Opening a corporate bank account as a foreign-owned company

A Saudi company opens its bank account once it has its commercial registration, because the bank's checks start from the CR. The account is needed early: wages under the Wage Protection program are paid through bank accounts, for the company and for each employee.

The rules banks follow are set by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) in its Account Opening Rules. Each bank applies them through its own process, so ask your bank for its list before your appointment.

SAMA's rules list, for a company wholly owned by foreign investors:

• A copy of the Ministry of Investment registration
• The commercial registration
• The memorandum or articles of association
• The ID of the manager in charge — a passport is accepted if the iqama follows within 90 days
• The IDs of the people authorised to sign
• Information that lets the bank understand the ownership structure

For a branch of a foreign company, the bank also asks for home-country documents certified by the Saudi embassy or apostilled.

The bank needs to see who may sign, and on what authority. SAMA's rules ask for a notarised power of attorney, or an authorisation made at the bank, based on the memorandum of association, a partners' decision or a board decision. The bank also verifies the owners' and board members' identities and identifies the actual (beneficial) owners, and records the company's National Address.

It saves time to have a partners' or board resolution naming the signatories ready before you go.

After the new Commercial Register Law, SAMA amended its rules: accounts now use the establishment's unified number, which starts with 7, and the bank must freeze the account as soon as the commercial registration is suspended. A missed yearly CR confirmation can therefore freeze the company's money, not just its licences.

• MISA registration, CR and articles of association, as issued
• The manager's passport or iqama, and each signatory's ID
• A partners' or board resolution naming the signatories
• An ownership chart down to the real owners
• The National Address
• For a branch: home-country documents certified by the Saudi embassy or apostilled

Mohla does not open accounts or recommend banks; the choice and the account are yours. As the last stage before handover, Mohla Start prepares your bank account opening letter from your company file, and you confirm your account details in your Mohla account once it is open. After that, Mohla Comply keeps your CR confirmation date watched, so the account is never frozen by a missed date.

Mohla's own fee is in the written quote you receive before any work starts.