Opening a bank account in Bulgaria for an offshore company? This is not a problem since Bulgarian offshore company formation followed by opening a bank account is a straightforward process which takes only a week time. The costs are minimal too.

But first one should know that Bulgaria is not a typical offshore zone. It is more of a tax haven. In simple words – you get the best from an offshore and a ‘normal’ company registered in EU. From legal point of view Bulgarian offshore companies are ‘normal’ companies, publicly registered and legally operating all across Europe and the world. They are registered under EU jurisdiction which means that they benefit from all EU financial and tax regimes. And from purely psychological point of view they are much more prestigious – because everyone would prefer to deal with an EU based company, which is publicly registered and strictly regulated under EU legal framework – rather than deal with a typical offshore company, which by default hides many details about its business activities, real owners, etc.

The benefits of a Bulgarian offshore company start with the lowest corporate tax rate in the whole EU – 10 %. Some typical offshore companies in Europe offer 0 % tax but as explained above this is the price for doing 100 % legal business in the entire EU. And all across the world.

Offshore companies in Bulgaria however have many things in common with typical offshore companies. To start with – nominee shareholders and nominee directors are not explicitly regulated under Bulgarian law but in practice are quite popular. Plus they are 100 % legal. So in other words any savvy businessman can run even a big business quite legitimately under the protection of and using all benefits of a European jurisdiction – while at the same time no one knows that he is the real owner of that business who remain hidden behind nominee shareholder/s and nominee directors.

Company in Bulgaria with account is something that every local company is entitled to. Anyone can set up a Bulgarian offshore company and then immediately open a bank account in Bulgarian Lev (BGN), Euro (EUR) or any other popular world currency. The fees that Bulgarian banks charge are very minimal, some even offer this service for free. Monthly fees for a Bulgarian company bank account are also very low – in most cases no more than 5 Euros. Another benefit in this relation is that many EU based large banks have branches in Bulgaria – and many corporate clients who use the services of such bank in their home countries prefer to use the services of the same bank, via its branch of course, in Bulgaria.

Another very important aspect of bank services in Bulgaria is that almost all banks offer e-banking – operating a bank account over the internet from all around the world. These bank products are highly appreciated by foreign investors who can register an offshore company in Bulgaria but conduct their business from abroad. Any businessman who has activated electronic banking with any Bulgarian bank can make and receive bank transfers like a charm, with only a few clicks on his computer.