Bank accounts in Estonia

Estonia is one of the stable European jurisdictions, which has created and maintains favorable conditions for entrepreneurship, including opening bank accounts. However, local regulators and banks' liberal and loyal approaches are combined with thorough inspections, including for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Advantages of opening an Estonian bank account

If you are considering opening an Estonian bank account, it is associated with the following benefits and advantages:

• options for simplified settlements with counterparties in Europe and worldwide;
• perfect conditions for the preservation and turnover of funds;
• high level of protection of personal and banking data;
• no burdensome financial and banking control requirements
• options to remotely open and manage bank accounts in Estonia;
• possibility to perform bank transactions in large volumes;
• relatively low transaction fees.

The list of available benefits varies depending on the selected Estonian bank. Prifinance lawyers are ready to advise you in detail on your business case.

Procedure and nuances of opening an Estonian bank account

Opening an Estonian foreign account does not involve cumbersome bureaucratic formalities and covers the following indicative steps:

• collection of information and documents with further processing;
• submitting a package of documents for consideration;
• presentation of additional information at the request of the bank employees;
• obtaining confirmation of the account opening and the bank card for it.

In the case of Estonia, there is an important nuance - you can open a bank account only for a resident. The Estonian bank needs to work with a resident director if it is a legal entity. The specific list of data and documents depends on the bank and who is planning to open an Estonian bank account. Individuals must provide personal and passport data. Legal entities submit, among other things:

• documents confirming their registration status;
• constituent documents;
• information on shareholders, beneficiaries, as well as managers of the company;
• documents with the signatures of authorized officials to draw up settlement documents.

Documents must be properly executed, including an apostille or proof of consular legalization. An essential nuance for opening an Estonian foreign bank account is the need to prove a connection with the country. This can be, for example, the presence of business partners and employees in Estonia conducting activities in the jurisdiction. Regardless of whether an individual or a legal entity applies, the Estonian bank has to confirm the legality of the funds' origin and information about the purpose of account opening. Prifinance lawyers are ready to give detailed advice on the issue and help with drawing up the required documents and application forms.

How Prifinance lawyers can help

If you intend to open an account in Estonia, Prifinance lawyers are ready to simplify the registration efforts and fully support opening a bank account in the jurisdiction. Among other things, the lawyers are prepared to undertake:

• analysis of business priorities and search for suitable options of banking institutions (2-3 banks minimum);
• collection and preparation of required information and documents;
• negotiating with representatives of state authorities and bank officials
• support in resolving all issues arising in using the account in the future.

Prifinance lawyers have extensive experience in handling and supporting such matters. Provide input for detailed advice on the issue