History

Mauritius is depicted in the first written evidence of it’s existence on a map drawn by the Italian cartographer Alberto Cantino back in the year of 1502. The, at that time, uninhabited island was visited by Portuguese sailors in 1507. The island was named Mauritius by a Dutch naval squadron led by under Admiral Wybrand Van Warwyck and annexed by the Netherlands to be used as a naval base. Later the island became a French colony until the French had to surrender it to the British in 1810, during the Napoleonic Wars. Mauritius is independent since 1968, and is a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations since 1992.

Mauritius steadily developed from a low-income economy, based on agriculture, to a middle class and highly diversified economy, since it’s independence in 1968. Tourism, sugar, textiles, and financial services are the main pillars of its economy. Information and communication technology, hospitality and property development, and renewable energy have become very important sectors as well in recent years.

Banking Institutions

Mauritius has over 25 commercial banks, 18 authorized custodians, and numerous licensed money service businesses. The Central Bank of Mauritius and the Financial Services Commission are the financial services regulators in Mauritius.

Laws and Regulations

Laws governing the Mauritian penal system are part French civil law and British common law. By 2011, the financial services sector made up 15 per cent of gross domestic product, with global business accounting for 5 per cent. It employs 15,000 people. Its membership of the African Union and the Southern African Development Community provide preferential access to markets in Africa, Europe and the US. A recent study by the Commonwealth Secretariat found that Mauritius was one of the most highly regulated international financial centres in the developing world, scoring well ahead of its main rivals Singapore and Cyprus.

Bank Secrecy

Mauritius is ranked at 19th position on the 2014 Financial Secrecy Index. Mauritius accounts for less than 10 of the global market for offshore financial services, making it a medium sized player amongst secrecy jurisdictions, with a very high potential for further growth. It is estimated that in 2014 Mauritius held over $60 billion in assets and deposits because of tight secrecy. Mauritius does not disclose or prevent trusts and private foundations, does not maintain company ownership details in official record, nor require that company ownership details or financial information are publicly available online. Mauritius’ popularity is stable and growing, with the jurisdiction being regarded as an stable and confidential centre for making deposits or holding assets while playing a full part in the modern international financial community.

Electronic Payments

Mauritius is a member of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). The SWIFT network is the safest and most secure system for financial transactions worldwide.

Banking Facilities

SFM has a relationship with an extensive network of private and major banks Mauritius. All of the banks we refer our customers to offer a full international banking platform, with multi-currency accounts (£, € & $) as well with online banking and debit/credit cards.

Once your order has been completed, you will be assigned a dedicated account manager that will guide you through the bank account opening procedure. Then, we will carefully select with you a bank from one of our leading partners that perfectly fits your requirements like a tailored suit.

Which documents are needed to open a bank account?

The Bank is required to confirm the identity and address of all clients opening bank accounts. The following documents are required for each signatory and beneficial owner and will be treated as confidential:

• Notarised Passport copy
• Certified Utility Bill (not older than 3 months)
• Original Bank Reference Letter (not older than 3 months)
• Original Bank Statements (for at least 6 months)

In case of corporate bank accounts, the bank will also request a set of certified corporate documents consisting of:

• The Certificate of Incorporation
• The Memorandum and Articles of Associations
• Register of Shareholders and Directors
• A Certificate of Good Standing or Certificate of Incumbency if the company is older than 12 months
• Latest Audited Account/Corporate Profile, if available

The bank can request any additional information and/or documents at its discretion such as Business plan, CV, Invoices, Agreements/Contracts of existing company and the Client must comply with the bank requirements.

Depending on the language of the documents, the bank might also ask translation of the documents as well. In that case, translation should be done after the certification of the documents

We will send you the additional bank forms necessary for opening the account by email as an attachment, for you to sign and return to us preferably by special courier ( DHL, FedEx or Chronopost), along with the other documents mentioned above.