Establishing a bank in Seychelles is a relatively quick process if the necessary requirements are met compared to other jurisdictions. The compliance of banking business is governed by the Financial Institutions Act (FIA) of 2004.
Key Features
A Seychelles Banking License permits any of the following range of services:
- Issuing of own deposit products
- Issuing current accounts to Corporate and Individual Clients
- Issuing saving accounts
- Issuing fixed term deposit accounts
- Issuing credit cards through Mastercard / VISA
- Daily liquidity accounts
- Multi-currency accounts and forex services
Maintain at all times in an account opened with a financial institution, approved by the Central Bank of Seychelles , the minimum paid up capital of US$2 million or its equivalent in any freely convertible currency.
Except as otherwise permitted shall conduct banking business solely with non-residents in currencies other than the Seychelles Rupee. In the case of Banks licensed to carry out both domestic banking business and offshore business, a written confirmation is required that accounting records will be maintained separately for each type of business.
Legal Requirements
|
Requirements |
Description |
|
General |
|
|
Seychelles Domestic Company |
|
· License application fee |
USD 2,000 |
|
· Annual license fee |
USD 15,000 |
|
Yes |
|
Share capital or equivalent |
|
|
· Minimum paid up capital |
USD 2,000,000 |
|
Directors |
|
|
2 |
|
No |
|
Yes |
|
Shareholders |
|
|
2 |
|
Yes |
|
No |
|
Service Providers Required |
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
Tax Treatment
- Exempted from all corporate taxes on offshore banking income or capital gains, withholding tax on dividends, interest or other return to shareholders, any tax on transfer of assets or securities to any person, customs duties on office equipment and other items essential to the conduct of banking business.
- Also exempted from foreign exchange control.
Duration to Set Up
About 6 months
Distinctive Benefits of Licence
- Outstanding political and social stability
- Seychelles is on the white list of OECD and IMF compliant jurisdictions
- Excellent pool of facilities, banking service providers and communication infrastructure
- Attractive corporate and tax environment
- Seychelles has numerous Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements across the globe
- Convenient time zone of GMT +4 suitable for execution of international banking services
- Favourable regulatory environment coupled by a dynamic and pro-business Central Bank
The Valsen Advantage
- End to end comprehensive service
- Speedy and efficient service
- Expert advice on structuring options
- Dedicated ongoing compliance support
- Extensive network pool of service providers