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Hello! First time poster. I have always read threads on this website without actually registering but I am now in an annoying situation and couldn't find anything online to assist me.
Does anyone here have a pure online business, making money uniquely online? If so, would you help with the following questions:

1- Did you register your business legally in lebanon (Tax ID, etc...) If so what did you submit as documents and fees? The only thing I found on the finance website was the brick and mortar type business registration or pure freelancer.
The reason I'm considering registering it is because I have no bank accounts abroad in my name to use for online payments and I don't want to get in trouble with the law and local banks.

2- With the banking system becoming more strict (I received a call about a 100$ wire transfer from my bank who investigated why I'm getting it) Is there a way to formalize things with the banks here so they don't call me everytime I receive a transfer or cash in a check? If any of you received payments such as transfers from google adsense for example, does your bank question you? If so what bank would you best recommend, meaning what bank has a staff who are aware of these cases.

3- I saw a lot of posts here about the Payoneer card but seeing as the company is owned by the neighbors in the south, any ideas whether it will still work or we could also get in trouble?

I know I can find workarounds (ask someone to open a bank account abroad in my name and then send me the money, etc... but I really want to do things with the least hassle and the least risk of getting into a mess. I don't want to make a profit only to end up paying it back to the government.

(NB I posted this here since I didn't believe this post fits within the rest of the sections, sorry if I should've posted it elsewhere!)
I think that talking to a lawyer would be better.
He should be able to guide you through everything.
Hey, I'm no expert but in order to have a Lebanese bank accept to receive transactions in your bank account /company account, you have to be a registered company, which means that in addition to the cost of registration, you should account for the lawyer cost and the mandatory yearly audit by a certified accountant.

If you're not a registered company, banks will refuse to give you their online paying module to use on your website.

The above is to be verified though.
@georges00 that's the problem! I talked to a few lawyers as well as bank's customer service but they were either unfamiliar with the process or straightaway told me it was impossible to do. I'm just asking here to see if anyone went through a similar situation and who could recommend a path.

@draguen I don't need a bank's online payment module as I use 3rd party systems for payments. Also for the "general" registration, I seem to need two partners. There is no sole proprietorship here according to my research.
hello
I've been through this recently and so I have some pointers for you
1) you cannot use 3rd party systems to receive money in a Lebanese bank account, there are strict regulations and to my knowledge the only gateways in Lebanon are either offered by Bank Audi , and that is either directly or thought their partner payfort, and netcommerce which is co-owned by credit libanais and fransabank
2) you need to have a registered entity in the Lebanese chamber of commerce and that is either by registering as establishment ( منشأة) or company ( شركة) ; there are differences between the 2 which you can look it up or ask a lawyer but just to correct you, you can be a sole owner under the establishment registration, it does have serious risks so; contact a lawyer
3) you can do it but you'll discover in the process that most people that you need to deal with whether in the chamber or in the bank don't know about it, you might even aid in phrasing the description of your scope of work in your chambers' registration paper

so in short, you need to register in the chamber of commerce, they will give you the required paperwork and fees, and deal with a Lebanese gateway provider which will only work with their respective banks or give advantage to opening in their banks( check with suppliers)

and let me tell you one thing, it is a long long long game of waiting and following up; it can be pretty slow to have any progress.

Good luck
2 months later
Hello micham,

I have an online business and I also assist people/businesses willing to setup an online business (eCommerce website etc...)

You have many options available, most common options:
1. You want your business to get paid in Lebanon, then open an SARL or SAL so you can open an eMerchant account in any of the bank providing ePayments (Audi, Blom, B2B, LBF etc... are proposing it).
2. You want to fiscally optimize your money flow and are targeting the world, then you could think of creating a company abroad (BVI, USA, London etc...) and get a Bank account there tied with an ePayment account.

In both cases you'll have fixed annual fees, fixed monthly fees and pay a % of the turnover you generate out of ePayments (usually in the 3% range).
Just want to point out about:

- opening an SAL would require the SAL entity to be represented by a lawyer (which may cost you from 500 to 2000 per year) also company fonancials should be auditied by a certified accontant AND SAL entities requires an additional auditor which is going to cost you around 2000$ a year.

- establishing a sole proprietorship doesnt require a lawyer neither an auditor, SARL entities require a lawyer and one auditor

Now the difference is with Liability towards any stakeholders, SAL &SARL are seperate enitities and you are only responsible fot your contributed capital. Bare in mind that sal and sarl require a minimum of 3 persons
17 days later
samer wroteOne path for ejw's option #2 is to become an e-resident of Estonia and incorporate your company there. More info: https://e-estonia.com/e-residents/services-and-benefits/

Thanks for sharing, that's really intuitive, I wonder how would this benefit everyone to start having a legit PayPal account, while being physically in Lebanon.

From a theoretical point of view, transfer fees & bank exchange rates would be the only culprit. Assuming one could have a PayPal account through a digital ID connected to an Estonian bank account.

In the future, the most valuable asset one could have is going to be technological knowledge, not money. As the former will generate the latter per demand. That would be a greater world.
22 days later
I was actually coming back to create a new post and think about registering a company abroad. Benefits would be relaxing about all the "legalities". It's getting exhausting in Lebanon to make money without slaving in a 9 to 5. Plus registering a small business abroad will give you a bank account abroad, with the ability to have a legit paypal account without risking getting blocked. It's seriously frustrating how in this country blocking things is easy but adding new services is near impossible.
I am currently looking into options for registering businesses abroad, should I find anything I'll keep you guys posted. I haven't checked Estonia, but Cyprus seems like a good option considering it's nearby and a plane ticket is for less than a dinner date in a restaurant here.
10 months later
samer wroteOne path for ejw's option #2 is to become an e-resident of Estonia and incorporate your company there. More info:
I can't believe you gave me the best answer over a year ago :)
I have been looking at Estonia for the past couple of months and it seems like the best way to conduct a legit business without the location hassle. I assume you have done it yourself? Did you face any difficulties? I'm starting the process this week.
No I have not done it myself but I would not expect that you will face many problems. You can even open your bank account directly online, with services like Holvi.
I've been running an online business in Lebanon for a few years now. I'd be glad to help if you have any questions. DM me.
a month later
Mhdskr wroteI've been running an online business in Lebanon for a few years now. I'd be glad to help if you have any questions. DM me.
Hey Mhdskr, I'm new to this forum, I want to start an online business,

I've tried to do payoneer with paypal when it got trending, got locked out of paypal then

tried to signup with atlas stripe, but there was so much fees, $500 setup fees for stripe and >$700 to register a business in Lebanon,

whats the cheapest way to go around this?

Thanks for the help
evex wrote
Mhdskr wroteI've been running an online business in Lebanon for a few years now. I'd be glad to help if you have any questions. DM me.
Hey Mhdskr, I'm new to this forum, I want to start an online business,

I've tried to do payoneer with paypal when it got trending, got locked out of paypal then

tried to signup with atlas stripe, but there was so much fees, $500 setup fees for stripe and >$700 to register a business in Lebanon,

whats the cheapest way to go around this?

Thanks for the help
The cost to register a business is unavoidable if you want to work legally, plus you need to have a business registration in order to get POS and a payment gateway from any bank. Personally, I looked into setting up a payment gateway on my website but haven't done it. Based on what I learned asking a few local banks and financial institutions, the cost for a payment gateway is around 350$ setup fee, 35$ monthly fees, and 3.5%/ transaction, which I found too much for my line of business. That's why I only accept cash on delivery and POS payment on delivery. Based on my experience, most people still prefer these 2 methods and are hesitant to fill their credit card info on a Lebanese website.
Regarding the Paypal account, I'm trying something soon. I'm expecting to get my AMEX card in a week or so, and since AMEX cards here are issued from Bahrain, I think I can create a Paypal account and link it to this card without issues (fingers crossed). I'll try it and can report back if you're interested. The Paypal account will be for my personal use though (ebay and walmart purchases mostly). I'm not planning to accept Paypal payments in Lebanon; what's the point if nobody has it?
One option you may wanna consider is PinPay, which I find interesting. You can start accepting remote payments with little hassle. Their fees is still 3.5%/transaction though if I remember correctly.
also the lebanese banks payment gateways looks so scammy causes your conversion rate to decrease.
fadel wrotealso the lebanese banks payment gateways looks so scammy causes your conversion rate to decrease.
Definitely, one of the main reasons I don't want to use their payment gateway!

I'm looking at leapin.eu at the moment, just started the signup process, seems promising.

I would be willing to share how it goes if someone's interested.
evex wrote
fadel wrotealso the lebanese banks payment gateways looks so scammy causes your conversion rate to decrease.
Definitely, one of the main reasons I don't want to use their payment gateway!

I'm looking at leapin.eu at the moment, just started the signup process, seems promising.

I would be willing to share how it goes if someone's interested.
Interesting concept. I browsed the website and checked their pricing plans. they seem expensive, don't you think? to get payment gateways support you'd have to pay 99 euros/ month (+20% VAT)! not considering the payment gateways' fees. Anyway, let us know how it goes. Good luck.
fadel wrotealso the lebanese banks payment gateways looks so scammy causes your conversion rate to decrease.
You dont have to use a hosted page, you can go for a hosted session. If you are feeling adventurous, you can even go full davai and get certified to use direct API. My point is, you want better conversion, you can have it, you just need to put the effort.