Cape Verde, also known as Cabo Verde, is an archipelago and island country in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a total land area of 4,033 square kilometers.
The people of Cape Verde are West Africans. Many foreigners from all over the world have made Cape Verde their permanent home. They were mostly Dutch, French, British (English), Arab, and Jewish people (from Lebanon and Morocco). They’ve all been assimilated into the mixed population.
Banks in Cape Verde
These are some of the banks in Cape Verde.
Banco Angolano de Investimentos Cabo Verde
The first private bank in Angola, Banco Angolano de Investimentos (formerly Banco Africano de Investimentos), was established in 1996. The BAI is a full-service bank that operates in Angola, with 89 branches in all 18 provinces (as of mid-2012), 41 of which are in Luanda Province. BAI has only one branch office in nine of the 18 provinces.
Banco Comercial do Atlantico
The Banco Comercial do Atlântico (abbreviated BCA) is a Cape Verdean commercial bank. Its name means “Atlantic Commercial Bank” in Portuguese. The company’s headquarters are located in Praça Alexandre Albuquerque in Praia, Cape Verde’s capital. The bank has 34 locations across the nine inhabited islands of Cape Verde.
The Bank of Cape Verde (Banco de Cabo Verde in Portuguese) is the country’s central bank. Its headquarters are on Avenida Amilcar Cabral in Praia, the island of Santiago’s national capital. Joo António Pinto Coelho Serra, the current governor, has been in office since December 2014.
At least one ATM can be found in the following towns:
- Sal: Santa Maria, Espargos, also at the Airport
- Sao Nicolau: Ribeira Brava, not at the airport
- Sao Vicente: Mindelo
- Santo Antao: Ponta do Sol, Ribeira Grande, Paul (Vila das Pombas)
- Santiago: Praia, also at the airport
- Fogo: Sao Filipe, not at the airport
Money exchange
The BCA bank is well-known in SAL and throughout Cape Verde. All currencies can be exchanged at the BCA bank in Santa Maria and in Espargos, the capital. LENEESE (in Santa Maria) speaks excellent English and is a great assistant. Take EUROS to avoid all problems, as it is the accepted currency. Everywhere accepts Euros, and they will almost certainly give you a change in the local currency, Escudos.
The government has set an official rate of € 1 for 110 escudos. Euros (as well as coins) are occasionally accepted on Sal, usually at a rate of 1 euro to 100 escudos. All travelers’ cheques and other currencies are subject to a variable commission (which can be quite high). Finally, unless you intend to return, get rid of all escudos before leaving the country. To change them back into euros, the bank at Sal airport charges at least 600 escudos.
Visa credit cards are accepted! They have only recently begun to accept visas, not in all places, but in a few, and the program is rapidly expanding. It’s simple to open an account if you plan to buy or visit frequently. It is simple to transfer large sums of money from the United Kingdom.
Can I have a bank account in Cape Verde?
When visiting Cape Verde, foreigners and travelers must make difficult financial decisions. While some people can operate from their home bank, many others must open a Cape Verde bank account or an offshore account. This has a number of advantages, including being paid in local currency, paying household bills, and operating more efficiently in your new home country. It can also be a good alternative to tax optimization in some cases.
Bank rates and services vary widely, so compare the assets that are most important to you when selecting a bank.
Consider:
- Operational language
- Fees
- Online banking is available.
- You have a certain number of branches in your area.
- Services
List of documents required to open a bank account in Cape Verde
Check the below list of documents required:
According to the processing of due diligence that BFI is required to do, and in accordance with Banco de Cabo Verde’s Notice Nr. 2/2011 of August 17, 2011, the opening of bank deposits accounts can only be done and transactions can only take place after the original forms – Application to Open an Institutional Account, Application of General Terms and Conditions for Deposit Accounts, and Personal Entity Form (KYC – Know Your Customer) for all account representatives – have been completed correctly.
Corporate Identification
i. Certified: A copy of the Certificate of Incorporation or another public document containing the company’s name, object, headquarters, and start-up date;
ii. Copy of the Articles of the Organization
Resolution to open the bank account at BFI and the transactions authorizations
If the resolution to open the bank account and the corresponding transaction authorizations are not included in the Organization’s Articles, a copy of the resolution to open the bank account and the corresponding transaction authorizations is required. If the resolution to open the bank account and the corresponding transaction authorizations are not included in the Organization’s Articles, a copy of the resolution to open the bank account and the corresponding transaction authorizations is required.
The cover image is somewhere in Boa Vista, Cape Verde. Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash
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