- →
-
Contact Form
-
In Finland the account holder is an osakeyhtiö (Oy) entered in the Trade Register of the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH). Banks are supervised by Finanssivalvonta, the Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA). Finland is the one Nordic country that uses the euro, so company accounts are in euros: Finnish IBANs begin with FI and are always 18 characters long, and Finland is a SEPA country.
Rahoitusvakausvirasto, the Financial Stability Authority, runs the deposit guarantee, which pays a depositor at most EUR 100,000 per bank, whatever the currency. Its list of covered depositors names companies of every form and size; public authorities, insurers, and credit institutions or investment firms acting on their own account are left out. The OP Group, the POP Bank Group and the Savings Banks Group each count as a single bank, so two OP cooperative banks share one limit. Danske Bank’s Finnish branch falls under the Danish scheme. A balance at a payment institution such as Holvi is not a deposit at all: it is safeguarded, not guaranteed.
An Oy can be founded with or without share capital. Without it, the PRH records the share capital as 0 euros, so there is nothing to pay into a bank before registration. The company exists from its entry in the Trade Register, and the banks work to that moment: OP’s online application needs the Business ID (Y-tunnus), and Nordea accepts an application early but opens services only after registration. The PRH’s guided online set-up works only if everyone filed has a Finnish personal identity code; others file a start-up notification with documents they draft themselves.
Anyone may own an Oy, but at least one ordinary board member, at least one deputy member and the managing director have to reside in the European Economic Area, unless the PRH grants a permit. The banks add their own filter: strong electronic identification. OP takes online applications only from a person with a user ID from a Finnish bank and signing rights, for a company liable to tax only in Finland; anyone else is asked to book an appointment at the bank. Nordea’s application also starts with Finnish online banking credentials, and Nordea says e-identification works only with a Finnish personal identity code and, for now, cannot be issued on identity documents from outside the EEA, San Marino or Switzerland, so at Nordea a board member holding only such documents cannot hold the online credentials. The identity code itself can be requested through the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, the Tax Administration or the Finnish Immigration Service.
| Provider | Type | Route for a company run from abroad | Published conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| OP Financial Group | Cooperative bank group | Online with a Finnish bank user ID, processed in about a week; otherwise an appointment at a local OP bank | Operating limited company or private trader liable to tax only in Finland; representatives’ credit data checked with Suomen Asiakastieto |
| Nordea | Bank | Online with Finnish bank credentials, processed in a few banking days | Share register or ownership chart, beneficial owners’ details and an up-to-date entry in the PRH register of beneficial owners |
| Holvi | Payment institution authorised in Finland | Online | Business registered in Finland, Germany or Austria; every user living in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland; no persons liable to US FATCA reporting |
The edunsaajarekisteri is the PRH’s register of beneficial owners, meaning anyone whose direct or indirect stake exceeds 25% of the shares or votes. It is not public, but authorities and businesses with anti-money laundering duties, banks among them, can obtain extracts, and Nordea expects the entry to be current before it opens an account. An account held by the Oy is the Oy’s asset and does not leave with the seller, yet the bank repeats its customer checks on the incoming shareholders, board and signatories, and the outcome can be continuity, a request for documents, or closure. Filing the new beneficial owners as soon as the transfer completes gives the bank a register that matches its file. See our shelf companies in Finland.
We can provide a ready-made Oy or handle a new registration through company formation in Finland, prepare the share register, the beneficial owner filing and the board’s identity documents for the bank, and arrange an introduction in cases where we already know someone at an appropriate bank. Approval rests with the bank. Our Finland hub has the wider picture, and the shelf company with bank account guide covers a bank’s review after a sale.
Not online at OP or Nordea. OP’s online route needs a user ID from a Finnish bank, and Nordea’s strong electronic identification works only with a Finnish personal identity code. OP asks such applicants to book a branch appointment instead. Holvi, a payment institution, opens accounts online for Finnish companies whose users live in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland.
No. An Oy can be founded without share capital, in which case the PRH records it as 0 euros and nothing has to be deposited before registration. The bank comes afterwards: OP’s online application needs the Business ID, and Nordea opens services only once the company is in the Trade Register, although it will take the application earlier.
It is the register of beneficial owners kept by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office, listing everyone whose direct or indirect stake exceeds 25% of the shares or votes. The public cannot see it, but banks can obtain extracts under their anti-money laundering duties. Nordea requires the entry to be up to date before opening an account, so record ownership changes promptly.
Yes. The guarantee pays each depositor up to EUR 100,000 at a failed bank, and companies of any form and size qualify as depositors. Insurers, public authorities and financial firms on their own account are excluded. The OP Group counts as one bank, deposits at Danske Bank’s Finnish branch fall under the Danish scheme, and payment institutions such as Holvi sit outside the deposit guarantee altogether.