USD business account in Georgia

USD business account options in Georgia: the short answer

A business registered in Georgia can hold and receive US dollars in three main ways: a foreign currency account at a Georgian bank, a USD account with a provider outside Georgia that accepts Georgian companies, or a US company with its own US account. This page is about Georgia the country, in the South Caucasus, not the US state of Georgia.

Georgia is one of the more open places in the region to hold dollars. Georgian banks routinely open business accounts in lari (GEL), US dollars, euros and pounds, and the country does not impose the export proceeds deadlines or contract registration found in some neighboring countries. The rules that matter most in practice are that the lari is the only legal means of payment inside Georgia, that lending to lari earners is being moved into lari, and that crypto and stablecoin businesses must be registered with the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).

Each route answers a different need. Exporters, software firms and agencies want US clients to pay them as easily as they pay a US vendor. Importers and re-export traders want dollars ready to pay suppliers in China, Türkiye or Europe. Holding companies want an account their foreign investors and banks recognize. This guide covers the Georgian rules, which foreign providers say they accept Georgian businesses, the US company route, documents, the legal position of USDC and USDT, and where a Helm USD account in the company's own name fits.

The options compared

The table compares the option types. It is not a ranking: many Georgian trading and service companies use a Georgian bank account plus one account abroad.

Sources: Andersen Georgia; National Bank of Georgia; providers' own pages. As published on 29 October 2026.

How to choose: start from where the dollars come from and where they go. A service exporter paid by US clients gains most from US account details, because a US client can then pay by ACH instead of an international wire. ACH is the low-cost US domestic bank transfer system that US companies use for routine supplier payments. Fedwire is the Federal Reserve's same-day system for large US dollar payments. SWIFT is the international network banks use to send cross-border payments, identified by an 8 or 11 character bank code.

An importer that pays suppliers abroad needs a reliable outgoing USD wire and a clear view of the rate when it converts lari. A company that also has staff, rent and taxes in Georgia needs a lari account in any case, because those costs are paid in lari. That is why most businesses end up with two accounts: a Georgian bank account for local costs and one USD account abroad for collections and supplier payments.

Georgian rules on holding and using dollars

Georgia's currency regime is liberal compared with most of the former Soviet Union. A consultancy guide to Georgian corporate banking states that Georgia imposes no controls on foreign exchange transactions and that the NBG sets no limit on the amount of foreign currency residents and non-residents may hold. Three rules still shape how a business uses dollars.

The lari is the only legal means of payment

As Andersen in Georgia summarizes the law, the Georgian lari is the only legal means of payment in Georgia, and service transactions inside the country must generally be settled in lari, with exceptions only for narrowly defined categories. A Georgian company can hold dollars and receive dollars from abroad, but it should expect to invoice local customers and pay local suppliers in lari. Andersen also notes that where a payer outside Georgia pays in foreign currency for a service that must be settled in lari, the receiving Georgian institution converts the funds into lari on receipt.

Lending moves into lari

On 1 July 2026, an NBG decree took effect that allows loans of up to 1 million lari to be issued only in lari, unless the borrower's income is protected from exchange rate swings. Borrowers whose main income is in foreign currency, such as exporters paid in dollars, are exempt, as reported by Georgian public broadcaster 1TV. This matters for a trading company that wants a dollar loan: its dollar income is what keeps it outside the rule.

Banks still ask why

No foreign exchange control does not mean no questions. Georgian banks apply anti-money laundering checks to incoming and outgoing transfers, and expect contracts or invoices for larger payments. Keep the contract, invoice and shipping or service records for each payment ready.

Sources: Andersen Georgia; Healy Consultants, Georgian corporate bank accounts in 2026; 1TV report of the NBG decree effective 1 July 2026. As published on 29 October 2026. Confirm current rules with your bank.

Opening a USD account at a Georgian bank

The two largest banks are TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia, and both serve companies in lari, US dollars, euros and pounds. Healy Consultants, which has opened Georgian accounts for clients since 2003, states that residents and non-residents can open accounts in these currencies, that Georgian banks set no minimum deposit or balance, and that a corporate account takes about two months on average to open through its service. It also states that some banks insist on a short in-person interview, which may be arranged at a branch abroad.

Plan for three practical points. First, a company owned by non-residents should expect a fuller review than one owned by Georgian residents, including the source of the founders' funds. Second, a USD account at a Georgian bank receives payments from US clients by SWIFT wire through a correspondent bank, which may deduct a fee in transit. Third, ask the bank which SWIFT code and correspondent details to give a US payer, and test the route with a small payment before you rely on it for a large invoice.

For businesses that sell to US clients, the Georgian account is often the base account, and an account with US details is added for collections. For importers, the Georgian account is where lari are converted to dollars; ask for the rate before you confirm each conversion.

Individual entrepreneurs and freelancers

Many Georgian freelancers work as registered individual entrepreneurs. They have the same options on a smaller scale: a USD account at a Georgian bank in the entrepreneur's name, an online provider that accepts Georgian residents, or a client platform's own payout.

Check eligibility on each provider's own page, and keep business receipts in an account separate from personal spending, because Georgian banks and the tax authority may ask what each incoming transfer is for. A freelancer who grows into an agency should form a company and open accounts in the company's name, so client payments, staff costs and the owner's own money stay apart.

Foreign USD account providers and Georgia

Eligibility is set by each provider. The table records what each states on its own pages; it is not a ranking.

Sources: Wise on USD account details, Airwallex eligible countries, Payoneer pricing, Mercury eligibility. As published on 29 October 2026.

Before you apply, check three points. First, whether the US details are in your company's own name or belong to a pooled account in the provider's name; a US client's accounts payable team may ask. Second, which rails the details accept: ACH only, or also Fedwire and SWIFT. Third, how dollars reach Georgia when you need lari for salaries, rent and taxes, and what the provider charges for that transfer.

The US company route

Some Georgian founders form a US company, usually a limited liability company (LLC) or a Delaware corporation, and open a US account in its name. Mercury, for example, requires the company to be formed and registered in the United States or a US territory, to have existing or planned operations in the US, and to have a US or international address for its principal place of business. Mercury states that it cannot support businesses with founders living in certain countries and publishes that list, so check it before you form the company.

The US company needs an Employer Identification Number (EIN), the US federal tax number for a business. The IRS instructions for Form SS-4 state that applicants with no legal residence, principal place of business or principal office in the US may call 267-941-1099, from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday to Friday, to obtain an EIN. Applicants outside the US can also fax Form SS-4 to 304-707-9471.

The trade-off is structure. The US company is a separate legal entity with its own tax filings, and money it earns belongs to it, not to the Georgian company. Moving profit between the two needs a contract and a tax analysis in both countries. Take Georgian and US tax advice before choosing this route; for many service firms, a USD account in the Georgian company's own name does the same job with one company instead of two.

Documents you need

Banks and providers ask for broadly the same company file. The list below is a typical checklist; each bank sets its own.

Typical requirements compiled by the Helm Editorial Team; requirements vary by bank and provider. As published on 29 October 2026.

Keep the same company name, in the same Latin spelling, on every document. A transliteration that differs between the registry extract, the contract and the invoice is a common cause of delay in compliance reviews and in incoming wires.

Crypto and stablecoins in Georgia: USDC and USDT

Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to hold a steady value against a currency such as the US dollar. USDC and USDT are the two most widely used dollar stablecoins. Georgia regulates the businesses that provide crypto services and, since 2026, stablecoin issuance, but it does not treat crypto as a means of payment.

• Registration of service providers. The NBG approved its rule on the registration and regulation of virtual asset service providers (VASPs) on 20 June 2023, in force from 1 July 2023. It sets fit and proper criteria for managers and significant shareholders and anti-money laundering standards aligned with FATF recommendations. Law firm Revera summarizes that only a legal entity registered in Georgia may provide virtual asset services to others, that the NBG decides within 60 days and that the registration fee is 5,000 lari.
• Full NBG supervision. Amendments to the Organic Law on the NBG dated 17 December 2025 gave the NBG full supervisory authority over VASPs, including prudential supervision, consumer protection and operational risk.
• Stablecoin issuance. On 10 March 2026, the NBG announced a regulation on the initial offering of stable virtual assets. Every stablecoin in circulation must be 100% backed by reserve assets, and issuers must redeem tokens on request. Interfax reported that issuance requires the NBG's prior written consent, minimum regulatory capital of 500,000 lari, quarterly independent audits and redemption at par within three business days.
• Payments. Revera states that transactions using virtual assets are prohibited in Georgia except in special cases defined by the NBG, and Andersen states that Georgian law does not recognize virtual assets as lawful payment.

Sources: National Bank of Georgia announcements of 20 June 2023 and 10 March 2026; Revera; Andersen Georgia; Interfax, 10 March 2026. As published on 29 October 2026.

The NBG's own guidance states that a Georgian legal entity is not authorized to receive payment in virtual assets for goods or services, with an exception only for the fees of registered crypto service providers. A Georgian company selling abroad should therefore invoice in US dollars, not in USDC or USDT. Our overview of stablecoin payment rules by country sets Georgia beside its neighbors.

Where a Helm USD account fits

Helm is a financial technology company, not a bank. Accounts are held with regulated partner institutions. Helm provides USD account details in your company's own name, with a US routing and account number that receives ACH, Fedwire and SWIFT payments, alongside EUR and GBP details.

For a Georgian business, it fits beside the Georgian bank account:

• Software firms, agencies and other service exporters can give US clients domestic US payment details, so a client pays by ACH as it would pay a US vendor, and hold the fees in USD or convert them.
• Importers and re-export traders can send international payments to suppliers by SWIFT or by local rails in the supplier's currency where available, with the rate, fee and expected arrival shown before sending.
• Buyers abroad who offer to pay in stablecoins can be asked to pay the company's USD account details instead, since NBG rules do not allow a Georgian company to accept virtual assets as payment. Our guide to USDT and USDC for Georgian businesses covers the rules in full.
• Local costs such as salaries, rent and taxes are still paid in lari from the Georgian bank account.

Each account has a named account manager, and review questions are answered in writing within one business day. Trade finance, such as supplier finance, receivables finance and working capital, is arranged case by case. Helm agrees pricing with each business in writing before the account opens, and shows the rate, the fee and the expected arrival before you confirm each payment.

Questions

References

1. National Bank of Georgia: The NBG has approved the Rule of Virtual Asset Service Provider Registration (20 June 2023)
2. National Bank of Georgia: The NBG develops regulation on virtual asset services (10 March 2026)
3. Interfax: Georgia allows resident companies to issue stablecoins (10 March 2026)
4. Revera: Virtual assets in Georgia, regulation and new practical challenges
5. Andersen Georgia: lari as the only legal means of payment and virtual assets
6. 1TV: Georgia mandates national currency for all loans up to 1 million GEL (1 July 2026)
7. Healy Consultants: Georgian corporate bank accounts in 2026
8. Wise: Can I get USD account details?

This guide is general information for businesses, not financial, legal or tax advice. Rules, fees and timings were checked against the sources listed on the review date and may change.