Estonian company bank account: e-Residency gives you the company, not the bank

The programme's banking basics page is unusually frank for a government site: banks are private companies that set their own criteria, and access to business banking is not guaranteed. Put side by side:

And the line most founders miss, from the "Banks in Estonia" page: Estonian companies "are not obligated to have a bank account in Estonia or use an Estonian (EE) IBAN".

This is the question every Estonian bank asks first. LHV wants "a clear connection to Estonia and a need to open an account here"; SEB says it only starts relationships with companies connected to Estonia. The e-Residency page lists what helps and what doesn't. Tick what fits.

The result is a guide to where to apply first, not a bank's decision.

All three large banks publish a separate price for companies whose owners live abroad. The first fee is charged before the decision. Choose where the owner lives.

Swedbank adds one more published fact: a decision within ten working days once the fee and every document are in. LHV defines "non-resident" broadly, as a company at least 25% owned by foreign persons or with a beneficial owner living abroad, so an e-resident owner always counts.

The e-Residency page says a personal visit to the bank "is most likely required". The banks' own pages agree.

So an Estonian bank account usually costs a review fee, a flight and a few days, with no promise at the end. For a company with a real Estonian link that can be worth it. For a consultant selling to clients in Germany and the US, the EEA route below does the same job.

The programme's page on EU and EEA providers calls payment and e-money institutions "the most commonly used banking option among e-residents", with setup that can usually be done fully online. They give the company its own IBAN, cards and SEPA payments.

What you give up is small for most small companies: no loans, and no deposit guarantee, because the money is safeguarded rather than deposited. What you gain is an account matched to where your customers are, opened without a trip.

Two things changed in recent years, and older guides still get them wrong. Since 1 February 2023 there is no founding without paying in: the capital is paid in full before the company is filed. The smallest share is one cent, so the capital can be one cent.

And the payment doesn't need an Estonian account. The Banks in Estonia page notes that share capital may be paid from any EU or EEA business account, and for capital up to €50,000 the founders confirm the payment in the filing, with no bank certificate.

Some answers are known before you apply, because the banks publish them.

Being paid in crypto for your work is a separate matter from offering crypto services. If your OÜ is a consultancy paid in USDC, say so and show the conversions; if it exchanges or holds crypto for others, it needs a MiCA licence first and should expect most banks to decline.

Estonian banks report accounts of foreign tax residents to the Tax and Customs Board under the Common Reporting Standard, which passes them to the owner's country. Accounts in other EU countries fall under the same exchange. Where do you live? pick it

The provider has the final say, and it almost always says yes. The whole offer is on our Estonian company page; how the 0% on kept profit and the 22% on distributions work is in the Estonia tax guide, the yearly costs in Estonia annual report and fees, and the card itself in our e-Residency guide.