Basics
Why Do I Need a Corporate Bank Account and What Is the Best Option?
Once your business is registered in Estonia, you need to open a bank account to invoice your customers, pay suppliers and distribute profits. Unless you have a good reason to opt for a traditional bank account, online solutions such as Wise or Revolut Business are perfectly valid alternatives for your business, and they have many advantages, such as: You save money and time since everything is online so you don't have to visit offices. You can transfer money for free to other cFew readersHow to Connect Your Bank Account to Companio?
This article is useful for Open Banking solutions such as Wise, Revolut Business, LHV, or Paypal. If you need to connect a payment gateway such as Mollie or Stripe with an API key, visit this FAQ. If you need to upload bank statements manually, check this FAQ (https://help.companio.co/en/article/how-to-manually-upload-your-bank-statemeSome readersHow Do I Connect My Stripe or Mollie Payment Gateway to Companio?
The process is similar if you have a bank account with an API key. These are the steps to follow: Select the bank account. For this example, we'll use Mollie. Mollie To link the Mollie account of your company in the dashboard, you must obtain a special token that allows us to access the Mollie API. Using this key, we can obtain your bank statements automatically to make the bankPopularWhat Are the Best Estonian Payment Gateways for My Business?
While most payment solutions look great on paper, some of them don’t actually work well for location-independent business owners. Discover the real-world pros and cons of Paypal, Stripe, Mollie, and others by clicking here.Few readersCan I Open a Bank Account in My Country for My Estonian Company?
In 2019, the Estonian government approved a law that allows you to use any European bank for your company in Estonia, and that includes being able to pay and declare the share capital. However, it is not an option that we recommend, since there are digital banking solutions with many more advantages. In the case that you have a specific reason to opt for this alternative, you will need some documents, includingFew readersWhat is IBAN Discrimination?
IBAN discrimination is when local service companies and even governmental institutions, from city councils to a Ministry’s office, can claim that they are incapable of receiving any payment from you from your EU account. It is a more common phenomenon than it may seem, especially in some EU countries. This discrimination is especially annoying when it affects your business. Either because you want to set a payment for temporary services (Eg. a coworking fee) or one-off charges (Eg. a new laptFew readersHow to Manually Upload Your Bank Statements With Companio?
Ideally, your bank should allow us to connect it to their API. An API is software that allows us to connect to your bank on your behalf and obtain information from your bank account, such as your bank transactions. Unfortunately, not all banks offer API integration, and for these cases, we will need you to download your bank statements of all currencies (i.e. your accounts in USD, EUR, etc.) and upload them regularly. How regularly? Ideally, at the end of each week, but at least at tFew readers
Opening a Bank Account
How can I open a bank account for my business in an online bank?
To open an account with an online banking solution like Wise or Revolut Business, you generally need two documents: The entry in the Registry. The Articles of Association. In this article we explain how you can download them from the e-Business Register. The application process varies from bank to bank, but usually, it involves some kind of online registration, submitting the information of your business, and going through some AMLFew readersWhere Will My Business Credit Card Be Shipped?
When you request a debit or credit card for your Estonia company from your bank provider, it is usually sent to the company address, which is the address of the virtual office (and its registered legal address) assigned to you. That means it will get delivered to our offices. Once it arrives, we will contact you to inform you that we have received the card and ask you for the right address to forward it to. You will have to pay for the shipping costs only.Few readersCan I Change My Company Bank Account? Can My Estonian Company Have Multiple Bank Accounts?
Yes and yes. There is no problem in changing banks. Imagine you are in Wise, but you want to open a bank account at Revolut Business. You have two options: You can open a Revolut Business account and use both accounts. If you like Revolut Business so much that you think you want to switch completely, you can also close your Wise account and use only your Revolut Business account from that moment on. Make sure your new account is open and perfectly operational before closing the first onFew readersWhen I try to open my bank account in my online bank I am asked for a "Power of Attorney" document, what's that?
Normally, it is one of the directors, or members of the board of directors, who is responsible for opening the company's bank account. However, in large companies, one of the workers, such as a secretary or virtual assistant, may take care of this process. When you are asked for a "Power of Attorney" to open a bank account, it is precisely for this last scenario. This employee, acting on your behalf, will need this permission or power of attorney, which is a document digitally signed by yFew readers
Common Issues
The Bank Is Asking Me for Documents to Prove the Structure of the Shareholders or Members of the Board
It may happen that the bank asks you for a notarised document that proves the shareholding structure to verify it. They usually ask for 2 types of documents: Banks can request documents to show that they are actually talking to the owners and representatives of the business and that they have the power and authority to open the bank account. These documents are usually two: the entry in the registry and the articles of association of the company, where the names of the members of tSome readersHow do I verify my bank account online without a physical address?
Some online banks may ask your company for utility bills or a rental agreement as proof of your legal address. If you only have the virtual office that we give you with our services, you will not have these documents. If this is your case, you have to inform your bank that: Your company has been created online through the e-Residency program. You have a virtual office, so you cannot provide them with invoices or rental agreements. You do not live in Estonia or run your business from thereFew readersWhy Did The Bank Cancel My Account? Can You Help Me?
As we mentioned before, all banks, including online banking solutions, are subject to AML and KYC protocols. These protocols are different from bank to bank. In accordance with these protocols, and their terms of acceptable use, a banking provider can decide to close your bank account. Sometimes, this can happen for a specific activity in your account, for example: You make a transfer from a high-risk country or individual. You make a suspicious transaction, such as one for a very higFew readersWhat happens if I need an account with an Estonian IBAN (like for Google Ads)?
There is currently no digital banking solution offering Estonian IBANs, and that can be a problem with some platforms such as Google Ads that expect your IBAN to be from the same country as your company (shame on you, Google). Most of the time, even if your bank account does not have an Estonian IBAN, you can open a support ticket or talk to the technical support of the platforms asking you for an Estonian IBAN and inform them that your bank is not Estonian so even if it's the bank accountFew readersThe verification process of my digital bank account is taking too long!
The verification process of your bank account depends exclusively on the bank you are applying to, as well as the workload or number of customers who are trying to verify their accounts in that bank. On rare occasions, there may be important delays in the verification process, sometimes up to two weeks or more. If this is your case, you should contact them and open a support ticket.Few readers