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Opening a bank account in Cape Verde


#1  2011-09-28 09:43:18

Julien
Founder
Julien
From: Grand Baie
Registered: 2005-03-11
Posts: 27429

Opening a bank account in Cape Verde

Hi all,

is it difficult for expats to open a bank account in Cape Verde  ?

Which documents are required to open a bank account in Cape Verde  ?

How long does it take to open it ?

Is there any restriction for expats regarding the services (loans for instance)  ?

Which bank would you recommend ?

Thanks in advance for your participation,

Julien




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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#2  2011-10-11 18:06:45

zenu
New member
From: Pedra Badejo
Registered: 2011-09-01
Posts: 5

Re: Opening a bank account in Cape Verde

Hi!

I have opened an account in Banco Atlantico in just half of an hour with only passport required. I waited then for about 2 weeks for card and PIN.

Take care!

Emilia




 
 
 

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#3  2011-10-12 08:19:27

Armand
Team
Armand
From: Ile Maurice / Mauritius
Registered: 2011-02-23
Posts: 21577

Re: Opening a bank account in Cape Verde

Hi Emilia!

Thanks for your help wink

Armand




 

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#4  2011-10-26 12:45:46

Cape Verde
New member
From: Santa Maria
Registered: 2011-07-15
Posts: 4

Re: Opening a bank account in Cape Verde

There are four main banks in CV. All have high street banks throughout CV, with ATM machines & online banking... (in Portuguese, so non Portuguese speakers will need Google Translate). All CV banks are reported to have deep reserves and to be stable and as 'safe' as any international bank.

Caixa Económica Cabo Verde (http://www.caixa.cv/)
International bank, also in Portugal, Brazil & Spain.

BCA (Banco Comercial do Atlântico) http://www.bca.cv/
Largest CV bank. Also the most popular with locals so can be extended time waiting in-line.

BI (Banco Interatlântico) http://www.bi.cv/
BCN (Banco Caboverdiano de Negócios) http://www.bcncv.com/
Both these are smaller banks, but personal service tends to be better.

An African based bank has more recently entered the market.

I bank with BCA (personal) and BI (business) – I personally prefer BI, due to superior personal service – better than UK.

Account set-up – I concur with Emilia – you just need your passport & an account can be opened within minutes, (personal & company). Then 2wks to get ATM card and a tad longer to get PIN number & online codes. This may be different now as I have not opened a new account for some 2yrs.

You MUST have a CV bank account if you invest in CV, (real estate, or business). And the bank account is linked to incorporation of a company.

Regards John Vollands




 
 
 

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#5  2011-10-27 07:30:44

Armand
Team
Armand
From: Ile Maurice / Mauritius
Registered: 2011-02-23
Posts: 21577

Re: Opening a bank account in Cape Verde

Hi Cape Verde!

Thanks for your help!

Armand




 

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#6  2011-11-02 19:54:02

CVAngelo
Active member
From: Praia
Registered: 2011-06-20
Posts: 32

Re: Opening a bank account in Cape Verde

If you are opening a personal account, you need a passport and it will be immediately opened. However, you need to have a local address and a phone number in order to facilitate the process. You also need a minimum of about 2.000$00 (approx €20) to start the account. Once you've deposited that money you can immediately withdraw it if you'd like.

If you are opening a business bank account, you can also open it immediately assuming the business is already registered. In the typical situation, though, you are starting a brand new business and you are opening an associated account for the business. This process may take several weeks to complete. They account will be immediately opened and you can deposit and withdraw money, however, there is a minimum amount that you will need to have deposited in the account before the business registration is approved. That minimum depends on the type of business. Once you deposit that money, you can immediately remove it (assuming that the business has been authorized). If the business authorization is still in progress, you will have to wait till the process is complete before you can access the required deposit.

The largest bank in Cape Verde is Caixa Economica. It is partly owned by the government. I find this bank to be the most reliable. The other large bank is the BCA Group which owns BCA (Banco Comercial do Atlantico, Banco Interatlantico and Garantia - which is one of the two local insurance companies). The BCA Group is larger than Caixa Economica when taken together, but Caixa is larger than each of the companies in the BCA Group. Then there are a couple foreign banks: Banco Africano de Investimento - this is a branch of a large Angolan bank; BCN or Banco Caboverdiano de Negocios(which used to be a small under-capitalized local bank but was subsequently bought by a large Portuguese bank); and Banco Espirito Santo - the large Spanish bank - but they only have a few branches in Santiago (they are going after the business market).

Most of the banks are relatively safe. You can obtain loans under similar terms as you would in any foreign country ... in other words, banks everywhere are run by bean-counters who hate taking risk. Don't expect to walk in a get a loan just because you're coming to Cape Verde from a first-world country. You'll need to demonstrate that you have the capacity - income and assets/collateral to cover a loan.

There are a few micro-loan companies where you can get small business loans of €2,500 or less, but the interest rates are 3-4% PER MONTH. Otherwise, consider Afrosondagem, a business consulting agency, which will facilitate loans of up to €250,000.




 
 
 

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#7  2011-11-03 08:05:19

Harmonie
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Harmonie
From: Mauritius/Ile Maurice
Registered: 2011-06-13
Posts: 19273

Re: Opening a bank account in Cape Verde

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