A Panama Bank Account, Opened Remotely
A non-resident can hold a Panama bank account in US dollars, and open it without flying there.
The account normally requires a visit to Panama City. First Class Citizen holds a long-standing relationship with the bank that lets the opening run entirely remotely, over a video call, with the card shipped to you.
Three to five business days and the dollar and crypto accounts and the debit card are ready. The opening deposit is fifty dollars.
The reason most people want it is narrower than banking in general. It accepts crypto as a source of funds, which is precisely where fintech accounts tend to freeze.
Why crypto income breaks ordinary accounts
This is the specific problem, and it is worth naming plainly.
Banks in countries such as Canada, and global fintech providers such as Wise, will often block or suspend an account when they see crypto-related transactions.
If your income or your source of funds comes from crypto, banks in some countries will not open an account for you at all.
What this account allows instead: crypto as a source of funds, deposits made directly in crypto, swapping between stablecoins and dollars at will, and transacting freely to and from exchanges worldwide.
That combination exists in very few stable jurisdictions, and usually behind far larger deposits. Their own comparison is Liechtenstein, where the minimum runs to half a million francs.
Crypto as a source of funds is the part ordinary accounts refuse. This is the part that does not.
Book Your Assessment CallWhat opening it actually involves
A form of about two minutes, a passport copy, a bank statement, and a crypto address. Then payment.
Instead of the usual in-person visit to the bank's headquarters in Panama City, the process runs over a video call from wherever you are. The card is then shipped anywhere in the world.
Three to five business days later the dollar and crypto accounts and the debit card are live. Stablecoin deposits land in under thirty minutes.
The bank itself is a private family institution with more than fifty years of operating history in the Panama banking sector. Its name is not something they publish, which is worth knowing before you ask.
What the jurisdiction gives you
Panama runs on the US dollar, so there is no currency conversion sitting between you and your money.
It has no central bank, it is among the least indebted countries in the Americas, and the banking sector operates in English and Spanish.
It is also a practical base for the structures that usually follow. A Panama company, a trust for succession and asset protection, or holding part of your wealth in gold in a Panama vault.
If you already run a US LLC, a corporate account is possible alongside the personal one.
Holding the company in one country and its funds in another is the point of doing it that way, and standing that company up is the other half of it.
What you get
Accounts in dollars, euros, bitcoin and USDC. Checking, savings and investment accounts.
A fifty dollar minimum opening deposit, high privacy, and no freezing of the kind fintech accounts apply to crypto activity.
Above that sits the card. With a deposit of fifteen thousand dollars you qualify for a Visa Infinite, shipped anywhere in the world, carrying airport lounge access, TSA PreCheck, and a round-the-clock concierge.
Eligibility here is assessed case by case. The call tells you where you actually stand.
Book Your Assessment CallWho this is not for
Three honest limits, because this one has real eligibility conditions.
First, applicants from restricted countries, Syria, Iran and Afghanistan among others, cannot open an account.
Second, opening for non-Panama resident companies and individuals is assessed case by case. Ties to Panama are not required, but they raise the chance of a successful opening: local investments, residence, an existing account, or a business in the country.
Third, a bank account is not a tax position. Where you pay tax follows your residency, not where your money sits. If that is the actual question, the US LLC guide covers how the structure and the residency interact.
Accounts that opened
Real client wins, straight from the Hall of Wins.
The rest of the picture
- Find your routeTell it what you are trying to do and it maps the guides to read in order.
- ITIN document checklistPick your situation, get the exact list the IRS accepts.
- What it costsPublished prices and timelines, service by service.
- US credit calculatorWhat your spend returns at the rates issuers publish today.
FAQ
Can a non-resident open a Panama bank account?
Do I have to travel to Panama?
How long does it take?
What is the minimum deposit?
What makes it crypto-friendly?
Which bank is it?
Can I open an account for my US LLC?
Find out whether you qualify
Opening for non-residents is assessed case by case, so the honest answer depends on your passport, your source of funds and your ties. The assessment call establishes that before anything is paid for. Free, qualified, direct.
Book Your Assessment Call
Founder & CEO, The First Class Citizen