Uganda corporate bank account in 2024

Healy Consultants’ experienced banking team will expertly handle corporate bank account opening in Uganda for our Clients. We will prepare all the necessary documents and submit to the bank on behalf of the Client, and if needed, we also attend the bank account opening interview on your behalf.

• Uganda corporate banking

  1. Uganda’s financial sector is dominated by reputable foreign banks, which in turn makes the banking system stable and resilient. These foreign banks include i) Citibank Uganda Ltd. ii) Barclays Bank (U) Ltd. iii) Standard Chartered Bank and iv) Bank of Baroda (Uganda), among others;
  2. While the corporate banking sector is considered as moderately stable, the country ranks poorly on the WEF’s soundness of banks rankings for 2016, at 76th place;
  3. Furthermore, one of the largest banks in the country, Crane Bank, had to be taken under management from the Central bank, due to surge in non-performing loans. For the same reason, Uganda’s Central Bank observes a bad outlook for local banks in 2018;
  4. The majority of the foreign banks in Uganda are concentrated within the capital city of Kampala. They tend mostly to be selective, serving a specific clientele of businesses and high income households, leaving the rural population to be largely dependent on local banks;
  5. Prior to the financial sector reforms in Uganda, many local banks closed, merged or were acquired. This market consolidation strengthened the financial sector over the past decade.

• Healy Consultants' banking options

  • To receive the best online banking and customer service in Uganda, Healy Consultants recommends that our Client opens an account with one of the major banks mentioned above. However, there are numerous local banks in Uganda such as Centenary Bank and Ecobank, that offer sufficiently good online banking facilities for SME businesses;
  • Local banks in Uganda such as Ecobank require an initial deposit of US$500 when opening a non-resident company bank account for foreign companies.

• Healy Consultants' banking services

  • Healy Consultants’ corporate banking experts can open an international business bank account for our Client within 2 – 3 weeks;
  • Healy Consultants will first register the Client’s company with the Uganda Registration of Services Bureau (URSB) as a foreign company and then a certificate of registration will be issued;
  • Our Client will then provide us a board resolution indicating the company’s intention to open and operate a business bank account in Uganda together with all the documents of incorporation in the country;
  • Other documents required in order to open the account in Uganda are i) a certified copy of the charter, statutes or memorandum and articles of the company, or other instrument constituting or defining the constitution of the company. If the constitution is not written in English, a certified translation is needed ii) a certified list of the directors and secretary of the company, containing their due diligence paperwork iii) the names and postal addresses of one or more persons resident in Uganda authorized to accept the service of process and notices on behalf of the company and iv) the full address of the registered or principal office of the company;
  • If the constitution is not written in English, a certified translation is needed together with a certified list of the directors and secretary of the company, containing their due diligence paperwork;
  • There is a high probability that the Client will be obliged to travel to meet the bank directors in order to open the account. Healy Consultants, however, does everything necessary to minimize this probability ensuring that the Client does not travel;
  • After the approval of the business bank accounts, the preferred bank will promptly send to our Client by post or email the corporate bank account details and correspondence.

• Exchange Controls and Other Regulation

  • Healy Consultants’ recommended banks in Uganda have no restrictions on the inflow or outflow of funds for remittances of profits, payments to third parties, capital gains, debt service and imported inputs or returns on intellectual property;
  • There are no imposed capital controls in Uganda at the present time by the Central bank.