Service 02 of 08
Bank Account Opening (Bulgaria)
A registered company is not a trading company until it can move money. Bulgarian banks apply their own identification rules to who can open and operate an account, and those rules are not identical to the ones for registering the company itself. We handle the difference.
- €100,000 deposit guarantee per depositor, any currency, under Bulgaria's deposit guarantee scheme
- Full document set company registration certificate, founding act, specimen signatures, and identification for every signatory
- In-person or by proxy the legal representative or an authorised proxy must complete identification — this is the step that most often needs a workaround
- Current and capital accounts a capital collection account can be opened before the company is even registered, to receive the founding capital
What's included
What opening a Bulgarian company account actually requires
Every Bulgarian bank identifies the company, its legal representatives, and its ultimate beneficial owners before opening an account, in line with anti-money-laundering rules that apply across the EU. In practice, that means providing a current registration certificate from the Commercial Register, the founding act or articles of association, specimen signatures for everyone who will operate the account, and identification documents for each of them. Banks are also entitled to ask for a completed know-your-customer questionnaire and a declaration on whether any signatory is a politically exposed person.
The part that catches clients out is not the document list — it is who has to be physically present, and where. A bank's first registration of a new business client generally requires either the company's legal representative or an authorised proxy to appear in person at a branch. A power of attorney can stand in for a personal appearance, but banks do not accept a foreign notarisation from just anywhere: our own review of two Bulgarian banks' terms found that one accepts a power of attorney notarised abroad only when the notarisation comes from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, or an EU member state. A power of attorney notarised in China, Turkey, South Korea or India, on its own, may not be accepted for this specific step, even though the same document works perfectly well for registering the company itself.
This is exactly the gap our nominee director service closes. When a Bulgaria-based nominee director acts as the company's legal representative, they complete the bank's in-person identification themselves, in Bulgaria, because they are already there. No foreign notarisation is needed for this step at all, because there is no foreign power of attorney to present — the person appearing at the branch is the company's own legal representative under Bulgarian law.
Clients sometimes ask whether a fintech account with Wise or Revolut would simply avoid all of this. It can, for some purposes: both issue EU IBANs and are genuinely useful for holding and moving money once your company exists. What they do not replace is a banking relationship in the jurisdiction where your company is registered — some counterparties, some tax and audit contexts, and some of the compliance expectations that come with running a Bulgarian company still assume an account with a licensed Bulgarian bank. Most of our clients end up using a local Bulgarian account for the relationship that has to be there, and a fintech account alongside it for day-to-day convenience, rather than choosing one over the other.
We tell you which route applies, not the one that sounds simplest
If your own legal representative is willing and able to notarise a power of attorney in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom or an EU country, that route can work. For most of our clients, routing the account through a Bulgaria-based nominee director is the more reliable path, because it removes the notarisation question entirely. We recommend the route that will actually get your account opened, not the one that reads best in a brochure.
Deliverables
5 items- Full account-opening document set Prepared and checked against the specific bank's current requirements before submission
- Capital collection account Opened where needed to receive your founding capital ahead of registration
- In-person identification, handled for you Through our nominee director service where a foreign power of attorney would not be accepted
- Specimen signature arrangement For every signatory who needs to operate the account
- KYC and PEP documentation Completed accurately the first time, to avoid the delays that come from resubmission
How it works
From registered company to a working account
Four steps. Which one takes the longest depends entirely on how identification is handled.
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1
Document preparation Day 0–2 · us
Registration certificate, founding act, and the bank's own application form, completed and checked before submission.
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2
Identification route decided Day 0–2 · you and us
We confirm whether your own legal representative will complete identification in person or by an accepted power of attorney, or whether routing the account through our nominee director service is the more reliable path.
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3
Submission and specimen signatures Day 2–5 · us and signatories
Specimen signatures are taken either before a bank officer in Bulgaria or via a properly notarised alternative, depending on the route chosen in step 2.
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4
Account activated Day 5–10 · bank
Timing varies by bank and by how quickly documents clear internal review. A capital collection account, where one was opened first, converts to a normal operating account once the company's EIK is issued.
Who this is for
Who this service is built for
Chinese manufacturers avoiding EU tariffs
A Chinese notarisation on a power of attorney is not on the accepted list for this specific step at the bank we reviewed. Our nominee director route avoids the question.
See the China page →Turkish manufacturers expanding into the single market
The same gap applies: a Turkish notarisation does not solve the bank's identification requirement on its own.
See the Türkiye page →Korean companies needing an EU subsidiary
Where a Korean parent company's signatory cannot easily arrange a US, Canadian, UK or EU notarisation, the nominee director route is usually faster than trying to arrange one.
See the Korea page →Get in touch
Questions about opening your company's bank account?
The right route depends on where you are based and how your company is structured. Get in touch and we will tell you which approach applies to your situation.
Related services
Services that usually go with this one
Company formation
The account cannot be opened, and in some cases cannot even receive founding capital, until the company exists or is at least in the process of being registered.
Read more → Service 07Nominee director
The most reliable way to complete a bank's in-person identification requirement when your own legal representative cannot easily arrange an accepted foreign notarisation.
Read more → Service 04Accounting & tax
Once the account is open, every transaction on it needs to be reflected correctly in your books from day one.
Read more →Questions
Questions, answered
If your question is not here, ask it on the discovery call — there is no charge for it.
If I don't need to travel to register my company, do I also not need to travel to open its bank account?
Not necessarily, and this is worth being precise about. Registering the company can be done entirely through a power of attorney signed and apostilled in your own country. Opening the bank account is a separate step governed by the bank's own identification rules, and at least one Bulgarian bank we reviewed only accepts a foreign-notarised power of attorney for this step when it comes from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, or an EU country. If your notary is elsewhere, that route may not work for the bank account specifically, even though it worked for registering the company.
What happens if my power of attorney isn't accepted for opening the account?
We route the account through our nominee director service instead. A Bulgaria-based nominee director, acting as the company's legal representative, completes the bank's in-person identification directly, because they are already in Bulgaria. This removes the foreign-notarisation question entirely, since there is no foreign power of attorney involved in that step.
Can I open the bank account before the company is officially registered?
In some cases, yes. Banks offer a specific type of account, a capital collection account, designed to receive a company's founding capital before registration is complete. Funds in it become available once you provide the bank with confirmation that the company has been duly registered. If registration is not filed within a few months of opening this account, the funds can generally be withdrawn in full.
How much of my deposit is actually protected if something happens to the bank?
Up to €100,000 per depositor, in any currency, under Bulgaria's deposit guarantee scheme — the same framework that applies across the EU. This covers the combined balance across accounts held in the company's name at that bank.
Who actually needs to sign the specimen signature card, and how?
Everyone who will be authorised to operate the account. Signatures are normally taken in person before a bank officer in Bulgaria, or through a properly notarised alternative where an in-person appearance genuinely is not possible — subject to the same notarisation rules that apply to the power of attorney itself.
Ready to open your company's bank account?
A short call is usually enough to tell you which route to opening the account actually applies to your situation, and what we will need from you to start.