bank account Georgia application typically takes 10-30 business days from first contact to an active account. A weak file can stall for months. The order of steps matters more than speed at any single step.
The Sequence That Works
Register the LLC. Registration at the House of Justice (NAPR) usually completes in 1-2 business days. You receive the extract and a tax ID linked to rs.ge.
Secure NBG VASP registration. Banks increasingly want proof of registration, or at least a filed application, before they open the account.
Build the compliance pack. Prepare the AML policy, risk assessment, ownership chart and source-of-funds evidence for each owner above the bank's threshold.
Request pre-screening. Send a summary to the bank's corporate or compliance team. Many banks give an informal yes or no within 5-10 business days.
Attend the onboarding meeting. The director, and sometimes the main owner, meets the relationship manager and answers questions about the business model.
Activate and fund. Sign the account agreement, set up internet banking, and make a first deposit that matches your declared profile.
Preparing Foreign Documents
Every foreign-issued document needs legalisation. Documents from Hague Convention countries need an apostille. Documents from other countries need consular legalisation. Both then need a certified Georgian translation.
The full chain is covered in our guide to the apostille and notary legalization process in Georgia. Start this early. A German passport copy and a bank reference letter can take 2-3 weeks to apostille and translate.
What Happens at the Onboarding Meeting
Expect a practical interview, not a formality. Common questions include:
Who are your clients, and in which countries?
Which exchanges and liquidity providers do you use?
How do you screen wallets before accepting funds?
Where did the founders' starting capital come from?
Who Should Attend
Send the person who actually runs compliance alongside the director. A Dutch founder who brought her MLRO to the meeting answered every follow-up on the spot. Her account opened 6 business days later.
VASP Account Costs and Timelines in Georgia
Cost or time item | What drives it | Typical pattern (2026) | Where to confirm |
Account opening | Risk tier, company type | Higher for VASPs than standard LLCs, sometimes a one-off compliance review fee | Bank's corporate tariff sheet |
Monthly maintenance | Package, number of currencies | Fixed monthly fee per account package | Bank's corporate tariff sheet |
Incoming SWIFT | Currency, correspondent bank | Percentage with a minimum and maximum per transfer | Bank's tariff sheet |
Outgoing SWIFT | Currency, urgency | Higher than incoming, plus correspondent charges | Bank's tariff sheet |
Apostille and translation | Number of documents, origin country | Per-page translation and per-document notary fees | Notary and translation bureau |
NBG VASP registration | Application type | Set by NBG, revised periodically | National Bank of Georgia |
Compliance officer | In-house or outsourced | Monthly retainer for outsourced MLRO services | Provider quote |
Account decision timeline | File quality, bank appetite | 10-30 business days for a complete file | Relationship manager |
Fees for VASP clients are usually not on the public tariff page. Banks often price them individually after the risk review. Ask for the full fee schedule in writing before you sign.
Budgeting Beyond the Bank Fees
The bank charges are often the smaller line. The larger costs sit around the account: a compliance officer, blockchain analytics software, and monthly accounting. A small Georgian VASP filing monthly returns needs an accountant who understands crypto transactions.
Your reporting obligations follow the standard monthly and annual tax deadlines in Georgia. Late filings show up in bank reviews too. Many banks check your rs.ge tax status during periodic KYC.
When a VASP Account Is the Wrong Choice
Do not register as a VASP if you only hold crypto for your own treasury. A Georgian software company paid in USDT for development work is generally not providing a virtual asset service. Registering as one adds AML duties, higher bank fees and slower onboarding for no benefit.
The same applies to solo traders investing their own funds. That activity is usually personal investment, not a regulated service. Confirm your classification with a Georgian lawyer before you apply, because the label shapes every later step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I open a VASP company account remotely with a power of attorney?
Some Georgian banks accept a notarised and apostilled power of attorney for standard LLCs. For VASPs, most banks still want the director to attend in person at least once, as of 2026. Plan for one trip to Tbilisi of 3-5 days, and book the meeting before you fly.
What happens to my funds if the bank decides to close the account?
Banks normally give written notice and a period to move funds, often around 30 days, though terms vary by contract. Funds are returned to an account in the company's name, not to third parties. Keep a second account ready, because a new VASP application during a closure notice moves slowly.
Does the 0% crypto tax for individuals apply to my VASP company?
No. The 0% treatment for certain crypto gains applies to resident individuals, as explained in our guide on whether crypto is tax-free in Georgia. A Georgian LLC falls under the corporate regime, where profit is taxed at 15% when distributed and retained profit is not taxed.
Can an Individual Entrepreneur register as a VASP?
The NBG framework is built around legal entities, so an LLC is the standard route. An IE also lacks the governance structure banks expect from a VASP, such as a separate compliance function. Confirm the current eligibility rules with NBG before you plan around an IE.
Do I need a separate account for client funds?
If you hold client fiat, banks expect it kept apart from your operating money. Mixing client deposits with salary and rent payments makes reconciliation hard and alarms compliance teams. Ask your bank whether it offers a dedicated client-money account for VASPs, as not all do.
How long does it take to switch to another Georgian bank?
Expect the same 10-30 business days as a first application, because the new bank runs its own full review. Keep the old account open until the new one is fully active and tested. A reference letter from your current bank, showing a clean history, often shortens the review.
Will a past account closure abroad hurt my Georgian application?
It can, but only if you hide it. Many onboarding forms ask whether any bank has closed your accounts, and a false answer is grounds for refusal or later closure. Disclose it with a short explanation and evidence, such as a closure letter citing a change in the bank's crypto policy rather than your conduct.
