How to open a bank account in National Bank of Bahrain (NBB)

• founded in 1957, it is Bahrain’s oldest locally-owned bank;
• the bank opens savings (deposit) and settlement accounts;
• the bank opens accounts only for mainland companies registered in Bahrain, and personal accounts also only for Bahrain residents;
• for a foreign company to open an account, it needs to have a branch in Bahrain;
• the minimum balance for a corporate account is BHD 500* (~ USD 1 330), and for a personal account – BHD 300* (~ USD 800), and for a foreign currency account – USD 1 060–1 330*; if the balance drops below this threshold, the bank charges a fee of BHD 3–5* (~ USD 8–14);
• no deposit requirement for a corporate account, but a share capital is required to be deposited in the account (the recommended optimal capital is BHD 10 000); the share capital is blocked in the account until the finalization of Commercial Registration (CR), licences, etc.;
• the founders and account signatory are required to personally visit Bahrain for account opening;
• main available currencies: BHD, USD, EUR; but it is necessary to open an account in local currency first;
• the bank issues bank cards and cheque books, but it does NOT issue cards to a corporate account;
• pre-approval can be applied for before proceeding with the account opening;
• fee for a transfer to a foreign bank is ~ BHD 5.5* (~ USD 15);
• Internet banking in English;
• account opening time: about 2 weeks.

*The rates shown are approximate as they may eventually vary depending on the service program chosen by the client in the bank