No matter what business activities your company is engaged in, there is a bank somewhere on Earth that will open an account for it provided that the activities are legal and properly regulated (that is, you have a license). Nevertheless, you would probably agree that it will be a much more challenging task to open an account with a bank abroad if your company carries out the activities considered as high-risk ones. You may encounter barriers at every step, from choosing a proper bank that will agree to onboard you to passing strict compliance procedures. If the account has been finally opened, you will be required to maintain its active status at all times. Want to know all about it? Visit a reliable portal if you are interested in discovering where to open accounts for high-risk ventures.
Business Areas Where Risks Are High
If we look at the present-day business sector, we will see an unprecedented growth of online businesses, with the pandemic having been a great stimulus for many companies to expand the geography of their customers. And even though working in the international market seems tempting, you will encounter many practical problems if you decide to enter the global business landscape. In particular, establishing fruitful relations with financial institutions across the globe may pose certain challenges.
Imagine that you have a dating website, and this is your business project. Your urgent need is to set up an account abroad, and you find a bank that seems to match your criteria. You collect the required package of documents, fill out all the forms, and get turned down – simply because the bank decides that it does not want to cooperate with a high-risk business. And there is no way you can change their decision!
In the world of banking, high-risk businesses are legal entities focused on activities that imply a higher risk of conducting dubious transactions, payment reversals, or fraud. Here is an approximate list of such activities:
- Adult entertainment services
- Currency market transactions
- Organization of online auctions
- Forex operations
- Dating websites
- Multi-level marketing (MLM)
- Online games
- Selling dietary supplements and vitamins
- Any kinds of operations connected with cryptocurrencies
- Intermediary or brokerage activities
Companies can choose various business activities to carry out, and there is no one-size-fits-all bank or any other universal financial institution where they can open an account successfully in 100% of cases. Each foreign bank has its own principles, requirements, and rules, and it is free to decide whether it will cooperate with this type of business or not. If you hoped to find a universal solution, you’d better abandon the idea and spend your time on finding a financial solution that will suit your particular business. If this seems impossible, you can click on the above link and use the live chat with a consultant to ask your questions for free.
What Is So Special About High-Risk Businesses?
Why is it that overseas banks have such a negative attitude toward high-risk businesses? If we look at the gambling industry, for example, the are several factors that make it a high-risk activity:
- Customers from all over the world
- Disputes related to chargeback
- Possible risk of gambling addiction, which is the main reason why this kind of activity is prohibited in many countries
- The need to solve complicated legal issues
- It may be potentially used to implement money laundering schemes
If your online business is successful, it generates a substantial income, which makes it vulnerable to fraudulent transactions on the customers’ part (they may be completed by the company itself).
Dubious operations (such as chargebacks) may raise some questions for a financial institution, and it will be fair. It is no secret that transactions of this kind may potentially entail fines being imposed by regulatory authorities.
You will not find a foreign bank that would agree to put at stake its reputation, customer trust, or license, so they are naturally suspicious when it comes to high-risk businesses. It is not impossible to open an account for the companies engaged in the above-listed activities, though, but you’d better be prepared for some challenges (or you can use professional assistance to open an account more easily).
Institutions Where You Can Open an Account for High-Risk Businesses
You have seen the list of high-risk activities above and understood that your company is engaged in one of these activities. The development of AML/KYC procedures and the tightening of financial monitoring regulations on a global scale have brought about stringent requirements that companies often fail to meet. As a result, banks turn such businesses down as the game is not worth the candle.
Where can high-risk businesses open an account abroad under the circumstances? You can try and find a specialized bank that works with such companies (they do exist) or use a non-bank financial organization or a payment system. We cannot say that this decision is in no way connected with risks as different financial institutions focus on their specific target audience as the market for banking services is very competitive nowadays. As a result, you run the risk of setting up an account with an unreliable financial services provider if you fail to do your own due diligence.
Guarantees of Opening an Account for a High-Risk Business
If you see a 100% guarantee that a bank will set up an account for a non-resident business, you are highly likely to have come across a scammer as no one can give such a guarantee! There are reliable assistants that will considerably raise your chance of being approved (and the above link can help you with that), but the final decision is made by the bank.
The institution will normally do a lot of things before opening an account for you, including AML/KYC procedures, assessment of risk parameters, conducting an inspection check to see whether the customer complies with different criteria, and so on.
Need Help?
There are people who decide to open a bank account on their own – and there is nothing wrong with that if they are ready for numerous attempts or can spend enough time studying different regulations. However, if you are tired of endless efforts that amount to nothing or you want to hit the bull’s eye at once, you can talk to an expert by following the above link. We wish you luck with your business endeavors!