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A bank account is a type of financial account that keeps your money secure and helps you manage your finances. They give you an easy way to make payments to others (for example, standing orders, foreign exchange payments and bank transfers) and let people pay you (for example, your employer). You’ll also get a debit card, which allows you to make payments and withdraw cash from a ATM.

While you may use other money products, such as credit cards or savings accounts, it’s generally your current account that lets you make payments into each one, or pay bills, meaning everything works smoothly together.

When considering which bank account to go for, it’s important to consider first which features you want your account to offer. Some bank accounts will pay interest on your balance, while others won’t offer any. There are accounts which offer features like cashback on household bills, travel insurance and 0% overdrafts. It’s worth deciding which of these is most important to you, to help evaluate what works for you and what doesn’t.

Also worth weighing up is how you open and manage the account. Do you want a bank account you can open online? Or are you more keen on being able to head into a branch to sort things out? 

And it’s very important to check the account’s eligibility criteria before applying. Certain bank accounts come with fees, or require you to pay in a certain amount each month to qualify for the features they offer. 

A standing order is an instruction from you, to your bank, to pay a fixed amount of money to an account. You can send a standing order to any account, bill, mortgage payment or organisation. You have full control over how much and how frequent the payments should be, as you set them up yourself.

A recurring payment (or continuous payment authority – CPA) is where you give a company your card details, and they use them to set up a regular or continuous payment from your card. You’ll know if it’s a recurring payment if you give the company your 16-digit card number, rather than your bank account number IBAN.

They’re usually used if you’re paying for a subscription, like a TV streaming service or recipe box. With these payments you have very little control over how much or when they’ll take out your money, and you usually won’t be informed that the company will be taking a payment.

Most do, but you can even get a virtual debit card too, or this alone. Virtual debit cards cannot be physically stolen and can be stopped quicker in a case of fraudulent use.

Documents submitted to the bank:

• Customer’s identity document
  • Identity card of a citizen of Estonia, another member state of the European Union, a member state of the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation (ID card)
  • Estonian or foreign passport (travel document)
  • Residence permit card issued in Estonia
  • Driving license issued in Estonia
• Notarial power of attorney and identity document of the authorised person in case the authorised person wishes to open an account, or an authorised person communicates with a bank representative on the topic of opening an account on behalf of a client
• In case of opening an account for a minor, the identity document of the parent or guardian
• In case of opening an account for a person with limited legal capacity, the identity document and court decision of the guardian (preferably digital)
• Customer questionnaire
• Other additional documents requested by the bank

Documents submitted to the bank:

• Customer’s identity document
• Identity card of a citizen of a Member State of the European Union (incl. Estonia), a Member State of the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation (ID card)
• Foreign passport (travel document)
• Notarial power of attorney and identity document of the authorised person in case the authorised person wishes to open an account, or an authorised person communicates with a bank representative on the topic of opening an account on behalf of a client
• Upon opening an account of a minor, the identity document of the parent or guardian, the identity document of the child and the birth certificate
• In case of opening an account for a person with limited active legal capacity, the identity document of the guardian and a court judgment
• Customer CV or reference to LinkedIn profile
• Customer questionnaire
• Documents proving the connection with Estonia:
  • lease or employment contract
  • school certificate
  • marriage certificate
  • an extract from the TÖR register
• Other additional documents requested by the bank

Documents submitted to the bank:

• Client’s identity document:
  • Customer’s foreign passport (travel document)
• Notarial power of attorney and identity document of the authorised person in case the authorised person wishes to open an account, or an authorised person communicates with a bank representative on the topic of opening an account on behalf of a client
• Upon opening an account of a minor, the identity document of the parent or guardian, the identity document of the child and the birth certificate
• In case of opening an account for a person with limited active legal capacity, the identity document of the guardian and a court judgment
• Customer CV or reference to LinkedIn profile
• Customer questionnaire
• Documents proving the connection with Estonia:
  • lease contract
  • school certificate
  • marriage certificate
• Other additional documents requested by the bank