Ameriabank Reviews: Opening an Account in Armenia

Below are real Ameriabank reviews from foreigners who’ve gone through account opening in Armenia, along with the documents and fees involved.

Documents You’ll Need

Ameriabank tends to favor non-residents who already live or work in Armenia. Main documents typically required:

• an international passport
• a rental agreement for 6 months, or registration in Armenia
• a Social Card
• an employment contract in Armenia, a residence permit, or sole-proprietor registration in Armenia

Reported fees: account opening 25,000 AMD, annual maintenance 2,000 AMD (free if six-month turnover exceeds 150,000 AMD), Visa Classic 2,500 AMD/year, and one of the lowest currency-withdrawal fees in Armenia at 1%. Processing can take over a week. Fees and terms at Armenian banks change over time — treat these as a general reference and confirm current pricing before applying. Get in touch if you’d like help applying to Ameriabank.

Ameriabank Reviews

• Documents they took: an international passport, a translation of it, Armenian sole-proprietor registration, a rental agreement for 6 months (not notarized, no ownership proof requested), a signed contract with a US client (my setup is simple — one client, a fixed monthly amount), and a statement from my local bank account (my sole-proprietor account at Inecobank, which already had a couple of transactions — I just downloaded it from online banking and sent it over). Later on I also sent in a scanned passport page with an airport entry stamp. They also asked for a Social Card, which I didn’t have — they said sole-proprietor accounts normally need one, though mine had been opened without it back in March, no questions asked, but it worked out fine in the end. They didn’t ask for any home-country tax documents, probably because I already had a local account. Questions during the interview included things like “why are you opening this account? why Ameriabank specifically?” (I wanted a personal account separate from my business one, and heard it’s the largest bank), “do you plan to make international transfers? how will you fund the account? will you have foreign income? what does your business do?” (I said no international transfers planned, I’d fund it from my sole-proprietor account at Inecobank, and none of my income comes from abroad — software development, admin work, etc.). They also mentioned that payments over $10,000/month from certain higher-risk countries would get frozen, while payments from elsewhere would be fine. On pricing: a one-time 25,000 AMD fee for non-residents, 2,000 AMD per account and 2,500 AMD per Visa Classic annually (I got a little lost in the receipts, but that’s roughly it) — no multi-currency cards. If you keep 150,000 AMD in the account, maintenance is free. A few other things worth knowing: everything’s electronic, signatures happen on a tablet in-branch, even the contract only came by email, and most of the text is duplicated in English. Card delivery (courier or locker) is free. Login codes come through the “Ameria Token” app instead of SMS — worked for me even without a SIM inserted, though it wants location, camera, and call permissions enabled. Online purchase codes came by both SMS and email. They mentioned some notifications go through Viber, though I didn’t have that app to check. The online banking interface looks like it’s from the Windows 7 era, but you can see real-time balances and transactions once you figure out the layout. Couldn’t find how to create a virtual card, even though it’s listed in the fee schedule — a bit disappointing.

If remote account opening matters more to you than the specific bank, opening a bank account in Kazakhstan is worth a look as an alternative.

• Continuing the story for personal accounts: card issuance was 25,000 AMD (unclear if that’s total for two cards or per card). Maintenance — 2,500 AMD/year per card, plus a one-time 1,000 AMD to set up online banking. Not sure about the exact documents since we already had a sole-proprietor account there and got approved within hours of applying. For the personal account they just wanted an international passport and a Social Card on hand. Card promised within a week, delivered to our home.
• My own experience: a sole-proprietor account at Ameriabank. They asked for a Social Card, a rental agreement (unnotarized was fine, even though it was signed 6 months but only 2 months into that term), sole-proprietor registration, and a client contract (I’m a freelancer). A week later they asked for a year’s worth of statements showing incoming funds from my home-country bank; approved a week after that — they call you themselves. They do want a lot of paperwork, but free accounts come in 4 currencies (dram, USD, EUR, and one more — though we only asked for dram and USD). Online banking is free if you set it up yourself, or 15,000 AMD/year if done in-branch — the manager said they’re trying to push everyone toward self-service. Maintenance is free if six-month turnover exceeds 300,000 AMD (in any currency).
• Took almost a month to open a personal account: applied on 27 April, got a call with approval on 20 May (with an apology for the delay), went in to open the account on 23 May, cards arrived on 26 May. Documents required a translation of the international passport, sole-proprietor registration certificate, an unnotarized 6-month rental agreement, a signed client contract (one client, fixed monthly fee), and a local bank statement. They also asked for a Social Card, which I didn’t have — apparently not always required. They asked questions about purpose of the account, transfer plans, and business activity. Mentioned that payments over $10,000/month from certain countries get frozen. Same fee structure as above — 25,000 AMD one-time, 2,000/2,500 AMD annually — no multi-currency cards.
• Needed accounts and cards for a sole-proprietor setup. Got it done at Ameriabank, but with some hassle — online banking took forever to set up, involving a call-based “interview” through their website that ended without giving me a login or password. Had to go back in person to get the app configured (which itself required setting up through yet another app). Eventually got it sorted. Also ordered a dram card for the business — a client tried to pay it via card-to-card transfer and it just didn’t go through, so they had to go to their own bank and arrange a manual transfer instead. Expecting more adventures ahead.
• At Ameriabank they asked for: 1) an international passport with translation and temporary registration, 2) a sole-proprietor account statement, 3) a Social Card, 4) a rental agreement for 6+ months, 5) an income statement from my home country’s tax authority for 2021 and 2022. Submitted it all — response was “we’ll call you.”
• Today at Ameriabank they gave me three options for opening an account: work here, live here, or a six-month rental agreement. As I understand it, if you buy property, you’d likely need to register/get on record at that address, and that alone can serve as grounds for opening an account.
• Opened an account at Ameriabank. Documents included a recently issued Armenian passport, a certificate of residence (without formal registration), a Social Card, and a card-movement statement from my home bank (they asked for a full year, sent by email).
• Opened an account at Ameriabank with: a Social Card, a 6-month statement from my home-country bank, an income certificate for the previous year, an unpaid rental agreement, and an employment contract.
• I bank with Ameriabank and used to have euro card-to-card transfers available too. Then a payment bounced and the option disappeared from my dashboard entirely. Went to the branch — they said it’s a new rule. Even EUR-account transfers aren’t possible anymore; everything routes through dram now.
• Applied for both a personal and a sole-proprietor account at Ameriabank’s Yerevan Mall branch — both approved the next day. What I submitted: international passport, a notarized translation of it, an SSN, a six-month rental agreement, an income certificate, home-country bank statements showing balances and activity, sole-proprietor certificate, and a contract with a foreign employer (for the sole-proprietor account). Statements and the contract were sent by email rather than printed — the contract was a DocuSign document.
• I’ve had merchant payment processing working at Ameriabank for years, accepting payments from any country. That said, opening an account there is currently difficult. Haven’t tried myself, but I’ve heard Converse also has decent acquiring, and reportedly Inecobank too. Everyone else is apparently pretty weak on that front.
• Applied for an account at Ameriabank. Documents: an international passport with registration in Armenia, a Social Card, an income certificate for 2022 (a paper document with a stamp and signature), an employment contract (paper, stamped and signed), a year’s bank statement from my home country (electronic, stamped and signed), and a tax report on brokerage/investment income for 2022 (electronic, stamped and signed). As far as I can tell, Ameriabank doesn’t offer multi-currency cards — each card comes with its own separate account, apart from your current account. So with two cards (dram and USD), you end up with four accounts total.
• I recently opened accounts at Ameriabank without any contracts at all. What I had were NDAs, purchase orders, and invoices — turned out to be plenty. Document requirements don’t have to be taken too literally; get creative if one piece of paper doesn’t fit, another might work instead.
• Sole-proprietor account at Ameriabank: they took the whole stack of documents I had — a rental agreement for my apartment, an office rental agreement, an SSN, a TIN, a passport translation, and a letter of intent from an employer in Germany. A staff member filled out the application form for me, and it was approved on the third business day — hadn’t opened the account yet at the time since I was traveling.
• After 3 months of living in Armenia, I finally made it to the bank. Last Wednesday my spouse and I applied at the Zeytun branch for a personal and a sole-proprietor account. He got a call with approval by Friday; I called myself today and got the same. Just need to finalize paperwork now. For the sole-proprietor account, they said pricing is the same for residents and non-residents.
• My trip to the Mashtots branch didn’t go so well — after an hour of waiting, I got a staff member who insisted on extensive documentation for verification purposes. I thanked her and left, then opened an online “Smart Account” that same evening with limited access. The next day I visited a different branch (Kamar), and right on schedule they activated full access — nobody there seemed concerned about the documentation issue from before. Results really do seem to vary a lot by branch and staff member.
• Applying for a new sole-proprietor account at Ameriabank, after submitting all requested documents, the manager asked — after some deliberation — for a contract with a client. Without one, they declined to open the account.
• Fee-wise for a multi-currency Visa card added to my sole-proprietor account: 20,000 AMD to open as a non-resident. The dram account plus one other currency is free; each additional currency costs 10,000 AMD. I paid the annual maintenance upfront too — around 6,000 AMD, if I recall correctly. Card delivery to my home was free, taking 4-5 business days.
• Opened accounts and cards at both Ameriabank and AEB without formal registration. AEB asked for a certificate of residence; my passport was freshly issued. AEB charges 7,000 AMD/year for maintenance; Ameriabank charges 7,000 AMD covering 4 years, plus 2,500 AMD for a second card and account. Ameriabank only asked for a home-country bank statement — nothing else.
• Results really do vary case by case. Recently opened accounts and cards at Ameriabank without any registration, on a newly issued passport, at the resident rate: 7,000 AMD for 4 years of account/card maintenance plus 2,500 AMD for a second card. They only asked for a Social Security number and a statement of activity from my home-country bank.
• For anyone it might help — my experience opening accounts as a new client without a residence permit: Ameriabank — applied Saturday, got phone approval Monday, courier delivered the card Friday (25,000 + 1,000 AMD). Waited about an hour in the branch. Opened a EUR account through the app in 30 seconds (free as long as six-month turnover is at least 150,000 AMD). SWIFT transfers from the US arrive within a few hours. Documents: Social Card, a 3-month rental agreement, an employment contract with a European company, and various statements from my home-country bank accounts — all sent as PDFs by email, no paper copies needed. Inecobank, for comparison — no queue at all, took about 15 minutes total to apply. Approval came by phone two weeks later, went back with no wait to sign three documents, picked up the finished card the following Tuesday (25,000 + 4,000 AMD). Currency accounts were free to set up in online banking, same document list. A transfer between my Ameriabank and Inecobank accounts by account number took under a day and was fee-free.

Get in touch if you’d like help opening an account at Ameriabank.

FAQ

Can a foreigner open an account at Ameriabank? Yes — Ameriabank tends to favor applicants who already live or work in Armenia, though sole proprietors and remote-income foreigners get approved too, with results varying quite a bit by branch.

What documents are required? At minimum: an international passport, a Social Card, and proof of address (a rental agreement or registration). Income proof (an employment contract or income certificate) and sole-proprietor registration are often needed too.

How long does approval take? Anywhere from a few hours to about a month, based on reviewer reports — it depends heavily on account type, branch, and how complete your documents are.

Are there limits on incoming transfers? Some reviewers report that payments above roughly $10,000/month from certain countries can get frozen for review — confirm current thresholds directly with the bank.

Does Ameriabank offer multi-currency accounts? Each card generally comes with its own separate currency account rather than one combined multi-currency account — so holding several currencies means holding several accounts.

Is Ameriabank officially licensed? Yes — it operates under a license from the Central Bank of Armenia (license No. 50, issued September 8, 1992).