Bank Account for a Lithuanian Company: Banks, Fintechs and the Share Capital Account

A company in Lithuania needs an account twice: once before registration, to pay in the share capital, and then for everyday business. Foreign founders often learn about the first account the hard way and lose weeks on the second by starting at a bank. This guide explains both accounts, then covers the fintechs, because that is where a foreign owner realistically begins, and finally shows what the bank route costs.

Two Accounts, Not One: The Accumulative Account and the Working Account

Under the Law on Companies, the founders of a UAB, the Lithuanian private limited company often called a Lithuanian LLC, pay their initial contributions into an accumulative account opened in the name of the company being formed. Each founder pays at least a quarter of the nominal value of the shares they subscribe, and the total must reach the minimum share capital of €1,000. With the minimum capital, that means the full €1,000 goes in before registration. The money stays frozen until the company is entered in the Register of Legal Entities; the provider issues the payment confirmation that registration requires. Following an amendment to the law, this account can also be opened at a licensed e-money institution. That matters, because banks are sometimes unwilling to open even this temporary account for a non-resident.

There is a simpler route that skips the step altogether. If you buy a ready-made Lithuanian company, the share capital has already been paid in and the only account you need is the working one. The purchase is completed remotely on scanned documents, without notarised powers of attorney. In our practice this is the fastest way for a foreigner to get a Lithuanian UAB. The working account itself can be anywhere in the EU: nothing in Lithuanian law requires a Lithuanian bank, and Lithuanian company taxes can be paid from any SEPA IBAN.

Fintech Business Accounts: The Easy Route for a Foreign Owner

For a company whose owners or director live abroad, an online provider, usually a licensed payment or e-money institution (a fintech, for short), is the normal first account, not a fallback. A fintech onboards online, identifies the director by video or a selfie with a passport, takes documents as uploads without apostilles or translations, charges nothing or a small one-off fee to open, and answers within days. A Lithuanian bank charges several hundred euros before it looks at the file, usually wants a meeting and takes weeks to decide. In our experience a company with no Lithuanian staff, customers or premises is refused more often than not, and the fee is gone either way. That is why most of our clients go straight to a fintech and do not try a bank at all until the business has something local to show.

The trade-off is protection. Deposits at a bank, including Revolut Bank, are covered by deposit insurance up to €100,000 per depositor; money at a payment or e-money institution is kept separate from the institution’s own funds but is not insured. Fintechs also close accounts more readily when they see activity they did not expect.

Revolut Business

Revolut Business is a fintech that is also a Lithuanian bank: accounts are held with Revolut Bank UAB, so the company gets a Lithuanian IBAN and deposit insurance. The catch is eligibility: the person applying must live in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, so a company whose only director lives in Dubai will not get through onboarding. All plans carry a monthly subscription.

Wise Business

Wise accepts companies registered in Lithuania and opens the account online, usually within days. The IBAN is Belgian, which makes no difference for euro payments inside Europe. A one-off €50 charge and no monthly fee make Wise the cheapest option for a company that mostly works in euros. Wise is not a bank and is stricter with owners living outside Europe.

Paysera

Paysera, licensed in 2012, is Lithuania’s first e-money institution and the natural local choice. Online opening is free for a company in Lithuania, identification is by Lithuanian e-signature or uploaded documents, and the account comes with a Lithuanian IBAN, which local accountants and counterparties are used to.

ZEN.COM and Others

ZEN.COM, a Vilnius e-money institution with a multi-currency business account, also works with Lithuanian companies, as do several other EU providers. Each has its own risk appetite, so apply to two or three in parallel; even with a refusal, the whole exercise costs less time and money than one bank review.

Lithuanian Banks: Possible, but Slow, Costly and Uncertain

A Lithuanian bank account is worth having once the company has a real presence in Lithuania. It is just not where a foreign owner should start. Every Lithuanian bank handles a UAB with foreign shareholders or a foreign director much like a non-resident client, as a separate, paid procedure. The review fee is charged before the decision and is not refunded after a refusal, and you should expect a branch visit or video meeting, apostilled and translated documents, and a wait of a week to a couple of months. For a new company with no Lithuanian activity, that decision is more often a refusal than an account.

Artea, formerly Šiaulių bankas and the largest bank with mainly Lithuanian capital, is the usual first choice when a small foreign-owned company wants a local bank. It opens accounts for companies with foreign owners, but charges a €400 data verification fee and an individual monthly rate.

Urbo bankas, formerly Medicinos bankas, is a smaller Vilnius bank that courts small business and publishes its terms for foreign-owned companies. When a founder, shareholder or beneficial owner is a foreign citizen, it charges from €300 for the data check and from €200 to open the account, and the minimum monthly fee rises from €3 to €50. The numbers are not small, but they are published, which puts Urbo ahead of banks that decide case by case.

SEB, Swedbank, Luminor and Citadele are built for Lithuanian residents. SEB charges €700 for data verification of any business client with a non-resident owner and €50 a month afterwards; the others charge roughly €100 to €500 for comparable checks.

The figures come from the banks’ price lists and change often, so check the current list before applying. Even the cheapest bank review costs more than opening an account at Wise or Paysera, and buys only a decision.

What Any Provider Will Ask

Banks and fintechs work from the same anti-money-laundering rules, so the questions are the same. Have ready a current register extract and the articles of association, plus passports and proof of address for the director and every owner with 25% or more. You will also need an ownership chart down to the natural persons, matching the beneficial owner data filed with the register. Add a plain description of the business with expected turnover, main counterparties and the source of the first money. A Lithuanian bank will want a reason to bank in Lithuania as well, and its first question to a start-up with no local customers, suppliers or staff is why it needs a Lithuanian bank at all. Some online providers ask for a first payment from an account in your own name at an EU bank, so keep a personal euro account ready.

Registering a Company in Lithuania with Eesti Firma

The sequence that works is simple. Decide whether to found or to buy, apply to a fintech for the business account as soon as the company is registered, and approach Artea or Urbo only later, if the business grows Lithuanian ties. Lithuanian law does not require a resident director, as our article on the director of a Lithuanian company explains, but every provider takes the director’s residence into account.

We register Lithuanian companies for foreign founders and can offer a ready-made company where speed matters. Our company registration in Lithuania package includes the registered address for the first year and the corporate documents a bank or payment institution will ask for. We prepare them so that the ownership chart, the register filing and the business description tell the same story. Which provider you then apply to is your choice, and we will tell you plainly which ones are realistic for your structure. If you are planning a company in Lithuania, send us a request.

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