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# Opening a Business Bank Account for Your New Indian Company: What Foreign Directors Should Expect
- URL: https://afrodost.com/opening-business-bank-account-india/
- Published: 2026-08-06T19:51:34.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-08T07:07:56.000Z
- Description: Most banks apply enhanced due diligence when foreign directors are involved — here's what that actually means for your paperwork and timeline.
- Author: ~Lifted
- Tags: banking, current-account, kyc, fdi, company-registration, foreign-founders, business-operations

If you've followed our earlier guides on registering a company or opening a bank account in India, you've probably already run into this question: what's a PAN card, and do you actually need one? 

If you've just incorporated — following the resident-director requirement and document process from our registration guide — your company already has a registered Indian address. That part's done. The friction in opening its bank account isn't about address proof. It's about something else: **most banks apply enhanced due diligence whenever foreign directors or shareholders are involved, and that changes both the paperwork and the process.**

What "enhanced due diligence" actually means in practice

It means more documentation, more verification steps, and — this is the part that surprises people — **full online account opening often isn't available at all when foreign nationals are involved.** Several banks that advertise fast digital onboarding for domestic founders quietly require an in-person branch visit once foreign ownership or directorship enters the picture. Worth confirming this directly with your chosen bank before you assume you can do this entirely remotely.

#### The document sequence

Beyond the standard company formation documents (incorporation certificate, PAN, board resolution authorizing account opening), banks will typically ask for:

- KYC documentation for every director and significant shareholder — including foreign ones
- Proof of identity and address for each signatory (passport for foreign directors; overseas address proof is generally accepted here, separate from the company's own registered office)
- A passport-size photo for each signatory

This is why the sequencing matters: you genuinely cannot start this process before incorporation is complete. The bank needs the incorporation documents to exist first. Plan the timeline accordingly — this is not a parallel-track step, it's a next step.

#### Minimum balance requirements are real and vary a lot

Most Indian business accounts carry a **Minimum Average Quarterly Balance (AQB)** requirement — fall below it and you'll pay a non-maintenance fee. These vary significantly bank to bank and account type to account type. Not a dealbreaker, but budget for it rather than discovering it on your first statement.

#### Choosing a bank: experience with foreign structures matters more than brand size

Not all banks are equally practiced at onboarding foreign-director companies. Banks with real experience in cross-border structures tend to move faster and ask fewer repeat questions than ones handling it occasionally. It's a reasonable question to ask directly when you're comparing banks: "how many foreign-director companies have you onboarded this year?" A confident, specific answer is a good sign. A vague one isn't.

#### A distinction worth knowing, even if it doesn't apply to you yet

If your business structure is a *foreign company's India operation* (a branch or liaison office) rather than an Indian-incorporated subsidiary — the Pvt Ltd structure this site's registration guide covers — the account type is different: a Special Non-Resident Rupee Account (SNRR), not a standard business current account. Different rules, different repatriation terms. If you're following the standard Pvt Ltd path, this doesn't apply to you — but if someone advises you toward a branch/liaison structure instead, know that the banking process shifts too.