Opening a bank account in Serbia is a prerequisite for conducting various financial transactions in the Republic of Serbia. Having a bank account in Serbia is a prerequisite for modern functioning.

There are different types of bank accounts, so it would be important to first make some different divisions that are important for opening a bank account in Serbia.

Depending on the residence status of the account holder, the bank account can be resident or non-resident.

Depending on the type of money, the bank account can be held in dinars or in a foreign currency.

Depending on the legal form of the account holder, the account can be opened in favor of a natural or legal person or organization.

Opening a bank account in Serbia at one of the serbian banks

There are currently 17 commercial banks operating in Serbia. These are:

  • 3Bank
  • Addiko Bank a.d. Belgrade
  • Adriatic Bank
  • AIK-Bank
  • Alta Bank
  • API Bank
  • Banca Intesa
  • Bank Postanska Štedionica
  • Erste Bank
  • Eurobank Direct
  • Halkbank AD
  • NLB Komercijalna banka
  • OTP Bank Serbia
  • ProCredit Bank
  • Raiffeisenbank
  • UniCredit Bank
  • Yettel Bank.

The main regulator of commercial banks in Serbia is the National Bank of Serbia.

Although banks in Serbia are similar in terms of banking products, there are certain differences between banks. For example, some banks have a different risk ratio towards customers from different countries, others focus more on certain banking products, banks differ in their banking structure, and there are numerous banks that refuse to do business with companies from Russia. You can find out more about this topic at the following link.

To find out which bank is optimal to open a bank account with, we recommend that you also make such a decision according to the policies of commercial banks.
All banks operating in Serbia work with the SWIFT payment system.

Opening a bank account in Serbia for residents and non-residents

Depending on the residence status of the account holder, the bank account can be for residents or non-residents.
The bank account for residents can be opened by all resident natural and legal persons.

A non-resident account can only be opened by non-residents. Therefore, non-residents – natural persons – can open a bank account in Serbia only if:

  • have a registered temporary residence on one of the bases prescribed by law
  • Opening an account is necessary for them to exercise some rights prescribed by law (e.g. the right to VAT refund, transfer of funds based on an inheritance decision, registration as an entrepreneur, etc.)
  • Opening an account is necessary for the fulfillment of certain legal obligations (taxes, e.g. when buying real estate or inheritance tax).

If non-residents prove that the tax administration must assign them a tax identification number, this is a necessary condition for the bank to open an account for them in Serbia.

Opening a bank account in Serbia according to business needs in different currencies

A bank account in Serbia can be held in dinars or in a foreign currency.

Legal entities need a dinar account to be able to meet their business obligations (buying, selling, paying taxes and duties, etc.).

A foreign currency account in Serbia can be held in the following currencies:
EUR, AUD, CAD, DKK, JPY, NOK, RUB, SEK, GBP, USD, CHF and CNY.

Please note that not all banks allow accounts to be opened in Russian rubles. You can find out more about this topic in our text Transferring money from Serbia to Russia.

Opening a bank account in Serbia according to the legal form of the account holder

Depending on the legal form of the account holder, bank accounts can be opened in favor of natural or legal persons.
Opening a bank account in Serbia in favor of natural persons is a relatively simple procedure that can be carried out personally or through a lawyer. The only reason that can make opening an account difficult or even impossible is the nationality of the account holder. Namely, banks have the discretionary right to refuse to open an account to certain persons based on their risk assessment. For example, numerous banks in Serbia avoid opening accounts for Russian or Belarusian citizens, as well as for citizens of countries that are classified as high-risk countries according to the banks’ internal policy.

On the other hand, opening a bank account in Serbia in favor of legal persons is a slightly more complicated procedure and depends both on the risk assessment mentioned above and on the ownership structure itself. If the ownership structure involves a holding company or there are several related parties within the same group, it is necessary to obtain documentation about these related parties.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.