This question may be rather striking, since there should be no inconvenience for a foreigner to open a bank account in Panama. However, for some time now, we have been dealing more with the issue of opening a bank account for foreigners in Panama and we have found a different answer depending on the bank that is consulted. In view of this reality, we want to explain in which cases a foreigner can open a personal account in Panama and in which others it will be difficult.<\/p>\n
Actually this is decided by each bank according to its internal policy.
\nHowever, what we have found is that, for the most part, banks require all foreigners who wish to open a bank account to have an immigration status, meaning, that they will always ask for two documents that identify the client: one of them is the passport (generally) or ID (personal identification number); the other one is the immigration card. This last card is fundamental and binding for the opening of a bank account in Panama as a foreigner. If the person does not have it, in general, in most Panamanian banks, the bank account will not be opened.<\/p>\n
Not residing in Panama means that the interested party does not have a immigration card, therefore, the opening of the account is complicated with most banks. However, not everything is black and white. There is an opportunity for those businesspersons or entrepreneurs who can justify the transparency of their business. For them, in some banks, after having presented all the documents required by the bank and mainly after the origin of the client's funds has been clearly proven, there is a high possibility that the client can open a personal bank account. In this regard, banks are very careful.<\/p>\n
We have created a video in which we tell you everything you need to know to create a bank account in Panama:
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