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Portuguese banks are supervised by Banco de Portugal, which Article 93 of the Regime Geral das Instituições de Crédito (RGICSF) makes responsible for their prudential supervision. Deposits are protected by the Fundo de Garantia de Depósitos up to 100,000 euros per depositor and per bank, with all of a depositor’s accounts at that bank added together (RGICSF Article 166). Companies are covered as well as individuals: the exclusions in Article 165 concern banks, investment firms, insurers, funds and public bodies, not trading companies. Balances in other currencies count too, converted into euros, and the fund pays out in euros.
Only banks with their seat in Portugal, and Portuguese branches of non-EU banks without equivalent home cover, take part in the fund (Article 156). A bank from another EU country is covered by its home scheme: Revolut, a Lithuanian bank, tells Portuguese business customers that eligible deposits are covered by the Lithuanian deposit scheme. A payment institution such as Qonto is not a bank and is not in the fund.
A Portuguese Lda, the sociedade por quotas, can be wholly owned and managed from abroad. The banks differ mainly in how you can apply:
| Provider | Type | How you apply | What it publishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caixa Geral de Depósitos | Bank | At a branch | Originals or certified copies; each representative’s identity document, Portuguese tax number, proof of address and proof of occupation |
| Millennium bcp | Bank | Online, for a narrow profile | Only an Lda owned entirely by individuals, with one gerente who signs alone, lives in Portugal and holds a Chave Móvel Digital linked to a Cartão de Cidadão |
| Santander | Bank | Online business account | Chave Móvel Digital, Cartão de Cidadão and the access codes to the registry certificate and the RCBE declaration |
| novobanco | Bank | Not stated in its checklist | A representative or owner from outside the EU, Schengen area and UK living abroad gives a passport, a home tax document and proof of address under six months old |
| BPI | Bank | Branches and business centres | Identity card or passport, taxpayer card, proof of address and a payslip for each representative |
| Revolut Business | Lithuanian bank | Online | The company proves a physical presence in the EEA; the applicant lives in an eligible country, a list that always includes the EEA, Switzerland and the UK |
| Qonto | French payment institution | Online | Accepts the Lda; Portuguese accounts get a French IBAN for now |
The banks’ own online routes rest on Portuguese digital identity, so a gerente living abroad normally applies to a Portuguese bank with documents.
Portugal’s anti-money laundering law explains the split. Lei 83/2017 lets banks verify a person through the State’s identification and signature tools on autenticacao.gov.pt; otherwise they need a reproduction of the original identity document, a certified copy or equivalent electronic evidence, such as a qualified trust service under the EU eIDAS Regulation (Article 25). The State tools are the Cartão de Cidadão, Portugal’s national identity card, and the Chave Móvel Digital. A foreigner can activate the Chave Móvel Digital only at a service counter, Portuguese consulates included, with a passport or residence document, and Millennium bcp and Santander ask for the Cartão de Cidadão itself in any case.
On the document route, CGD lets a new account move only once it has seen originals or certified copies, which in Portugal notaries, lawyers, solicitors, CTT post offices, parish councils and chambers of commerce can provide. Ask which certification and apostille it accepts for documents issued abroad.
The law requires a bank to see the company’s legal person card or its commercial registry certificate (Lei 83/2017, Article 25). The banks’ own lists for an Lda add up to this:
Since the company, every sócio and every gerente need a Portuguese tax number anyway, managers usually hold a NIF before a bank is approached.
The partners of an Lda fix the share capital freely, and each quota must be at least one euro (Código das Sociedades Comerciais, Articles 201 and 219). No bank certificate is needed for registration: in the act of incorporation the partners declare, under their own responsibility, that they have paid their contributions or will pay them into the company by the end of its first financial year (Article 202). The first bank account can therefore follow registration. A sociedade anónima is different: its cash contributions must be deposited in an account in the name of the company being formed before the contract is signed (Article 277).
A Portuguese account is a euro account whose IBAN starts with PT and has 25 characters. Portugal, the Azores and Madeira all sit inside the SEPA schemes, so euro transfers and direct debits run on SEPA. A provider licensed elsewhere may issue a foreign IBAN: Qonto gives its Portuguese customers a French one, and points out that EU Regulation 260/2012 forbids refusing an account because of the country where it is held.
Beyond published criteria, general bank practice is to question a business description that does not fit the expected payments, or a source of funds that cannot be explained.
A shelf company in Portugal is an Lda already registered with its NIPC, so buying one means a transfer of quotas and a change of gerente, not a formation. If the company holds a bank account, the account belongs to the company and stays with it. What changes is that the bank must bring its identification of the representatives and beneficial owners up to date (Lei 83/2017, Article 40), and must end the relationship if it cannot complete that due diligence and the risk cannot be managed otherwise (Article 50). In practice it may keep the account, ask for more documents or close it.
Compare the routes on our pages for a ready-made shelf company in Portugal and company formation in Portugal; the guide to shelf companies with bank accounts explains how banks treat a change of owner. We can supply a ready-made Lda or form a new one and help prepare the bank application, but the bank decides and nobody can promise that an account will be opened. The Portugal hub covers tax, the RCBE and residency; for the neighbouring market, see business bank accounts in Spain.
Yes, through a Portuguese company. Neither the sócios nor the gerentes of an Lda have to live in Portugal, but the route matters: Millennium bcp’s online company account needs a gerente living in Portugal and Santander’s a Cartão de Cidadão, so a manager abroad usually applies with documents; novobanco’s checklist lists what a representative living abroad provides.
You will usually have one already, because the company, each sócio and each gerente need a Portuguese tax number. CGD and BPI ask every representative for a Portuguese taxpayer card or equivalent, while novobanco accepts a tax document from the country of residence for a representative or beneficial owner from outside the EU, Schengen area and UK living abroad.
Sometimes. Millennium bcp and Santander build their online company accounts on the Cartão de Cidadão and Chave Móvel Digital, but the law also allows certified copies or qualified electronic trust services, and each bank chooses what it offers. CGD asks companies to come to a branch; Revolut and Qonto onboard online within their criteria.
No. The partners set the capital freely, each quota must be at least one euro, and they declare under their own responsibility that the contributions are paid or will be paid into the company by the end of its first financial year. A sociedade anónima, by contrast, must deposit its cash contributions in a bank before the contract is signed.
Yes. The Fundo de Garantia de Depósitos covers up to 100,000 euros per depositor and per bank, for companies as well as individuals, including balances in other currencies. Banks from other EU countries, such as Revolut, are covered by their home schemes, and a payment institution such as Qonto is not part of the fund.
Where a ready-made Lda already holds an account, the account stays with the company when the quotas change hands. The bank must update its identification of the new owners and representatives, and may keep the account, ask for more documents or close it. Each incoming foreign sócio and gerente also needs a Portuguese tax number.