Before a bank opens an account for an Estonian private limited company (OÜ), it must know who the company is, who controls it and what the account will be used for. These are not the bank's own whims but duties under the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act, which applies to every credit institution. This article sets out what the act requires the bank to check, with the section for each, so that the company's application answers it — and what our full bank account opening support covers.
The article is general information, not legal advice. Every bank decides on its own customers under its own rules and the law; no one can promise that an account will be opened.
What the bank must do
- Due diligence. A credit institution is an obliged entity (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act § 2(1) clause 1). Before it opens the account it applies the measures of § 20(1): it identifies the company and verifies the data from a reliable and independent source, identifies the representatives and their right of representation, identifies the beneficial owner and understands the ownership and control structure, understands the purpose of the business relationship, and finds out whether a person involved is a politically exposed person.
- The company's data. For a legal person the bank records, among other things, its name, registry code and date of registration and the members of its management board with the scope of their right of representation (§ 22(1)), and verifies the name and registry code from a credible and independent source (§ 22(2)) — for an Estonian company, the commercial register.
- The purpose. To understand the relationship the bank identifies, among other things, the place of business, the field of activity, the main contracting partners and the payment habits (§ 20(2)) — which is why it asks what the company sells, to whom and in which countries.
- The beneficial owner. A beneficial owner is the natural person who, through ownership or other control, has the final dominant influence over the company (§ 9(1)); where none can be identified that way, it is the person whose direct or indirect shareholding exceeds 25 per cent (§ 9(2)).
When the bank must say no
A bank may not establish a business relationship when it cannot apply the due diligence measures the act requires or when it suspects money laundering or terrorist financing (§ 42(1)). An application with missing documents, unclear ownership or a business description that does not fit the expected payments therefore ends in a refusal, not in a negotiation. A consistent, complete file is what the company controls.
Bank or electronic money institution
Many foreign-owned companies start with an electronic money institution and add a traditional bank later. Our guide Business bank account for an Estonian company explains that route and the smaller services for it.
What the full support covers
The service Full bank account opening support for an Estonian company, from from €1,200, covers:
- the banks that serve the company's type of business;
- the bank's application completed with the company;
- the documents the bank asks for, from the company's records;
- the written follow-up of the bank's questions.
Not included: the bank's fees, a promise that the bank opens the account, and creating documents the company does not have. The bank decides under its own rules and the law.
Prices exclude VAT. All communication takes place by email.
Ready to start? The choice of banks, the completed application, the documents and the follow-up of the bank's questions; the bank decides. Order.
Official sources
The laws this article names, by the name of their official text, as read on 9 October 2026. For the Estonian acts we read the English translation in Riigi Teataja; the legally binding text is the Estonian one.
- Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation
Sources are named in the text, without links. To see which of our services your company needs, open the Business Navigator.