USD business account in Serbia

USD business account options in Serbia: the short answer

A company registered in Serbia holds and receives US dollars mainly through a foreign currency account, known locally as a devizni račun, at a Serbian bank. Serbian banks open foreign currency accounts for companies alongside the dinar (RSD) current account, and international payments to and from abroad run through them by SWIFT.

Holding dollars outside Serbia is restricted. Article 27 of the Law on Foreign Exchange Operations allows residents to keep foreign currency in accounts with banks abroad only on the conditions the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) prescribes, and the NBS decision on those conditions lists specific cases that require its approval. Ordinary trading and service activity is not among them. For most Serbian companies, that makes a Serbian bank the home of their dollars, and a separate company abroad the way founders add US account details.

Each business has different needs. IT companies and agencies paid by US clients want a simple way for those clients to pay. Exporters of food, auto parts and machinery need to collect from buyers in Europe and the US. Importers need dollars to pay suppliers in China and Türkiye. This guide covers the NBS rules, published bank costs, which foreign providers say they accept Serbian businesses, the US company route, documents, the legal position of USDC and USDT, and where Helm fits.

The options compared

The table compares the option types. It is not a ranking.

Sources: Law on Foreign Exchange Operations; NBS Decision on Terms and Conditions under which Residents may Hold Foreign Exchange in Bank Accounts Abroad; NBS Decision on Foreign Currency Payments Relating to Digital Asset Transactions. As published on 29 October 2026.

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. A US client can pay a Serbian bank account only by SWIFT, which is why some founders add a foreign company with US details to their group.

NBS foreign exchange rules for companies

Serbia's foreign exchange rules sit in the Law on Foreign Exchange Operations and the NBS decisions made under it. The law has been amended several times, most recently in the published English text in 2018; confirm the current consolidated text with your bank or counsel.

Payments inside Serbia are in dinars

Article 34 states that payment, collection and transfer between residents in Serbia are made in dinars. A contract may use foreign currency as a reference, but payment and collection under it are made in dinars. The article lists narrow exceptions, such as certain insurance and real estate payments.

International payments run through banks

Article 32 states that international payment transactions are performed in foreign currency and dinars through a bank. Under Article 35, a legal person keeps foreign currency on a bank account or sells it to the bank, and the NBS sets the conditions for opening and maintaining residents' foreign currency accounts. Under Article 4, goods or services not collected or paid within more than one year are treated as commercial credit, which falls under different rules. The published text does not set a fixed deadline for collecting export proceeds.

Accounts abroad need NBS conditions

Article 27 allows banks to keep foreign currency abroad without restriction, but other residents only on the conditions the NBS prescribes. Holding a foreign account contrary to NBS rules is a penalized offense under Articles 61 and 62.

Source: Law on Foreign Exchange Operations, English text as published by Paragraf (amendments to Official Herald No. 30/2018). As published on 29 October 2026. Confirm current rules with your bank.

When a Serbian company may hold an account abroad

The NBS Decision on Terms and Conditions under which Residents may Hold Foreign Exchange in Bank Accounts Abroad, adopted on 12 April 2012 and amended in 2013, sets the cases. Section 3 states that a resident may hold foreign exchange in a bank account abroad subject to NBS approval, in cases including:

• construction works abroad and the repatriation of profit from them;
• current operating costs of the resident's foreign representative offices or branches;
• guarantee deposits for bids and tenders abroad;
• foreign credit where the lender requires funds to be held abroad;
• purchases of securities abroad and insurers' investments abroad.

The resident applies in writing to the NBS with the grounds, the amount, the period and the foreign bank. An approval is generally valid for one year, or for the duration of the underlying contract. The resident must give the NBS the foreign account number within 30 days of opening it, report the balance, and, once the grounds end, repatriate the remaining funds and close the account within 30 days.

Collecting payments from US clients for ordinary sales or services is not on the list. A Serbian company that wants US account details should take advice before opening any account abroad in its own name, including with an online provider.

Serbian bank accounts and published costs

Serbian banks publish business packages that bundle a dinar account with foreign currency accounts. AIK Banka's small business packages are one example.

Source: AIK Banka, accounts for small enterprises. As published on 29 October 2026. The page does not list international payment fees; ask the bank for its tariff.

When comparing banks, ask for three items: the fee for incoming USD wires, the fee for outgoing SWIFT transfers, and the rate the bank applies when it converts dollars to dinars. For outgoing wires, OUR means the sender pays all charges, SHA means each side pays its own bank, and BEN means the recipient pays all charges. Our guide to SWIFT fee options OUR, SHA and BEN explains the difference.

Entrepreneurs and freelancers

Serbian freelancers usually register as entrepreneurs (preduzetnik) and open a dinar and foreign currency account at a Serbian bank. Foreign clients pay the foreign currency account by SWIFT. Check each online provider's own eligibility page before relying on it: Wise, for example, lists Serbia among the addresses that cannot get USD account details.

Foreign providers and the US company route

Eligibility for online USD accounts is set by each provider, and for a company registered in Serbia, the NBS rules on accounts abroad apply first. The table records what each provider states; it is not a ranking.

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

A US company

Some Serbian founders form a US company, usually a limited liability company (LLC) or a Delaware corporation, and open a US account in its name. Mercury requires the company to be formed and registered in the United States or a US territory and to have existing or planned US operations. The 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, and may fax the form to 304-707-9471 from outside the United States.

The US company is a separate entity with its own filings, and money it earns belongs to it. If it buys from or subcontracts to the Serbian company, the Serbian side collects through its Serbian bank under the foreign exchange law. Take Serbian and US tax advice first, including on transfer pricing between the two companies.

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.

The APR is the Serbian Business Registers Agency, the public register of companies, and the PIB is the company's tax identification number. Keep the company's name in the same Latin spelling on every document, because a name written in Cyrillic on one document and Latin on another is a common cause of delay in incoming wires.

Digital assets and stablecoins in Serbia

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. Serbia regulates them under the Law on Digital Assets, published in Official Gazette No. 153/2020, in force from 29 December 2020 and applied from June 2021.

• Two regulators. The law defines virtual currencies and digital tokens. The NBS approves white papers for virtual currencies and supervises their service providers; the Securities Commission does the same for digital tokens. Service providers need a license and must meet personnel, organizational and minimum capital requirements.
• Dinars inside Serbia. The NBS Decision on Foreign Currency Payments Relating to Digital Asset Transactions of 13 May 2021, applied from 29 June 2021, states that payments for digital asset transactions between residents, or between residents and non-residents, within Serbia may be made exclusively in dinars.
• Foreign currency only cross-border. Payments between a resident and a non-resident abroad may be in foreign currency or dinars, but foreign currency may be used only if the white paper for those digital assets has been approved under the law. No digital asset transactions in foreign cash are allowed in Serbia.
• Stablecoins. Law firm BDK Advokati noted when the law was adopted that it defines stable digital assets but does not regulate their issuance separately.

Sources: NBS Decision on Foreign Currency Payments Relating to Digital Asset Transactions (RS Official Gazette No. 49/2021); CEE Legal Matters and BDK Advokati summaries of the Law on Digital Assets. As published on 29 October 2026.

The white paper condition matters for USDC and USDT: before a Serbian company receives or pays them across the border, confirm with a licensed provider and counsel whether the asset qualifies. Our overview of stablecoin payment rules by country compares Serbia with other markets.

Where Helm fits

Helm is a financial technology company, not a bank. Accounts are held with regulated partner institutions. Helm provides USD account details in a 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 company registered in Serbia, a Helm account would be an account abroad, which the NBS rules allow only in listed cases with NBS approval. A Serbian-registered company should confirm with counsel and its bank that it is covered before applying. Helm fits most directly in three cases:

• A group company registered outside Serbia, such as a US or EU company owned by Serbian founders, can hold USD details in its own name, collect from US clients by ACH, and make international payments to suppliers with the rate, fee and expected arrival shown before sending.
• Foreign buyers of Serbian goods and services can pay their Serbian supplier's foreign currency account by SWIFT from a Helm account.
• A foreign group company paid in stablecoins can receive USDC and USDT and convert them to USD inside the account, where the law of its own country allows.

Each account has a named account manager, and review questions are answered in writing within one business day. Trade finance 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 Serbia: Decision on Terms and Conditions under which Residents may Hold Foreign Exchange in Bank Accounts Abroad
2. National Bank of Serbia: Decision on Foreign Currency Payments Relating to Digital Asset Transactions (13 May 2021)
3. Paragraf: Law on Foreign Exchange Operations (English text)
4. CEE Legal Matters: Law on Digital Assets, what does it bring to the Serbian financial market
5. BDK Advokati: Regulating cryptocurrencies, update
6. AIK Banka: Accounts for small enterprises
7. Wise: Can I get USD account details?
8. Internal Revenue Service: Instructions for Form SS-4

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.