As the Ghanaian economy grow, some citizens are considering the need for accounts that can handle transactions in U. S. dollars rather than the Ghanaian cedis. If you earn $1000 from your business, you can deposit it into a USD account without worrying about currency conversion or exchange rate fluctuations between Ghana and U. S.
If you are a Ghanaian looking to open dollar account, this article provides details on the top banks and places that can help you do so easily and conveniently.
Benefits of Opening a Dollar Account
This type of portfolio is an easy way for Ghanaians living abroad to send money back home without having to use expensive wire transfer services. They also provide convenient access to your money when you’re traveling overseas.
Additionally, there is no risk of exchange rates fluctuating between the time you send money and the time it arrives at its destination.
Other advantages include:
- Using funds for business needs, such as purchasing supplies etc
- Utilize the money for personal expenses, like making purchases and paying bills.
- Instantly transferring cash between accounts through services like TransferWise in order to avoid international transfer fees.
- It’s easier than opening a foreign bank wallet and offers more services than sending cash via Western Union or MoneyGram
Recommended Banks For Foreign Currency Account Opening
- United Bank for Africa (UBA)
- Guaranty Trust Bank (GT Bank)
- First Atlantic Bank
- CalBank
- Fidelity Bank
- Prudential Bank
- ADB
- Access Bank
- Standard Charted Bank
- Ecobank
- GCB
- Universal Merchant Bank (UMB)
- Société Générale
- National Investment Bank (NIB)
- Stanbic Bank
- Zenith Bank
- Bank of Africa (BoA)
- UT Bank
- HFC Bank
- Barclays Bank
- First Capital Plus Bank.
Financial Institutions with Best Deposit Requirements for USD Accounts
In Ghana, financial service providers have deposit criteria for opening such wallet. Interested customers are expected to fulfill these requirements before they can finally get to open one.
At GT Bank (Guaranty Trust Bank) you can deposit any amount you have to open the wallet. The cash you pay (in any currency) will be converted to dollars for you.
Furthermore, CalBank and First Atlantic Bank, necessitates a minimum deposit of $50 in order to create the wallet.
Prudential Bank, ADB, Access Bank, Standard Charted Bank, or Ecobank, require a down payment of at least $100 to get started.
Meanwhile UBA, GCB and Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) will need no less than $200. Also, Société Générale and National Investment Bank (NIB) need clients to pay $300 as initial contribution.
For the time being, Fidelity Bank has put the opening of USD accounts on hold as requested by the Bank of Ghana. For that reason, we cannot give any information on the amount needed for the registration.
NB: Most banks require you to present your Ghana Card, passport size pictures and utility bills for the account setup. However, we advice that you make the effort to contact the customer service center of your preferred bank to find out if there are any additional requirements. For an in-depth explanation on how to setup such an account, click here
Conclusion
This article provides a list of banks where you can open a dollar account in Ghana. Each financial institution has its own standards and services, so consider asking yourself the following questions when choosing:
- What types of services do they offer?
- Are there any fees associated with opening an account?
- Can I afford the fees?
- Does it have a branch/ATMs near me that I can easily access?
- Do I have all the materials they need?
These are certain areas to take note and you will be fine after conducting a good research on what you really need.