Open an Offshore Account in Panama with TowerBank
Remote Account Opening in Less Than a Week for Crypto-Friendly Banking
Introduction
Today we are going to tell you how you can comfortably open an offshore account without leaving your home in less than a week.
Through a trusted Bitcoin Capitalist partner with a long-standing relationship with TowerBank in Panama, we have achieved something truly unique: remote crypto-friendly account opening in Panama for our community.
IMPORTANT: The opening of bank accounts is done through associated licensed branches. Bitcoin Capitalist only acts as an intermediary and receives commissions for opening. In any case, our recommendation is genuine, we have also opened a bank account there and can recommend the services without hesitation.
Offshore account in Panama
TowerBank is located in Panama, the Switzerland of Latin America. One of the freest countries in the world and famous worldwide as a tax haven.
From the perspective of flag theory, the country is interesting for offshore companies, offshore accounts, foundations, boat registration, and even residency and citizenship.
Why Panama?
One of the least indebted countries in the Americas (58.4% debt/GDP, against 128% for the US and 93% for Brazil).
U.S. dollar as currency, but has no central bank and no legal tender (forced adoption).
56th place in the Economic Freedom Index (Brazil 133rd).
Country with strong history of asset protection and low taxes.
Financial, business and travel center in Latin America.
Cryptocurrency-friendly legislation being proposed
History of stability, never had a civil war or revolution
Spanish as official language, but high level of English in financial industry. All banks have English sites and apps.
The Bank
TowerBank is one of the most crypto-friendly banks in a country with no central bank, no legal tender, and which is in the process of passing crypto-friendly legislation (it doesn't get any friendlier than that).
TowerBank has a total of 50 years of banking tradition and a network of 8 intermediary banks, the largest number of any Latin American bank.
We’re talking about a family-owned private bank, which makes it both more flexible and more long-term oriented.
In addition, USDC and USDT deposits from exchanges are usually deposited within 30 minutes.
Conversely, it is possible to convert your balances from USD to stablecoins.
In other words, you will have a guaranteed crypto on- and offramp in a tax haven.
Details of the crypto-friendly account:
Account types: Checking, savings, and investment accounts
Accounts available to: Individuals, both Panama resident and non-resident.
Minimum deposit to open: 50 USD
Minimum deposit or turnover to maintain account: None
Annual account maintenance cost: 0 USD
Card Options: Debit and Credit, 0% fees on foreign currency transactions. USD 26.75 annual maintenance fee.
Available currencies: USD, in the future EUR, BTC and related products (loans, brokerage)
Deposit options:
USD Wire (37.5 USD fee p/transaction, USD 10.70 annual fee)
EUR SWIFT (37.5 USD fee, automatic conversion to USD)
USDC/USDT (ETH network, 2.14% fee)
In future, BTC (planned for 2023)
Investment accounts: Possible to invest in bonds and US treasuries
Income on savings account: 1.25% on regular account, 2.5% on Plus account (requires minimum deposit of 5k USD).
Opening Time: Usually 3-5 business days for personal accounts, 10-14 for business accounts.
Documents needed for opening a personal account:
If resident in Panama, a Cédula. If not a Panamanian resident, copy of passport and proof of address.
Bank statements from the last 3 months from a bank of your choosing for proof of funds. Alternatively, tax returns can be provided.
A crypto address (BTC/ETH) will also be required for the crypto-friendly account.
Opening cost: 1500 USD for a personal account.
How the credit card works
For the card options, it’s worth diving a bit deeper.
Initially you get a secured card for one year, and after that you can apply for VISA credit cards (up to Black with access to over 300 lounges and other benefits).
It is also possible to get a credit card directly by depositing 150% of the card limit in a time deposit.
For example, if the desired card limit is 20k USD per month, a $30k USD term deposit is required to skip the secured card step. The minimum deposit is 10k USD for a duration of 1 year.
The cards can be shipped worldwide, usually via DHL or FEDEX. Shipping fees paid by the client.
I want to open the account. What now?
As mentioned above, you will need a copy of your passport, a bank statement and a crypto address if you want to use the crypto-friendly account.
The cost of opening is USD 1500 for a personal account, in line with typical opening costs in the Caribbean.
You can pay with USD, EUR, BTC, ETH, USDC or USDT transfer. Please contact us for this. We can also accept credit card and Paypal payments with an additional 5% fee. If you are interested, you can apply for opening a personal account via Card or Paypal here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why open with Bitcoin Capitalist?
It is notoriously complicated to open accounts in Panama, especially if you are not a resident or in person in the country. The process involves multiple forms, strong verifications, and physical presence. Bitcoin Capitalist offers:
Remote bank account opening
Accelerated opening process (less than 1 week)
Streamlined opening procedure, simple and smooth
Residency or ties to Panama not required for approval
VIP contact within the bank, greater flexibility and priority treatment
Who are the accounts available to?
Both Panamanian and non-Panamanian resident individuals, as well as Panamanian and non-Panamanian legal entities.
In principle, accounts can be opened for companies and individuals from anywhere except restricted countries (Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, etc.).
The opening for non-Panamanian resident companies and individuals is evaluated on a case by case basis.
While ties to Panama are not required, having them will increase the chance of successfully opening an account. This may include local investments, residency, bank accounts or business in the country for individuals.
Do I have to go to Panama to open a bank account?
Normally, yes. However, through our internal VIP contacts and long-standing relationship with the bank, we are able to offer the opening process to our clients completely remotely.
Instead of a personal visit to the HQ in Panama City, you’ll just do a simple Zoom call from wherever you want. We can then ship your card to anywhere in the world.
What does a crypto-friendly bank mean?
Banks in countries like Canada or global fintechs like Wise will block or suspend your account if they see any crypto-related transactions.
If your income or source of funds comes from cryptos, banks in countries like Uruguay will not even open an account for you.
Having a bank account that lets you:
Use crypto as a source of funds
Deposit into the account directly with cryptos
Exchange between stables and dollars at will
Trade freely to and from exchanges worldwide
Is available in only a few stable tax havens like this. Usually, with much higher minimum deposit limits - Liechtenstein with a minimum of 500k CHF, for example.
This makes this Crypto-friendly account a perfect bridge between the crypto and traditional banking world.
Are there any minimum net worth or income requirements?
There is no minimum net worth or income requirement. The requirement of 3 months bank statements is more so that you show the bank that you have activity with another bank.
This document can be replaced by a tax return.
What if I don't have a fixed address or tax residence?
That could be an issue, but through our VIP service, it is not.
The bank knows that our customers are largely nomads and international business people. For compliance purposes, you still need to provide an address, but for this you can provide your current home address or your last tax residence.
What kind of crypto address do I need to provide?
For the crypto-friendly account opening, an on-chain analysis of your address will be performed. For this, the bank asks for one BTC or ETH address that you use and have an active balance.
You do not need to submit all your addresses or wallets. If you plan to deposit via crypto, it is recommended to provide the address of the wallet from which the transaction will be sent.
Does a bank account in Panama help me pay less taxes?
Depends.
If you are a US citizen, you still have to pay taxes to the US no matter what. Sorry for that.
If you are not a US citizen, then it depends:
If you live in a country that has a remittance basis of taxation (like Malta, the UK, Ireland, Mauritius, Thailand, Japan or Korea under the non-dom system), then a foreign bank account can help you pay less taxes.
If you live in a territorial tax country (like Paraguay, Georgia, Uruguay, Malaysia) then a foreign bank account can help you pay less taxes.
If you live in a worldwide taxation country, then usually you can’t pay less taxes with a foreign bank account. There may be exceptions under special programs, like Portugal’s NHR.
Does Panama exchange bank account information with my country of residence?
Panama participates in the following international information exchange mechanisms:
FATCA: Information exchange with the USA on accounts belonging to US citizens and corporations.
CRS: Multilateral information exchange with dozens of countries. Full list on the OECD website.
DTTs: Panama has signed double tax treaties with Barbados, Czech Republic, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vietnam
TIEAs: Panama has signed tax information exchange agreements with Barbados, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, USA.
If your informed country of tax residence during the account opening is in one of these lists, then yes. If not, then no.
This sounds too good. What’s the catch?
No bank is perfect, after all. Some downsides of this account include:
Fees higher than fintechs or just using crypto
As usual with Caribbean banks, desktop and mobile app offers only basic functionality. Needs a refresh, but currently being redesigned.
Only USD and USD stables available (EUR and BTC on the roadmap)
Panama exchanges tax information through CRS and FATCA.
Panama is blacklisted by the EU, so transactions to and from the block with this account may raise suspicions on the European side of things.
Latin America is all about "mañana". As such, service can be slower or less efficient than their US/European counterparts
Open Your Offshore Account Now
And that's it!
It has never been easier to open an offshore account. The minimum deposit of $50 makes this account a viable option for anyone. And if in the future you want to move to the beautiful country that is Panama, you already have one foot there.
So if you want to start putting your money somewhere safe, this could be a great alternative. But if Panama is not to your liking, we can also help you open accounts in several other jurisdictions.
And of course, if you have any questions or want to find the best solution for your specific situation, you can schedule a consultation here.
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