Opening a Bank Account in Armenia as a Foreigner: Documents, KYC Reality, Fees and Timelines (2026)

Tabsi Travel consulting team Last reviewed against official sources: November 2, 2026

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Who can open an account in Armenia, and how banks decide

Armenia has 17 licensed banks (official, Central Bank of Armenia list). Any foreigner may apply: the Government's hartak.am guide confirms that residence is not a precondition, that requirements "can vary depending on the country of origin of the non-resident", and that banks "may request additional documents on a case-by-case basis" (official).

What the law does not do is oblige a bank to say yes. The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) has stated that banks must assess and risk-classify every client, and may avoid certain clients because of restrictions applied by their foreign correspondent banks (CBA statement, 2018, official). For a non-resident this means "know your customer" (KYC) checks, sanctions-list screening and enhanced due diligence (EDD): a longer review, documented source of funds and ties to Armenia, and an approval specific to each bank (bank criteria, official; law firms, reported). Nationals of sanctioned jurisdictions, or of jurisdictions on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) high-risk list, face enhanced due diligence or potential refusal at the bank's discretion (reported by Armenian law firms).

Tabsi Travel prepares, translates and submits your file and tells you before you travel which documents improve your chances. We cannot open an account for you and never guarantee one; the decision is the bank's.

What improves acceptance: ties to Armenia and source of funds

For a non-resident, the passport is only the identification step. The real gate is evidence of a legitimate source of funds and of "economic ties" to Armenia, and two banks publish exactly what they accept: IDBank's guide for foreign-passport applicants and Evocabank's residency criteria, summarised in Table 1 (official bank documents).

The tie that IDBank's guide and the law firms name first is a residence card: residence is not legally required, but a residence permit, Armenian property or a local job materially improves acceptance (official bank criteria; law firms, reported). Under the amended Law "On Foreigners", in force since 1 November 2026, temporary residence status is granted for up to one year (official) and is continued by a new application rather than an extension (reported by EY and Schneider Group, consistent with the law text). How to qualify is covered in the Armenian residence card guide.

Documents for a personal account (checklist)

Every bank starts with the same core: a valid passport, the bank's application and KYC questionnaire, and the Public Services Number (PSN, the former social card) only "if available", otherwise a certificate that you do not have one (Unibank, ACBA and Araratbank document lists, official). Non-residents should expect a notarised Armenian translation of the passport: Araratbank states that "passports shall be translated into Armenian and notarized in case of nonresidents" (official).

The PSN is not required of non-residents; Byblos Bank Armenia and Ameriabank state that it applies only to residents (official). What you bring instead is the certificate of refusal to acquire a PSN, issued by the Migration and Citizenship Service (MCS) free of charge and immediately; a foreigner without residence status presents the passport and its notarised Armenian translation (official, migration.mia.gov.am; Government Decision 419-N of 5 April 2012).

Proof of address may be a temporary Armenian address, and at ACBA it "may be also submitted after opening of the account" (official). You also sign a FATCA form (relevant to US persons) and a CRS self-certification (a declaration of where you are tax-resident), and every bank reserves the right to ask for more: "Whenever required, the Bank may request you to provide additional information or documents" (Ameriabank, official).

Supporting documents from your home country follow Armenia's general rule for foreign public documents: an apostille if your country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, otherwise consular legalisation, then an Armenian translation (official, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; check your country on the HCCH status table). Whether every bank insists on legalisation, or accepts a notarised translation alone, is not published: expect to need a notarised Armenian translation, and ask the specific bank first.

How to open a bank account in Armenia, step by step

1. Assess your profile and shortlist banks. Requirements vary by country of origin and banks add documents case by case (official, hartak.am). None of the banks we checked publishes a list of nationalities it accepts, so no agency can honestly name a "friendly" bank.
2. Collect proof of ties and source of funds (Tables 1 and 2); order the apostille or legalisation of home-country documents before you travel (official rule).
3. Have your passport translated into Armenian and notarised in Yerevan (official bank requirement; no official price exists, so we do not quote one).
4. Obtain the PSN refusal certificate from the MCS: free and immediate, after arrival, because it needs the notarised translation (official).
5. Visit the branch in person and complete the KYC, FATCA and CRS forms (in-person rule reported; forms official). Enter on whatever visa or exemption applies to you; Indian citizens can start with the Armenia eVisa for Indian citizens. An eVisa or a visa-free stay is not residence and not a work permit.
6. Wait for the bank's compliance review. IDBank reviews a non-resident request "within 72 hours"; Ameriabank opens a restricted or full account within 1 business day of the application, with full access only after full identification (official); law firms report up to two weeks for non-residents, and the bank may decline without giving reasons (reported).
7. Activate the account and card. An AMD account is usually mandatory alongside foreign-currency accounts (ACBA and Ardshinbank, official); non-residents can get Visa or Mastercard cards in AMD, USD, EUR and RUB at IDBank, and large withdrawals or transfers may need the bank's prior agreement (official).

Can the account be opened remotely?

As a rule, no: the first identification is in person at a branch, and a fully remote first account or card is not possible at most banks, although a notarised power of attorney is sometimes accepted and existing clients can add products online (reported by repatarmenia.org, February 2026, and mblegal.am; Ameriabank's own rule requires the original documents in person, official). Exceptions are bank-specific and conditional: Evocabank publishes a remote route for qualifying non-residents (video call, activation by a transfer of at least USD 50, "after a positive decision of the Bank"); Ardshinbank charges an extra AMD 50,000 for remote identification on non-resident cards; Ameriabank allows video-call identification "when such option is acceptable for the Bank" (official bank pages). Remote opening exists only at select banks, only if you meet their criteria, and is never guaranteed.

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A company account for your Armenian or foreign company

A bank account is not required to register an Armenian LLC: the official document list contains no bank item, and the taxpayer identification number (TIN) is assigned automatically at registration (official, Law on State Registration, art. 35(6)). But "the bank account does not follow automatically" (reported by one law firm). See register a company in Armenia (the TIN is automatic) and residence permit through company registration; from 1 November 2026 that residence route requires at least AMD 2,000,000 in charter capital and recorded tax data within 180 days (official), and how the capital is evidenced to the bank is not published, so we do not describe it.

For the account itself, banks identify the director, every owner above 10% and the ultimate beneficial owners (UBO: the natural persons who ultimately own or control the company). A foreign (non-resident) company submits its charter and registration certificate apostilled or consular-certified, with a notarised translation unless in Russian or English at Ameriabank (official bank lists); beneficial-owner evidence must be fresh, at most six weeks old at ACBA (official). For non-resident companies the process is described as "long and complicated", and the bank "may require to submit all the documents that are in any way related" to the company (reported by law firms).

Fees, currencies, cards and timelines: what to expect

There is no state duty for a bank account; the only government document, the MCS refusal certificate, is free (official). Bank charges are another matter, and non-residents pay more: Ameriabank's AMD 20,000 "Customer due diligence" fee applies to non-citizens only (tariffs edition 51, effective 11 September 2026), and Table 4 lists the other published examples (official tariffs). They are examples, not a recommendation, and not a sign that any of these banks accepts a particular nationality. An AMD account is usually mandatory alongside the foreign-currency accounts (official). Timelines: typically 1–10 business days after the bank accepts your file, longer if compliance asks questions (official examples; ranges reported). Limits: large withdrawals or transfers by non-residents may need the bank's prior agreement, and banks may restrict cash payouts in foreign currency (official).

Published tariffs only; this is not a statement about which banks accept which nationals. We print no USD or INR equivalents because exchange rates move; convert at the rate on the day you pay. If you are budgeting the whole move, the residence cost table lists the state duties.

USD/EUR transfers, SWIFT and cash rules

Armenian banks send and receive USD and EUR through foreign correspondent banks, which run their own sanctions screening: they stop payments on alerts, "including fuzzy name matches", and on any link to a sanctioned party or jurisdiction, and a held payment can be delayed or returned (reported by an Armenian law firm, September 2026). Ameriabank's tariffs state that transfers to Russia and Belarus are available only in Russian roubles, and that USD or EUR transfers for non-account-holders carry the costs of all correspondent and intermediary banks (official). Under a Central Bank regulation on minimum conditions of internal control, in force since 12 August 2026, banks must screen the parties to a transaction, suspend or reject suspicious transactions before execution and re-check a customer within one working day after any sanctions-list change (reported in the press; we have not verified the regulation text).

Cash payments are also regulated by law. Under the Law "On Non-Cash Transactions" (in force 1 July 2022), payments over AMD 300,000 between natural persons must be non-cash since 1 July 2023, any payment between foreign organisations in Armenia must be non-cash regardless of amount, and salaries are paid non-cash (official). Separately, cash transactions of AMD 5,000,000 or more and non-cash transactions of AMD 20,000,000 or more are reported to the Financial Monitoring Center (reported). These are reporting thresholds, not deposit caps, and we found no bank that publishes a cash deposit limit for individuals; banks apply fees and source-of-funds checks instead (official tariffs).

Two banks that are not a solution

Mellat Bank CJSC (Yerevan), the Armenian subsidiary of Iran's Bank Mellat, holds a Central Bank licence but has been on the sanctions list of the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) since 25 October 2007 (E.O. 13382; programs IFSR and SDGT; "Subject to Secondary Sanctions") (official). It lost SWIFT access in 2012 (reported, dated), and dealing with it has triggered US enforcement: Nasdaq paid USD 4,040,923 in December 2023 over its former Armenian subsidiary's transactions (official, OFAC). VTB Bank (Armenia) CJSC was designated by OFAC on 24 February 2022, and all entities 50% or more owned by VTB are blocked (official, OFAC). Neither is a route to USD, EUR or international banking, and because OFAC marks Mellat Armenia "Subject to Secondary Sanctions", an account there can itself expose you to secondary-sanctions risk (official). We do not describe their current services.

Common mistakes that get applications declined

• Arriving with "passport only" and no proof of ties or source of funds (official bank lists).
• Expecting the bank to open the account remotely (reported general rule).
• Assuming a social card (PSN) is required and losing days: it is not; get the free MCS refusal certificate (official).
• An untranslated or un-notarised passport (official).
• Company or beneficial-owner documents older than six weeks in a corporate file (official, ACBA).
• Counting on USD or EUR wires that involve a sanctioned party, bank or jurisdiction; correspondent banks hold or return them (reported).
• Treating an eVisa or a visa-free stay as residence when the bank asks for a residence card.
• Choosing an OFAC-listed bank (official).
• Believing any agency that "guarantees" an account; no bank is obliged to open one (official).

How Tabsi Travel helps

We prepare, translate and submit your personal or corporate account application; coordinate the notarised translation and the free MCS refusal certificate; schedule the branch visit; and tell you honestly before you travel which documents improve your chances. We are a consulting company, not a law office or a bank, and we do not guarantee an account, a bank, a currency or a number of days. See all Tabsi Travel services.

Frequently asked questions

Have your personal or company account file prepared and submitted: an honest assessment before you travel, no guarantees or call +374 33 099171

Or use the contact form.

Tabsi Travel is not a government body or a bank and does not guarantee account opening; the decision is the bank's.