Are you looking to open an e-Residency bank account for your Estonian company? If yes, you’re not alone.

In fact, many e-Resident owners of Estonian OÜs are in the same position, struggling to open bank accounts after being promised easy corporate set up and account opening.

Of course, foreign business owners obtain e-Residency for many reasons. But, one of those reasons is access to Euro and low-cost SEPA transfers in a stable EU country. But, to access these services, you first need an e-Residency bank account for your business.

Unfortunately, on its own, Estonian e-Residency doesn’t qualify you or your business to open an e-Residency bank account.

e-Residency Bank Account For Your Businesses

To qualify for an e-Residency bank account in Estonia, your company must meet specific criteria. This includes sufficient ties to Estonia and often requires local operations. However, other banking options do exist. These other options include banks in the EU, in foreign banking hubs, and digital banking platforms.

In this article, we’re going to share the truth about e-Residency bank accounts. This will apply whether you want an account for your Estonian OÜ in Estonia, or abroad.

Of course, we’ll also detail the account opening challenges you’ll face, some of the benefits you can tap into, and banking alternatives you may want to consider instead.

Before diving in, if this is your first time visiting GlobalBanks, don’t forget to download your FREE Business Banking Starter Guide. It’s designed to help your business find and open accounts with the services you need around the world.

What Is an e-Residency Bank Account?

In order to understand what an e-Residency bank account is (and isn’t), there are two steps to follow:

First, you need to understand why opening a bank account in Estonia is so hard. Fortunately, we’ve broken this down for you in a detailed article on opening Estonian bank accounts for non-residents, which you can access here.

Second, you need to navigate all the misleading information on the web… and there’s lots of it to get through.

So, to speed up the process, we thought we’d share a quote directly from the official Estonian e-Residency website to see what they have to say about e-Residency bank account opening:

“E-Residency does not guarantee a business banking account. Opening an account is at the sole discretion of banks or fintechs. E-Residency also does not give people the ability to open a personal bank account in Estonia or the EU.”

So, before we get any further, we’re going to clear a few things up…

What e-Residency is NOT and does NOT do…

• Temporary, permanent, or fiscal residency
• Immigration status of any kind
• Path to obtaining Estonian citizenship
• Travel identification document
• Guarantee that you can open an e-Residency business bank account
• Path to open an e-Residency personal bank account

What e-Residency is and does…

• Estonian digital “residency”
• Provides access to Estonian services & resources
• Enables you to sign and transmit documents remotely
• Helps you efficiently register a company in the EU
• Allows you to efficiently manage your company online
• Allows you to efficiently file your Estonian taxes online
• Possibly a helpful corporate entity for tax efficiency

Please note: If you are planning on using e-Residency and an Estonian OÜ for tax efficiency purposes, it’s important that you speak with a qualified tax professional first.

Now, you may have read that once you obtain Estonian e-Residency, you’ll be able to open a bank account for your Estonian business. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.

In fact, due to the 2017 Estonian money-laundering scandal, many banks have closed their doors to non-resident companies. Yes, this includes e-Residency bank accounts for Estonian OÜs without a physical presence in Estonia. This has involved tighter restrictions on account opening, more stringent compliance practices, and even terminating non-resident and e-Residency bank accounts that were previously opened.

But, what if you have e-Residency, proof of an Estonian company, and even proof of an Estonian address? Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter. Estonian banks have been turning such customers away because, to them, these factors do not demonstrate sufficient economic ties to Estonia.

Not surprisingly, this has made it extremely difficult for Estonian e-Residents and their companies to open e-Residency bank accounts.

So, where can you bank instead?

Well, to save you time and money, we’re going to break down the alternative e-Residency bank account options that you can consider in the next section of this article.

Alternative e-Residency Bank Account Options

Despite the many challenges you can experience when opening an e-Residency bank account for your business in Estonia, there are banking alternatives you can consider elsewhere.

Of course, the options available to you will depend on your specific banking needs, where your customers are located, the account opening requirements you can meet, and a wide range of other considerations.

That said, you may have an easier time opening an e-Residency bank account using the following options compared to opening in Estonia.

Opening Bank Accounts in Cyprus

Some Cyprus banks will open accounts for non-residents and foreign companies that can demonstrate sufficient reason for needing a bank account in Cyprus. This even includes offshore entities used for wealth management purposes.

So, if you’re struggling to open accounts in Estonia and you’re looking to access the EU banking system, opening an e-Residency bank account in Cyprus may be worth considering. But, you will need a reason for wanting to bank there.

We detail the entire account opening process in Cyprus, which banks you can consider, and how to get started opening accounts in our premium report “Banking in Cyprus: Transactional Business Banking in the EU”.

You can access this report immediately when you join GlobalBanks IQ.

Opening Bank Accounts in the US

No, the United States is not in Europe. But, it can be an attractive banking option for e-Residency business owners. In fact, the US can be an attractive option for foreign businesses from most jurisdictions, if you know which banks to approach.

So, if you’re open to non-European banking hubs for your e-Residency bank account, the United States may be worth considering.

In fact, if you decide to open a bank account for your e-Residency business in the United States, you can do so 100% remotely, without a US SSN or ITIN, and in most cases, you don’t even need a US address.

If you’re interested in considering the United States for your e-Residency bank account, you can review our dedicated US banking service GlobalBanks USA by clicking here now.

Opening a Virtual Bank Accounts

In addition to traditional brick-and-mortar banking options, you can also consider opening a virtual e-Residency bank account.

In fact, if you’re looking to open an account for your Estonian business and are in need of a solution that offers Euros, an IBAN, and SEPA transfers, a virtual account may be the best (and most immediate) option to consider.

But, knowing which EMI or fintech is best for you in Europe is not that straightforward. This is especially true if you are not an EU citizen, your business operates outside of the EU, or your business engages in high-risk activities.

If this sounds like an option you want to consider, we share everything you need to know in our premium report “European EMIs for Non-EEA Businesses”.

This report is a detailed look at opening European online bank accounts for non-EEA businesses. Including the account opening process, a full breakdown of the available options, which platforms are best for which clients, and much more.

You can access this report immediately when you join GlobalBanks IQ.

Other Bank Account Options

Of course, an Estonian company (EU company) can potentially open bank accounts in many different countries. But, which countries are available to you will depend on a wide range of variables.

Such variables include where your business operates, where it has customers and suppliers, your transaction volume, deposit level, and much more.

In other words, you can open an e-Residency bank account anywhere in the world. But, to do so, you need to meet the bank’s requirements. Unfortunately, this can often be easier said than done.

That’s why we’ve prepared the premium report “How to Open International Bank Accounts for Offshore Companies.” It helps you find the best banking options for your non-resident and offshore business.

In this report, we include account opening strategies, recommendations on specific jurisdictions, lists of specific banks to consider, and actionable strategies for offshore and non-resident businesses. In other words, it shares which banks might open bank accounts for your e-Residency business.

You can access this report immediately when you join GlobalBanks IQ.