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Banking in Cayman islands
Cayman is a British dependent oversea territory located in the Caribbean. The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) regulates and supervises the country financial services industry to which the banking sector makes a major contribution. The bank and trust company laws are the main legislative documents governing banking activities. All banks operate under a strong anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism, and have to comply with tax information exchange agreements signed with many countries.
CIMA adopts Basel II framework which requires banks to maintain strong capital adequacy. Cayman Islands banking laws classify the banking sector into 2 tiers. Class “A” unrestricted banks allowed to conduct banking business to both inside and outside of Cayman. Class” B” licenses don’t allow banks to provide services within Cayman. As of March 2019, there are 133 banks in total, including 10 class “A”, and 123 class “B” banks. Nearly 90 percent of the total are branches and subsidiaries of large international banks from North, South America and Europe.
All banks offer a variety of corporate banking facilities such as multi-currency accounts without exchange control, debit/credit card, ATM, online/mobile banking, wire transfer…
We currently don’t support opening bank accounts in Cayman. A Cayman company doesn’t necessarily open its bank account in Cayman, instead, it can open a bank account in any places, namely other offshore jurisdictions or major financial centres.
Banking Options for Cayman islands Company
| Country | Bank | Online Banking | Personal Visit | Credit Card | Debit Card | Intial Deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belize | Caye International Bank Ltd. | USD 1,000 | ||||
| Heritage Bank | USD 3,000 | |||||
| British Virgin Island | First Caribbean International Bank | USD 25,000 | ||||
| Mauritius | ABC Banking Corporation | USD 5,000 | ||||
| Bank One Limited | USD 10,000 | |||||
| Mauritius Commercial Bank | USD 50,000 | |||||
| Investec Bank | USD 50,000 | |||||
| Puerto Rico | Euro Pacific Bank | USD 500 | ||||
| Singapore | Citi Bank | USD 300,000 | ||||
| DBS | USD 50,000 | |||||
| OCBC Bank | USD 30,000 | |||||
| UOB | USD 100,000 | |||||
| UAE | RAK Bank | USD 10,000 |
Required documents
Each bank might demand a different set of documents for an account application process. Below represent commonly required documents by most banks.
- Account application form
- Bank statements
- Bank reference letter
- Certified copies of passports, proofs of residence for all directors/shareholders
- Business plan
- Business evidence proofs (sales/purchase orders, invoice…)
- Certified copies of Cayman Islands company documents
- Government certification of company good standing status.
You had better consult BBCIncorp to know the exact documents needed for your case.
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