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The Bank of Lithuania licenses and supervises the institutions a UAB can bank with, and its public register of financial market participants is the place to check any provider. On 7 October 2026 it listed five banks authorised in Lithuania: SEB, Swedbank, Artea bankas (the former Šiaulių bankas), Revolut Bank and Urbo bankas. Six banks from other EU states work through Lithuanian branches, among them Luminor, which is registered in Estonia, and the Latvian bank Citadele. The same register showed 70 electronic money institutions holding a Lithuanian licence for unrestricted activity, Paysera and ConnectPay among them.
Deposits at Lithuanian banks are insured by the public institution Indėlių ir investicijų draudimas, and the most it repays to one depositor is 100,000 euros per credit institution, within seven working days. Companies are covered; the exclusions include financial-sector firms, state and municipal bodies and holders who have not been identified. Two details matter to a foreign owner. Electronic money is expressly excluded, so a balance at an e-money institution is not insured. And a branch of a bank from another EU state is covered by its home scheme: Estonia’s for Luminor, Latvia’s for Citadele.
SEB lists three main requirements for a business account: a clear connection to Lithuania, a transparent ownership structure and an understandable business model. Its examples of a connection are business activity strongly tied to the country (production, services for the local market, a head or operating office, a warehouse or operational real estate), most clients, long-term partners or suppliers being in Lithuania, or goods stored or moved through Lithuania using local logistics. Luminor states a similar strategy: customers who are mainly Baltic citizens or residents, or who have a strong personal or business connection to the Baltic countries.
SEB says opening can take up to 10 working days when extra documents need checking; an existing SEB private customer representing the company can open the account online in about 20 minutes, while SEB’s video meeting needs an identity document issued by Lithuania. A company registered outside Lithuania sends notarised Lithuanian translations, evidence of the economic need for a Lithuanian account, 12 months of statements and its annual report, and verification can take up to three months.
Founders paying cash into a new UAB use an accumulative account. SEB explains that under Article 8(4) of the Law on Companies the money cannot be used until the company is entered in the Register of Legal Entities, after which it moves to the registered company’s account at SEB or at another credit or e-money institution.
With a shelf UAB the account, if there is one, is held by the company and is not cancelled by the share transfer; the bank instead runs its checks again on the incoming owners, managers and signatories and decides whether to keep, query or close the relationship. Update JADIS first: SEB accepts ownership data from it in place of separate documents, so the record should already show the new owners when the bank looks.
Choose between forming a UAB in Lithuania and taking over a ready-made Lithuanian shelf company; either way we prepare the bank file above and, when a suitable bank is one where we have a working contact, introduce you there. The bank decides on its own terms. More on the country is in our Lithuania overview, and our page on pre-banked shelf companies explains how buying a company with an account works.
There is no single answer, because each bank applies its own policy to the owners and the business. SEB requires a clear connection to Lithuania, transparent ownership and an understandable business model, and Luminor looks for a strong Baltic connection. Where those tests are hard to meet, licensed e-money institutions issue Lithuanian IBANs too, but their balances are not covered by deposit insurance.
Search the register of financial market participants on the Bank of Lithuania’s website by name, or filter it by category: banks authorised in Lithuania, branches of EU and EEA banks, payment institutions, and e-money institutions licensed for unrestricted or restricted activity. On 7 October 2026 it listed five Lithuanian banks, six branches of banks from other EU states and 70 e-money institutions with an unrestricted licence.
Sometimes. SEB lets an existing SEB private customer who represents the company open the account online, but its video meeting requires an identity document issued by Lithuania, so a director living abroad without one should expect a branch visit. Lithuanian company law itself sets no residency requirement for the shareholders or the manager; the company only needs a registered office in Lithuania.
No. Lithuania’s deposit insurance rules expressly exclude electronic money and funds received in exchange for it, so a balance at an e-money institution falls outside the 100,000 euro cover that applies to bank deposits. The cover applies at banks and credit unions that are members of the Lithuanian scheme, while deposits at Lithuanian branches of banks from other EU states fall under their home schemes.
You can buy a UAB that already holds an account, and the account stays with the company, but the bank reviews the new owners and management before deciding whether to continue. Expect the tests SEB sets for any applicant: a clear connection to Lithuania, a transparent ownership structure and an understandable business model. If the company has no account, the application follows the transfer, once JADIS shows the new owners.