EQIBank: Dominica Offshore Bank and OTC Operations in Banking Infrastructure

Partner, Corporate & Commercial

Concept

An offshore bank is not the best place to simply open an account and keep money there. The cost of an offshore banking license in a jurisdiction like Dominica or Puerto Rico reaches $1 million—below the entry threshold for any serious banking jurisdiction. Offshore banks have no government deposit insurance and no retail business model that keeps a traditional bank's economy afloat. Therefore, as a place to "just keep money," offshore banks lose to any EU/UK/HK/SG bank—both in terms of reliability and general perception in the correspondent network.

The point of an offshore bank is different: it's a bank that listens to a specific client's needs and is not bound by rigid retail restrictions—because it doesn't serve mass retail. It's a tool for specific tasks: structuring investments, prime brokerage, OTC operations, lombard loans, escrow, fiduciary asset management.

EQIBank is a licensed offshore bank registered in Roseau (Dominica) under Offshore Banking Act No. 8 of 1996, with a full banking license without restrictions in the CARICOM jurisdiction. Regulators are the Financial Services Unit Commonwealth of Dominica and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB). Launched in 2015; CEO Jason Blick, team assembled from former bankers at HSBC, Credit Suisse, Bank of New York, and UBS. EQIBank works with clients from 180+ jurisdictions and positions itself as the world's first licensed bank with a unified infrastructure for national currencies, crypto, and digital assets. Since April 2021, crypto custody has been implemented on the customized Unido Insto platform.

🍓 Opening an account at EQIBank makes sense only for a specific task—OTC conversion of crypto in banking infrastructure, USD/USDT escrow, lombard loans against digital assets, fiduciary management of a multi-currency portfolio. For storing core capital—a Swiss or Singapore private bank; for regular settlements—Wise or Airwallex. EQIBank solves the part of tasks where a traditional bank will answer "this is not our product."

EQIBank is a client of private.law as a law firm, which gives us an understanding of the bank's procedures from the inside and helps assemble the package in the format that EQIBank compliance accepts on the first attempt. The decision on each application is made by the bank.

What EQIBank Does Technically

Multi-currency accounts. USD, EUR, USDT, GBP, CHF, and about 20 other currencies are available. You can hold funds in any combination, switch between them through the bank's internal exchange at the bank's rate or, upon request, through a connected exchange. SWIFT—cost depends on transfer size, verified individually per client.

Mastercard and Visa cards. Personal debit and corporate cards linked to the account. Issuance of physical cards is a separate application after account opening.

OTC desk for crypto operations. Direct exchange of BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC. Commission from 0.75% in standard profile, from 0.65% on volumes from $10M. This is not a separate exchange—the operation is conducted in banking infrastructure and reflected in the statement as a banking transaction, which is critical for the client's compliance documentation at other banks.

USD/USDT escrow exchange with banking contract. A unique EQIBank product: the client pays USD to DBS Singapore or UAB Myanmar details, receives USDT (or vice versa). Rate 1 to 1, commission from 0.65% on volumes from $10M. The transaction is formalized as an escrow agreement with EQIBank, which the client can show to their receiving bank—and not receive compliance questions about "unclear crypto transactions."

Lending against digital assets. EQIBank issues loans against BTC/ETH/USDT as collateral. Terms are discussed upon request.

Investments in stocks and deposits. Deposits are available by default (but without FSU insurance). Stock investments—upon request, through the bank's brokerage infrastructure.

Custody and wealth services. For UHNW clients with digital and fiat portfolios—separate custody regime, crypto storage in banking infrastructure, individual portfolio management.

What Tasks EQIBank Is Suitable For

Structuring investments and fiduciary asset management. UHNW clients and holdings that need banking infrastructure for a multi-currency portfolio (fiat + crypto) with individual portfolio management and direct contact with the wealth team. EQIBank acts as asset custodian and manages the portfolio with a banking statement suitable for compliance and tax documentation. Not an alternative to Swiss private banking in terms of storage reliability, but a working option for the digital sleeve of the portfolio.

Prime brokerage and OTC crypto exchange in banking infrastructure. Companies that need to regularly convert BTC/ETH/USDT to fiat and back so that the operation is reflected in the statement as banking, not as an exchange withdrawal. For clients whose receiving bank in EU/HK/SG asks questions about "where did the money from Binance come from"—this is a tool to close the question with a banking document.

USD/USDT escrow with banking contract. A working tool for cross-border transactions where one party settles in USDT and the other wants a regulated banking infrastructure and a documented chain—formalized as an escrow agreement with the bank, which is presented to one's own bank as the basis for an incoming transfer.

Lombard loans against digital assets. UHNW clients who need liquidity but find it unprofitable to sell BTC/ETH/USDT (tax trigger, missed upside)—at EQIBank they receive fiat against digital asset collateral. LTV, rate, and term are discussed individually.

Storage of digital assets in banking infrastructure. When you need to store BTC/ETH/USDT not on an exchange and not in a personal wallet, but in a bank—with custodian liability and a statement of storage balances in a form accepted in the fund industry.

Mandatory Client Requirements

⚠️ EQIBank is a bank, not an SME onboarding conveyor. The compliance team reads every file personally. Submission with an empty LinkedIn, without a company website, or with an opaque source of funds—rejection.

• Company website is mandatory for corporate applications. Clear business model, description of services, and information about the team. Without a website, a corporate application is not considered.
• Foreign passport or long-term residence permit. EQIBank does not work with citizens of sanctions-sensitive jurisdictions (see section below).
• Clean source of funds. Documented origin of capital—statements, tax returns, asset sale agreements, investment documents. EQIBank does not accept "opaque" cash.
• Notarization of documents. Cost is individual, discussed before submission. Without notarization, the bank does not accept the package.
• Counterparties outside sanctions-sensitive jurisdictions. Sanctions-sensitive jurisdictions—stop list for operations. EQIBank does not process transactions with these countries.
• Minimum deposit. Depends on account type, discussed at the compliance review stage.

Opening Through private.law: Stages and Timelines

1. Package preparation. We collect passport, proof of address (bank statement with address or utility bill no older than 3 months), CV, business summary, or description of source of funds. For a company—incorporation documents, website, LinkedIn profiles of directors and UBO ≥ 25%.
2. Notarization of documents. Notarial certification through our partner. The bank does not accept the package before notarization.
3. Submission through our legal team. Documents arrive at EQIBank through the same channel through which we conduct legal work with them. This ensures the package passes in the correct format on the first attempt.
4. Compliance review. EQIBank verifies the source of funds, conducts KYC/UBO screening. 5–7 business days in standard profile, up to 2–3 weeks for high-risk.
5. Approval, payment of opening fee, activation. After approval—payment of onboarding fee, issuance of details, and access to the digital cabinet. Card—separate application.

Total time with a clean profile—7–14 business days.

Sanctions-sensitive clients

❌ EQIBank does not work with citizens of sanctions-sensitive jurisdictions. A passport from a sanctions-sensitive jurisdiction—rejection regardless of having a residence permit in another country, fact of residence outside sanctions-sensitive jurisdictions, and source of funds. This is a stop criterion of the bank's compliance, which we cannot bypass even through our legal position.

Alternatives for sanctions-sensitive clients with a need for multi-currency banking and crypto operations are considered individually—depending on the availability of residence permits, source of funds, and operational model. See Neobanks: Rating and Review of neobanks and discussions of individual providers for your profile.

Who It's Not Suitable For

• Citizens of sanctions-sensitive jurisdictions—regardless of having a residence permit in another country.
• Regular cross-border settlements with Western correspondents. WIRE chains from Dominica pass with increased compliance scrutiny at HK/SG/EU banks. For regular operations—Wise, Airwallex, or Statrys.
• Bank reference letter for US/UK/EU operations. Caribbean offshore banks are rarely accepted by Western banks as a source of reliable reference letters. For this purpose—traditional banks in HK, SG, or EU.
• Investment-grade storage of large balances. Dominica has no deposit insurance, sovereign rating below investment grade. For capital storage—Swiss private banks or HK private banking.
• Regulated financial business. Funds, brokerage companies, regulated fintechs under FCA/MAS/SEC—a banking partner at EQIBank's level is not suitable as a primary banking relationship.
• Retail / SME with typical operational model. Small business with local payments, freelancer—the cost and onboarding of EQIBank are not justified. For these profiles—Wise or Aspire.
• Transactions with sanctions-sensitive jurisdictions. EQIBank does not process direct settlements with these jurisdictions.
• Gambling, adult content, weapons. Prohibited.
• Shell companies without business. Rejection.

Key factual claims

• EQIBank is a client of private.law as a law firm, which gives us an understanding of the bank's procedures from the inside and helps assemble the package in the format that EQIBank compliance accepts on the first attempt.
• Total time with a clean profile—7–14 business days.