MANDATORY ROMANIAN BANK ACCOUNT FOR COMPANIES: WHAT CHANGED AND WHAT TO DO

Starting from January 1, 2026, all legal entities in Romania must have at least one cont de plăți (payment account) either with a Romanian bank or with a unitate a Trezoreriei Statului (State Treasury). This requirement has raised many questions among business owners, especially non-residents. In this article, we explain what has changed in the legislation, what sanctions apply for non-compliance, how non-residents can open an account with a Romanian bank, which banks are generally more open to foreign shareholders/administrators, and what to do if one bank refuses to open the account.

NEW LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

This new legal requirement is not a recommendation — it is a direct obligation that applies throughout the entire life of the company. The state and the tax authorities require companies to open these accounts. Failure to comply is treated as an administrative offence and is punishable by a fine from 3,000 to 10,000 lei. In addition, the absence of a Romanian account has become a separate ground for assigning the company the status «inactiv» — the legal entity may be declared fiscally inactive.

For newly incorporated companies, the law provides a specific timeframe to comply: the account must be opened within a maximum of 60 working days from the registration date. This gives a new business time to set up banking relationships, but it is not advisable to delay.

As for the timing of active controls, legally the obligation applies from January 1, 2026, however, in practice the first large-scale checks will intensify toward the end of the first quarter. After February, in March, tax authorities will already start verifying whether companies have Romanian accounts. Once the first quarter ends and reporting is filed, there will be more concrete questions for companies that still do not have a Romanian bank account. This is the period when the first wave of fines or official warnings is most likely.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR COMPANY DOES NOT HAVE A ROMANIAN ACCOUNT

If your company still does not have a Romanian bank account, you should open one urgently. If you act immediately, you can avoid fines and the risk of your company being declared fiscally inactive.

The safest approach is to eliminate non-compliance as quickly as possible. In most cases, it is enough to open one LEI (RON) account — this satisfies the legal requirement. USD or EUR accounts should be opened only if they are genuinely needed for the business, not “just in case”. Excessive requests to open multiple foreign-currency accounts may trigger additional questions from the bank and complicate the process.

IS A BANK REQUIRED TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT?

Under Romanian law, banks and payment service providers that offer payment services in Romania are, in general, required to ensure access to a payment account and facilitate its opening. A refusal is primarily allowed in cases where opening an account could lead to a breach of AML (anti-money laundering) requirements or international sanctions regimes.

However, in practice, this “obligation” is applied much more flexibly than it sounds on paper. Banks rely on internal compliance policies and interpret risk criteria broadly. If they see even minor concerns regarding the client, ownership structure, source of funds, geography of operations, or the activity profile, it is often easier for them to refuse than to assume higher risk and ongoing monitoring obligations. As a result, refusals are possible even for residents and companies with formally correct documentation — especially if the bank considers the overall risk above average.

HOW A NON-RESIDENT CAN OPEN AN ACCOUNT

A bank's decision to open an account is almost always driven by KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) procedures. The bank will closely review who the company’s administrator and beneficial owner are, what the company does, the expected turnover, counterparties, the countries where it operates, the source of funds, and whether there is supporting documentation for all of the above.

NEW COMPANIES WITH NO OPERATING HISTORY

The situation is most challenging for newly incorporated companies that have no operating track record. If a company is registered “today” and a non-resident goes to a bank “tomorrow” to open an account without any prior relationship with that bank, the statistics are not the most optimistic.

Who are banks more likely to approve? First of all, those who speak English well and can clearly and professionally explain their company: what it does, how it earns money, who the clients and suppliers are, what the business model is, and what the operational flows look like. A solid, structured presentation of the business in English significantly increases the chances of success.

Who is more likely to be refused? If a person does not understand Romanian or English, cannot explain the company's activity and predict cash flows, and at the same time demands that everything be opened immediately — LEI, USD, and EUR accounts — the bank will perceive this as a high-risk profile, and the probability of refusal or major delays increases sharply.

COMPANIES WITH A TRACK RECORD

If a company has an operating history and a Romanian administrator, in most cases there are virtually no issues with opening an account. The key is to be able to explain in detail how the business works, where funds come from, where they go, and who the counterparties are. The bank needs to understand that working with your company will not create compliance issues or regulatory risks for them.

If a company has an operating history but the administrator is not a Romanian citizen, opening an account becomes more difficult, but it is still realistic with proper preparation of the documentation and a professional explanation of the business model.

The most difficult situation is when there is neither an operating history nor a Romanian administrator. In this case, banks apply maximum caution, and the account opening process can be very long or end with a refusal.

WHICH BANKS ARE MORE OPEN TO NON-RESIDENTS

The Romanian banking market is not uniform in its approach to non-residents, and understanding these differences can save significant time and stress.

Some banks are, by default, reluctant to work with non-residents and have higher refusal rates. Such banks include Raiffeisen and TBI Bank (previously known as Teknology Bank). These banks tend to take a more conservative approach to applications from foreign citizens.

On the other hand, there are UniCredit, BCR (Banca Comercială Română), and ING. If the documentation is properly prepared and presented, these banks can open an account for non-residents without unnecessary complications. Experience shows that, with a well-prepared file and transparent business activity, these three banks often demonstrate the most constructive approach to foreign clients.

WHAT TO DO IF ONE BANK REFUSES

Receiving a refusal from one bank is unpleasant, but it is not critical. A refusal by one bank does not automatically mean refusals from all other banks. Information about a refusal generally stays within the internal systems of the bank that made the decision. In other words, if one bank refuses you (for example, ING), you can still apply to another bank (for example, BCR or UniCredit) and obtain a positive decision.

However, there is an important nuance: all banks use shared sources and risk-screening systems, including international sanctions lists, PEP databases (Politically Exposed Persons), adverse media monitoring (negative mentions in media and news), and broader databases related to financial risks and unreliable counterparties.

What should you do in such a situation? If you received a refusal from one bank, it makes sense to apply to another from the more non-resident-friendly list (UniCredit, BCR, ING), but before doing so you should conduct a “lessons learned” review. Try to identify the likely reasons for refusal and eliminate them: improve the documentation package, prepare a more detailed and professional business description in English, provide additional source-of-funds evidence, share information about key counterparties, and prepare a turnover forecast with justification. The more transparent and understandable your business model is for the bank, the higher your chances of success.