Opening a bank account in Ivory Coast is rather simple. Indeed, many expatriates before you have already proceeded successfully. Therefore, feel free to choose among different banks, namely the Société Générale des Banques de Côte d'Ivoire (SGBCI), Ecobank, the Société Ivoirienne de Banque (SIB), the Caisse d'épargne Côte d'Ivoire, Barclays, Citibank, and the Banque Internationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie de la Côte d'Ivoire (BICICI) which are the most popular ones.
You can find both private and retail banks in Ivory Coast. Some of these have a larger number of clients than the others. However, most of these provide a wide range of services to their customers: investment, credits, insurance, savings, etc.
To open a bank account, visit any branch of your chosen bank with the following documents:
your passport or resident card (original copy)
proof of address (utility bills or a residency certificate if any)
two passport-size identity photos.
Some banks, especially privates ones, may request you to produce your latest payslips, and even require you to be hired according to a permanent contract.
In all cases, remember that formalities are simple and free of charge, although a minimum deposit will be requested for the activation of the bank account. The amounted to be deposited generally varies from one bank to another.
Ivorian banks provide different types of banking transactions to their customers, some of which are free of charge, namely the opening of the bank account, the issue of savings booklets, maintainence of the bank account, monthly statements of accounts, statements of annual fees, cash deposits, cash withdrawals at the counter or ATM (provided you are performing the operation with the same bank), checking your balance at the ATM, payment via your bank card and receiving your monthly salary.
Most Ivorian banks provide banking cards to their customers and have electronic payment terminals. You can thus settle your water and electricity bills online. Transfer orders are also quite widespread in the country nowadays.
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A journalist, holder of the DALF C1 and C2 and a diploma from the University of Mauritius, I have nearly twenty years of writing experience. After six years in the Mauritian press, I joined Expat.com, where I have been working for over a decade, including five years as editorial assistant, and now as editorial manager.
