Open a Business Bank Account in Malta as a Non-Resident in 2026

A Malta bank account gives your company an EU IBAN, euro payments across the SEPA area and deposits covered up to €100,000, all without you having to live in Malta. Malta sets no residency rule for company owners or directors, so the account can be run from wherever you happen to live.

The hard part is the local banks. They are built for customers with a link to Malta, so a non-resident owner means a branch appointment, a long questionnaire, references from your home bank and separate tariffs of up to €175 a month. Reviews take weeks or months, and a refusal is rarely explained.

We make it simple. We build the file with you, from the ownership chart to the source of funds pack, and our licensed banking partners open a multi-currency account online in days. No travel, no minimum balance and one point of contact from start to finish.

Our top-rated, licensed banking providers open multi-currency accounts for Malta companies with non-resident owners in a few days, fully online.

Owner and company both based abroad? Read our guide to opening an offshore bank account in Malta.

Why Malta Bank Accounts Are Hard for Non-Residents

Malta bank accounts are hard for non-residents because the local banks are built for customers who live, work or trade in Malta. For a Malta bank account, non-resident owners face a longer review, a meeting in person at most banks and higher fees. Refusals are common, and the banks rarely say why. If you plan to open a bank account in Malta, non-resident status is the first thing the bank weighs.

Banks Want a Link to Malta

A few banks serve most of the market: the five largest held 76.89% of Maltese banking assets in 2025, according to ECB data. They ask every new client why it wants to bank in Malta. A company with staff, customers or a director on the island has an easy answer. A company run entirely by non-residents has to explain it on paper.

Foreign-Owned Companies Pay More

HSBC Malta treats a company at least 50% owned by a parent outside Malta, or registered outside Malta, as an International Company and charges it a €100 opening fee and €175 a month, against €30 for a local company. Lombard Bank charges entities with foreign shareholding €350 for due diligence and €750 on acceptance. BNF Bank charges international corporate customers €1,500 a year per account.

Your Personal Checks Come First

For a non-resident, the bank looks at the people before the company. Each director and owner provides a certified passport, a recent proof of address from their home country, and often a CV and a reference from their own bank. The bank also asks where each owner's wealth comes from. To open a bank account in Malta, non-resident owners should gather these first, because references from banks outside the EU can take weeks.

Countries and Sectors Banks Avoid

Owners from countries on EU high-risk lists, or linked to sanctioned countries, face the strictest checks, and some banks will not review them at all. MeDirect says it may not serve clients located outside the EU. Gaming, crypto and payment companies pay the most: Bank of Valletta charges gaming companies and payment processors €3,000 to open an account and up to €600 a month.

A Refusal Follows You

Maltese banks rarely explain a refusal, and the next bank will ask whether you applied elsewhere. In a market this small, a second refusal on the same file is hard to explain. Find the gap first, fix it with documents and apply once to a provider whose rules fit. Our guide on why banks reject business account applications lists the common reasons.

What to Do After a Refusal

Do not send the same file again if you still want to open a business bank account in Malta. Check the ownership chart, the source of funds and the business plan, because one of the three is usually the gap. Then apply once, with a complete file, to a provider that onboards non-resident owners as routine work.

Can a Foreigner Open a Bank Account in Malta

Yes. A foreigner can open a bank account in Malta for a Malta company, and Maltese banks and our partners do it every day. A personal account is harder: Maltese banks usually want a link to Malta, and non-EU citizens often need a Maltese residence permit. For a Malta bank account, non-resident founders do best with a business account in the company's name.

Business Accounts for Foreign-Owned Companies

Malta sets no residency rule for shareholders, directors or the company secretary, so a Malta company can be fully owned and run from abroad, as our guide on how to set up a company as a non-resident explains. The company opens the account, and the bank checks every director, owner and signatory. Our partners accept owners from most countries, apart from sanctioned and restricted ones, and we check your countries before you apply. You can open a bank account in Malta, non-resident or not, as long as the company and its owners are documented.

Personal Accounts Need a Link to Malta

HSBC Malta asks non-Maltese applicants for a document confirming a link with Malta, such as a work contract of at least six months, a property contract, a school or university acceptance letter or a rental agreement of at least six months. Non-EU citizens also need a Maltese residence permit. For a personal Malta bank account, non-resident applicants without that link are usually turned away. Company money should go through the company's own account in any case.

Which Malta Bank Account a Non-Resident Should Choose

Whether a foreigner can open a bank account in Malta depends on the account type, and choosing the right Malta bank account, non-resident founders save weeks. A business account in the company's name is the route that works: at a Maltese bank if you can accept the higher tariff and the wait, or with our partners if you want it online in days. A personal account only makes sense once you live or work in Malta. With a Malta bank account, non-resident owners should keep business and personal money apart from day one.

EU and Non-EU Owners

EU citizens can live and work in Malta freely and register their residence after three months, at no fee. EU law also gives consumers legally resident in the EU the right to a basic payment account. Non-EU owners can own and direct a Malta company from abroad, but working in Malta needs a permit. Our guide on how to start a business in Malta as a foreigner explains the permits.

Malta Banks for Non-Resident Companies

Maltese banks publish their tariffs, and most have a separate, higher line for companies with foreign owners. The table shows who each bank takes, who it turns away and what a business account costs each month for a company with non-resident owners.

For a Malta bank account, non-resident companies pay several times what a local company pays, and several banks charge before they decide. Anyone who wants to open a bank account in Malta, non-resident or local, sees the same tariff sheet, but foreign owners land on the higher line. Our guide to the best banks for Malta companies covers each bank in more depth.

Fees Before the Bank Says Yes

APS Bank charges €100 to apply, Lombard €350 for due diligence and €750 on acceptance, BNF €1,500 for international corporate customers, and Sparkasse Bank Malta €500 to €2,500 depending on the structure. Some of these fees are not refunded, so a refusal costs money as well as time.

Currency Conversion at the Bank's Rate

HSBC Malta adds 0.50% to its own rate on foreign currency, and international payments cost €4 to €12 online plus correspondent charges. A non-resident owner who moves money between home and Malta feels this on every transfer.

Weeks or Months to Open

Sparkasse Bank Malta says opening takes from a couple of weeks to a few months, and one Maltese agent reported 10 to 16 weeks at Bank of Valletta in 2026. Every follow-up question adds time, and answering from another time zone adds more.

Read more: how to open a Malta business bank account and business bank accounts for non-residents.

A Faster and Cheaper Way to Open a Malta Business Account

There is a better way to open a Malta business account when you live abroad, and it makes opening a bank account in Malta for foreigners a few days' work. Our banking partners are licensed e-money institutions, regulated in the EU and the UK, that onboard companies with non-resident owners every day. They check identity by passport and selfie, charge the same plan whoever owns the company and open most complete files within days.

For a non-resident owner, the partner route removes the trip, the international tariff and most of the wait. When you open a bank account in Malta, non-resident status costs nothing extra with our partners. A Maltese bank can still suit a company that later hires staff or opens an office in Malta, and many companies add one then. Our guide on where to bank a non-resident company compares the options.

Opening a Bank Account in Malta for Foreigners Online

With us, opening a bank account in Malta for foreigners takes five steps. We check the structure, activity and countries against each partner's rules. We build the file with you: company documents, ownership chart, source of funds and proof of activity. Every director and owner completes an online identity check. One partner reviews one complete file. The account goes live and you receive your IBAN.

How Client Money Is Safeguarded

An e-money institution does not take deposits, so the Depositor Compensation Scheme does not apply. It must keep client money in segregated accounts at banks, apart from its own funds, so the money is protected if the institution fails. Our guide to business bank account vs EMI account compares the two.

Documents Needed for a Non-Resident Business Bank Account

The documents needed for a non-resident business bank account in Malta cover the company, every person behind it and what the business does. For a Malta bank account, non-resident owners also need documents from their home country, and those take the longest. Before you open a bank account in Malta, non-resident owners should order those papers first.

For the Company

The certificate of registration from the Malta Business Registry, the memorandum and articles, the registers of directors and shareholders, the beneficial ownership details and a board resolution approving the account. A foreign parent company adds its certificate of good standing and register extract.

For Each Non-Resident Director and Owner

A certified copy of a valid passport and a proof of address under three months old from the country where you live. Many banks also ask for a CV, a reference from your own bank and your tax identification number from your home country, which goes on the tax residence form the bank keeps for reporting.

For the Business

An ownership chart with every entity, country and percentage up to the real owners. A short business plan with expected turnover, main countries and payment volumes. Contracts or letters of intent with customers and suppliers, a working website and documents for the source of the first deposit.

Certification, Apostille and Translation

Copies are usually certified by a lawyer, notary or accountant in your own country. Documents issued outside Malta often need an apostille, or consular legalisation where the country is not part of the Hague Convention. Anything not in English needs a certified translation.

Read more: documents needed to open a business bank account.

Malta Business Bank Account Costs for Non-Residents

For a Malta bank account, non-resident companies pay due diligence and acceptance fees, higher monthly fees and the bank's rate on every conversion. A local company pays little at a Maltese bank. The table sets typical ranges at Maltese banks against our partners' plans.

If you open a bank account in Malta, non-resident fees show up in the fixed charges more than the payment charges. The monthly fee is the number banks advertise, and for a non-resident company it is rarely the biggest one. At HSBC Malta, an International Company pays €2,100 a year in maintenance and €276 for online banking before a single payment. A company that converts €500,000 a year at 0.50% above the bank's own rate pays at least €2,500 in margin.

To be fair to the banks, everyday euro payments are cheap in Malta. SEPA transfers cost from free to €4 online, and a company with local staff and customers may pay less at a Maltese bank. All figures are planning ranges from published tariffs and plans, and we confirm your final price in writing before you apply.

How Long It Takes for a Non-Resident

To open a bank account in Malta, non-resident owners wait from a couple of weeks to a few months at a local bank, and the home country documents often take longer than the bank. With our partners, a complete file usually opens within 2 to 4 business days.

What Slows It Down

Bank references from outside the EU, apostilles, an ownership chart that stops before the real owners and a source of funds without documents. With a Malta bank account, non-resident owners also answer every follow-up question across time zones, which slows each round.

How to Speed It Up

Order references and apostilles first, write down your customers, countries and volumes before you apply, and answer questions the same day. To open a bank account in Malta, non-resident owners save the most time by applying once to a provider that reviews one complete file online.

Read more: how long a business bank account takes to open.

What Happens After the Account Is Open

Once the account is open, fund it from a documented source, share the IBAN and keep the file current. With a Malta bank account, non-resident owners are reported to their home tax authority, and the company's filings and tax refunds run through the account.

Reporting to Your Home Country

Malta has exchanged financial account information under the Common Reporting Standard since 2017. Banks and e-money institutions report accounts of companies whose controlling owners live abroad, so the account details reach your home tax authority. Declare it where your own rules require.

Tax Refunds and Company Filings

A Malta company pays 35% tax and its shareholders claim refunds when dividends are paid, usually six-sevenths on trading profits for about 5% net. Refunds, provisional tax and supplier payments all run through the account, so keep the company's annual return and beneficial owner filings up to date.

Reviews and Payee Checks

Banks and partners review the file every year or two. Since 9 October 2025, euro area banks check the payee's name before a euro payment leaves, so keep the company name exactly the same on invoices and the account.

Why the Company Comes Before the Account

A bank or partner can only verify a company that exists, with a certificate of registration, directors, a company secretary and beneficial ownership details on file. If you do not have the company yet, we form it for you in Malta from €1,299 and prepare the bank file at the same time, or see how to set up a Malta company with a bank account.

Common Non-Resident Banking Mistakes in Malta

Most attempts to open a bank account in Malta, non-resident or otherwise, stall for a few avoidable reasons. These are the ones we see most often, and what to do instead.

Applying for a Personal Account for Company Money

A personal account in Malta needs a link to the island, and company money in a personal account breaks the company's records. Open the account in the company's name from the start.

Sending Home Country Documents Without Certification

A plain copy of a passport or a utility bill from abroad is sent back. Certify every copy, add an apostille where the bank asks for one and translate anything not in English before you apply.

Applying to Several Banks at Once

Opening a Malta bank account, non-resident founders often send the same file to three banks because it feels faster from abroad. In a small market the banks notice, and three refusals are harder to explain than one. Apply once, to the provider whose rules fit.

Funding the Account From an Unexplained Source

Money from a third party, an exchange or a personal account in another country, with no document behind it, can freeze a new account in its first week. Fund it from the owner or the parent company and keep the paperwork ready.

Forgetting the Home Country Tax Rules

A Malta company run entirely from abroad may be treated as resident in your home country, and your home country may tax its profits under controlled foreign company rules. Check your own position before you rely on the Malta tax rate. Our guide to Malta offshore company formation explains how management and residence work.

Bottom Line

A Malta bank account works from abroad, but the local banks make non-residents pay for it: appointments, references, foreign-owner tariffs of up to €175 a month and reviews that run for weeks or months. A personal account is harder still without a link to Malta.

For a Malta bank account, non-resident founders do best with a business account in the company's name and one complete file. To open a bank account in Malta, non-resident owners can use our licensed partners, who open it online in days, with no minimum balance and the same plan whoever owns the company. It is the simplest way to open a Malta business account from abroad.

Sources

• HSBC Malta, general tariff for commercial banking customers
• HSBC Malta, opening an account as an international customer
• Bank of Valletta, tariff of charges
• Lombard Bank, general tariff, June 2026
• APS Bank, tariff of charges, May 2026
• Depositor Compensation Scheme
• MTCA, DAC2 and the Common Reporting Standard
• Identità, residence for EU nationals
• Central Bank of Malta, Interim Financial Stability Report 2025
• European Central Bank, Instant Payments Regulation