Opening Bank Accounts for your companies and clients in Mauritius
Reshaping your financial hub in Mauritius seems very remote plan previously.
Most people do not know the banking system of Mauritius or even where is Mauritius.
However, under complicated geopolitical situations, with the increasing requirements for avoid geopolitical risks, Mauritius seems could be your company next financial hub choice.
This article offers some basics for your understanding of Mauritius and how to open your bank account in Mauritius.
1. Where Is Mauritius
Mauritius is an island country in the Indian Ocean, located off the east coast of Africa1. Due to the excellent geography site, Mauritius has no wars for more than two hundred years. Having experienced steady economic growth for decades, Mauritius is one of the most business friendly countries in Africa.
2. Political Status of Mauritius
Mauritius is a multi-party, parliamentary democracy. The President is the head of state, while the Prime Minister has full executive powers and heads the government. According to the latest data from The World Bank, Mauritius performs well on a range of political and economic indicators, and retained its first position out of 54 African countries in the 2020 Mo Ibrahim Index on African Governance. Mauritius is well placed at in the Corruption Perceptions Index, ranked 52 out of 180 countries.
3. Economy of Mauritius
Based on The World Bank data, Mauritius became a high-income country in July 2020 (based on 2019 data). Mauritius GDP is among the highest in African countries.
The GDP growth rebounded by a relatively modest 3.5% in 2021, and accelerated to an estimated 8.3% in 2022, supported by the strong tourism recovery despite headwinds from the COVID-19 Omicron variant wave and the war in Ukraine2.
Mauritius fiat currency is Mauritius Rupee. The exchange rate from Mauritius Rupee to USD is around 1,000 Mauritius Rupee is around 22.28 USD.
4. Banking Ecosystem of Mauritius
The financial services sector in Mauritius has a rich history dating back to the 17th century when the island was used as a regional payments and settlements hub by traders from the West, the Middle East, India and China. Some renowned banks have more than 100 years presence in Mauritius. Mauritius boasts more than two decades’ track record in cross-border investment and finance and offers an unparalleled well-regulated and transparent platform3.
According to the data of Mauritius Financial Service Commission, Mauritius has 19 banks, asset management scale is larger than 85 billion USD. Three pillars contributing to Mauritius international financial centre status:
- Cross-border investment
- Cross-border corporate banking; and
- Private banking and wealth management
You can find many renowned banks have its branch or subsidiaries in Mauritius such as HSBC, Standard Bank, Standard Charted, AfraAsia Bank, Bank One, SBI etc.
5. How to Open bank accounts in Mauritius
Mauritius banks conducts prudence principle when on boarding the new clients.
Usually, Mauritius bank can assist corporate clients to open their corporate account to manage operations onshore and offshore. For the clients holding financial licenses, the banks of Mauritius can assist to open the client money account which the bank will overseas the operation of money flow in accordance with the applicable regulations of Bank of Mauritius and Financial Service Commission.
The normal procedure for new client on boarding for reference:
- On boarding consulting procedure with the designated banks chosen by your company
- KYC procedure by the designated banks on boarding team
- Questions replies and further information provided if any required by compliance team of the designated bank
- Landing procedure such as sign off the service agreement with the banks and opening online banks
If you are interested in opening bank accounts in Mauritius, please contact our compliance consultant: Grace.chen@1compliance.group
For more financial compliance services, please visit our website:
Sources:
- Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/place/Mauritius
- The World Bank: https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/mauritius/overview
- Mauritius IFC: https://mauritiusifc.mu/
