Set up
Company formation59 jurisdictions, one fixed price eachCrypto licensingExchange, custody and payment licences
See your price before you talk to anyone
Choose a jurisdiction and get a fixed quote.
By region
Europe
Africa and Indian Ocean
- Insights
- Turkmenistan
- Company bank account
Banking
How to open a company bank account in Turkmenistan
A company or branch opens its bank account after state registration, at one of the nine banks on the Central Bank’s list. It can hold accounts in manat, US dollars or euros, and payments abroad pass through currency control. The bank decides whether to open the account, so nobody can promise one.
Quick answer
Bank account requirements in Turkmenistan in one view
- The Central Bank of Turkmenistan lists nine banks. Four are state banks by name and five are joint-stock commercial banks.
- An LLC or a joint venture pays in at least half of its charter capital before it files for registration. A branch has no charter capital and skips this step.
- The working account is opened after registration, once the business is registered for tax and statistics and has its seal.
- Accounts can be held in manat, US dollars or euros. A business keeps its current foreign currency account at one bank only.
- The bank decides. We introduce you to a bank and prepare the application.
Key facts
- Banks on the Central Bank’s list
- Nine
- Capital paid before filing
- At least 50%, Law on Enterprises article 47
- Currencies
- Manat, US dollars, euros
- Foreign currency current account
- One bank only, Currency Law article 23
- Who decides
- The bank
The banks
Which banks can a company use in Turkmenistan?
AshgabatThe Central Bank of Turkmenistan publishes the list. On 9 October 2026 it named nine banks, all based in Ashgabat.
| Bank | Type | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs of Turkmenistan | State | Foreign trade. The largest bank, with a central role in international payments for trade and state contracts |
| Turkmenbashi | Joint-stock | Industry |
| Turkmenistan | State commercial | Social infrastructure |
| Dayhanbank | State commercial | Agriculture |
| Halkbank | Joint-stock | Savings and mortgages |
| State Development Bank of Turkmenistan | State | Loans for production projects |
| Senagat | Joint-stock | General banking services for businesses |
| Turkmen-Turkish Joint-Stock Commercial Bank | Joint-stock | The one bank with a foreign partner |
| Rysgal | Joint-stock | Set up in 2011 to serve members of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs |
The type is the one in each bank’s name. The last column follows the US Commerce Department’s country guide of January 2026 and the US State Department’s 2026 Investment Climate Statement. The State Department describes the banking system as almost completely state-owned. We usually introduce clients to Rysgal, the State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs of Turkmenistan (Vnesheconombank) or the Turkmen-Turkish Joint-Stock Commercial Bank.
Ask one question before you choose: which foreign bank carries this bank’s dollar and euro payments. The State Department reports that the main correspondent bank suspended its accounts at all but one state-owned bank in 2023.
Two accounts
Which account is opened before registration, and which after?
Two different accounts are involved, and only a company needs the first.
- Step 1
Capital account
A company pays in at least half of its charter capital. A branch skips this step.
- Step 2
State registration
The business is entered in the state register.
- Step 3
Tax, statistics and seal
Tax registration is applied for within 10 days.
- Step 4
Working account
One month is allowed from the registration decision. The bank decides.
The capital account, before registration
- An LLC or a joint venture has charter capital from TMT 5,000.
- The founders pay in at least 50% after signing the founding documents and before filing for registration, and the rest within a year (Law on Enterprises, article 47).
- The 2011 presidential resolution on registration asks for a document confirming that part of the charter capital has been paid. In our experience it is a bank certificate for the temporary capital account. This is not the account the business trades from.
- A branch or representative office has no charter capital, so it has no capital account. See branch registration in Turkmenistan.
The working account, after registration
- The business is entered in the state register, registers with the statistics office, for tax and with the Pension Fund, and has its seal made. Then it applies to the bank. The steps before the bank are set out on our page on company registration in Turkmenistan.
- Tax registration is applied for within 10 days. The bank account has one month from the registration decision.
- The bank reports a new account to the tax office by the next day (Tax Code, article 28).
Documents
What documents does the bank require?
No published list covers every bank. Each bank has its own forms, and all of them work from the papers that registration produces. Expect to give:
- The extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. The bank asks for the final certificate, not a temporary extract.
- Proof of registration for tax and for statistics
- The charter of the company, or the regulations of the branch with the parent company’s decision to open it
- The order or power of attorney appointing the head, and the head’s passport
- A card with specimen signatures and the impression of the seal, certified by a notary
The parent company’s own documents were legalised and translated into Turkmen or Russian for registration. Keep the originals: the bank may ask to see them. The bank also runs its own checks on the owners and on where the money comes from, so have the ownership chain up to the real owners ready.
At the banks we use, the head signs the account documents in person.
Currency accounts
Manat and foreign currency accounts: what are the rules?
A branch or company can hold accounts in manat, US dollars or euros. Article 21 of the Law on Foreign Investment gives foreign investors and enterprises with foreign investment the right to open accounts in national and foreign currency. Under article 23 of the Currency Law a business keeps its current foreign currency account for its main activity at one authorised bank only, so the choice of bank matters.
| Account | What goes through it | The rule |
|---|---|---|
| Manat account | Sales to Turkmen customers, salaries, rent and taxes | Residents settle with each other in manat (Currency Law, article 15) |
| US dollar or euro account | Payments under foreign trade contracts, export earnings and money sent in by the parent company | One current account, at one bank (article 23). A resident company’s export earnings must be credited to its account at an authorised bank in Turkmenistan (article 11) |
For currency purposes a company registered in Turkmenistan is a resident and a branch of a foreign company is a non-resident (article 1). Work, services and property that a non-resident supplies to a resident inside Turkmenistan are paid in manat, unless the currency rules, the Law on Hydrocarbon Resources or an act of the President allow foreign currency (article 16).
What currency control means for a payment abroad
Authorised banks are agents of currency control, alongside the customs and tax authorities (Currency Law, article 30). A payment from a foreign currency account is checked against documents that show its type and purpose (article 24). The Central Bank can require a deal passport for a foreign trade contract (article 10), and a loan or investment from abroad above the Central Bank’s threshold is registered through the bank (article 8).
Contracts are checked outside the bank too. The State Department reports that import and export contracts are registered at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange, with a review of the price.
The manat is fixed at 3.50 to the US dollar. The US State Department reports that converting at the official rate needs government approval. In our experience approval is rarely given. Read our guide to profit repatriation from Turkmenistan before you sign a contract in manat.
Without a company
Can a foreigner open an account without a company?
- 01
What the law says
Under articles 23 and 26 of the Currency Law a non-resident, which includes a foreign company with no presence in Turkmenistan, may open foreign currency and manat accounts at an authorised bank under the procedure of the Central Bank.
- 02
What is reported
The State Department says it knows of no official restriction based on residency, but that foreigners have reported being allowed foreign currency accounts only, and not manat accounts.
- 03
A business account
In our experience a bank opens a business account only for something registered in Turkmenistan: a branch, a representative office or a company.
- 04
Selling from abroad
A foreign company that only sells into Turkmenistan from abroad is paid to its own bank under the contract and needs no local account.
How long it takes
In our experience the working account opens in about seven days once the registration documents and seal are ready. Registration as a whole takes 6 to 9 months from complete documents.
Mistakes
Five mistakes with a company bank account
Most of them come from treating the account as the last formality of registration.
- 01
Treating the account as a formality
The bank decides whether to open it. Do not fix a start date for trading that assumes it will say yes on the first visit.
- 02
Choosing the bank before asking how your customer pays
Ask your customer which bank it pays from, and ask your bank which correspondent carries its dollar payments.
- 03
Expecting a dollar account to solve conversion
A foreign currency account holds the currency you earn or bring in. It gives no right to buy dollars for manat.
- 04
Sending a payment abroad without the contract behind it
The bank checks each payment against its documents. An unregistered contract, or an invoice that does not match it, can hold the payment.
- 05
Paying the capital late
A company shows half of its charter capital before it files and pays the rest within a year. If it does not, the Law on Enterprises requires it to reduce its capital or close.
Questions
Questions about bank accounts in Turkmenistan
Short answers, each with the rule behind it.
Ask us something elseWhat are the requirements to open a company bank account in Turkmenistan?
The business must first be registered: entered in the state register, registered for tax and statistics, and holding its seal. It then gives the bank its registration documents, its charter or branch regulations, the appointment and passport of its head, and a notarised signature card. Each bank has its own forms and runs its own checks on the owners. The bank decides whether to open the account.
Which banks are there in Turkmenistan?
The Central Bank of Turkmenistan lists nine: the State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs, Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan, Dayhanbank, Halkbank, the State Development Bank, Senagat, the Turkmen-Turkish Joint-Stock Commercial Bank and Rysgal. The US State Department describes the banking system as almost completely state-owned.
Can a foreigner open a bank account in Turkmenistan?
The Currency Law lets a non-resident open foreign currency and manat accounts at an authorised bank, under the procedure of the Central Bank. The US State Department reports that foreigners have in practice been allowed foreign currency accounts only. The decision is the bank’s.
Can a company hold a foreign currency account in Turkmenistan?
Yes. A branch or company can hold accounts in manat, US dollars or euros, and the Law on Foreign Investment gives enterprises with foreign investment that right. A business keeps its current foreign currency account at one bank only. Payments abroad are subject to currency control.
When is the bank account opened during registration?
At the end. A company first pays in at least half of its charter capital before it files. The working account is opened after the registration decision, once the business is registered for tax and statistics and has its seal. Tax registration is applied for within 10 days, and one month is allowed for the bank account. A branch has no charter capital, so it opens only the working account.
Can you guarantee that the bank will open an account?
No. We introduce you to a bank and prepare the application. The bank decides, after its own checks on the business and its owners.
Have the bank application prepared in Ashgabat
We introduce you to a bank and prepare the file. The bank decides. Tell us what you are registering and who will pay you.