Saudi Amends Requirements to Open Bank Accounts for Foreign Companies

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) has announced amending some articles on the requirements to open new bank accounts.

This step would facilitate the procedures for opening bank accounts and other activities.

SAMA required commercial banks to open accounts for e-commerce activities and expedite the process of related procedures.

It also canceled the need to have licenses necessary to open bank accounts for Kingdom-based foreign companies.

These amendments come in line with SAMA’s supervisory role in overseeing banks operating in the Kingdom.

The Authority stressed the importance of customer care services, adding that banks should provide these services with ease, including expediting the process of opening new bank accounts.

In a statement on Monday, SAMA said the new amendments coincided with introducing instructions within the rules of opening bank accounts, in which the time needed to open accounts was set.

It also amended the rule for opening bank accounts of Saudi-based companies by excluding the fulfillment of the necessary licenses to conduct business when opening such accounts.

The new amendments, which include a clause within rule 100 of the general instructions on opening bank accounts, will cancel the need for various licenses and will also set one working day to open bank accounts that don’t require approvals and two working days for ones that do.

The applicant should be officially notified of any additional papers or requirements immediately upon submitting the application.

Requirements from institutions that practice e-commerce activity and have no official headquarters were also amended to facilitate the procedures for those institutions to open bank accounts in the Kingdom.

These institutions’ bank accounts shall be opened in accordance with the requirements for licensed establishments and stores, making sure the account’s name is as written in the commercial register, and the purpose of opening the account (e-commerce) shall also be specified.