Banking and paying in Estonia: your right to a basic account, and why the ID card makes it easy

Yes, you can open a bank account in Estonia, and the law is on your side: everyone who lives legally in the EU has a right to a basic payment account. According to the supervisor Finantsinspektsioon, an Estonian bank may only refuse it for reasons of money-laundering legislation, or if you have no legitimate interest in it. The finding in Finantsinspektsioon's guideline: a bank may not turn away customers living legally in Estonia because of their nationality or place of residence, and may not offer the basic services only through an app. The pitfall is a half-finished file: whoever cannot show what they need the account for gives the bank a reason.

What does the basic payment account include?

The everyday payment services: withdrawing and depositing cash, paying by card, paying online and the like. According to Your Europe a bank may charge a fixed annual fee for the package, but it must be reasonable; Finantsinspektsioon puts it more strictly: free of charge or for a reasonable fee, without unreasonably high charges. Your Europe warns about one more thing: in some EU countries a bank may also refuse if you already have a similar account with another bank in the same country.

Rule	What Finantsinspektsioon writes
Who is entitled	everyone who lives legally in the EU
Refusal allowed	only for money-laundering reasons, or if you have no legitimate interest
Not to be weighed	only your wealth, age, sex, job, education, family or income; and your nationality or residence if you live legally in Estonia
Channels	not only online: also branches and cash machines
Documents	nothing the bank already has or can obtain itself, if the law does not require it
Closing allowed	for deliberate unlawful use, after 24 months without transactions, for false information, or if you no longer live legally in the EU
Explanation	the bank must say why it refuses or closes, unless the money-laundering rules forbid it

What is a legitimate interest?

Finantsinspektsioon gives examples, and they fit an emigrant exactly: you want to receive your wages or a benefit, pay your rent or your phone bill, pay the costs of a home, or pay in shops. So bring your employment contract or your lease to the bank. That is not a legal requirement, but it makes your interest clear at a glance.

A refusal is not rare. In a year with over 123,000 applications, Estonian banks refused an account 2,785 times according to Finantsinspektsioon, and closed the accounts of almost 32,000 people. Always ask for the reason when refused: the bank is obliged to give it, unless the money-laundering act silences it. And Finantsinspektsioon itself cannot settle complaints; it does supervise how banks apply the rules.

When is the best time to open an account?

Easiest after your residence notice and your ID card: then you have an Estonian personal identification code and a card with which you sign digitally. The card costs € 45 at the PPA counter, € 20 for children and anyone who has reached retirement age in Estonia. How to get it is in the Estonian ID card; how the residence notice works, in staying in Estonia.

With the card, or with Mobile-ID or Smart-ID, you also use the government's e-services, such as the e-population register for your next change of address. Which of those login tools your bank offers, you ask when opening the account.

Which account do I keep in the Netherlands?

Your Dutch account, and you do not close it. What an Estonian account gives you is an Estonian bank account for your employer, your rent and your fixed costs. Why you never cut the Dutch side is in keeping a bank account and DigiD.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.5: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Estonia or go straight to step 4.5 in the open plan.