Austria · Registers and office
Business Bank Account
in Austria
We prepare and coordinate the banking file for Austrian companies owned from abroad. We do not promise an account.
- EUR 5,000 minimum cash deposit before the Firmenbuch filing
- The deposit may sit on a notary's trust account instead
- A company has no statutory right to an account
- No bank named as a partner, no timeline quoted
What we do, and what no one can promise you
Two different things are called a business bank account in Austria, and only one is fixed by law: the share-capital deposit a GmbH or FlexCo needs before the register court will enter it, and the operating account the company banks with afterwards. This page is about both.
We assemble and coordinate the file each is decided on. We are not a bank, we hold no mandate from one, and we do not guarantee that an account will be opened. No provider can. A company has no statutory right to an account in Austria, and where an institution cannot finish its checks the law forbids it to open one. If the company does not exist yet, start at the company register page.
Two accounts, and only one of them is required by law
The share-capital deposit is a requirement of company law: at least a quarter of each cash contribution, in any event at least EUR 70 on each, and at least EUR 5,000 in total before the company is filed (GmbHG § 10 Abs. 1). The court is satisfied not by the money arriving but by a written confirmation, and § 10 Abs. 3 accepts one only from a credit institution or from the notarising notary as trustee, who answers to the company for its accuracy.
The operating account is required by no statute. It is an ordinary contract, and the consumer's right to a basic payment account does not reach a company: VZKG § 23 Abs. 1 gives it to a Verbraucher, which § 2 Z 1 defines as a natural person acting outside their trade. A company has no right of access, no closed list of grounds for refusal, and no deadline for a decision.
| Share-capital deposit account | Operating account | |
|---|---|---|
| Required by | company law, GmbHG § 10 Abs. 1 | nothing; it is a contract |
| When it exists | before the company is registered | after the Firmenbuch entry |
| Who may hold the money | a domestic credit institution, a CRR credit institution within BWG § 9, or the notary's Anderkonto (§ 10 Abs. 2) | any credit institution that accepts the company |
| What the institution reviews | the founders, because the company has no history yet | the company: ownership, purpose, expected volumes |
| What it produces | the written confirmation the court needs (§ 10 Abs. 3) | payments, cards, payroll, tax debits |
| A statutory right to it | none | none |
| A statutory decision deadline | none | none |
| If it is refused | the notary's trust account remains open | apply again elsewhere; the refusal may have been compulsory (FM-GwG § 7 Abs. 7) |
The deposit is GmbHG § 10 Abs. 1 to 3, in force from 1 January 2024. The absence of any right to the operating account follows from VZKG § 23 Abs. 1 read with its own definition of a consumer in § 2 Z 1, BGBl. I Nr. 35/2016.
What this service includes
The ownership chain and the source of funds.
Ownership and control traced to the natural persons behind every intermediate entity, and the money's origin documented (FM-GwG § 6 Abs. 1 Z 2 and Z 4).
The business description.
The purpose and intended nature of the relationship, written so a compliance officer outside your sector can follow it (§ 6 Abs. 1 Z 3).
The corporate document set.
Register extracts, articles and appointment resolutions, certified and translated where required, so the institution can verify what § 6 Abs. 2 Z 2 obliges it to verify.
The deposit route.
Whether the share capital goes to a credit institution or to a notary's trust account, and what each route costs you in documents and in sequence.
The registrations an institution looks for.
The register entry, the beneficial-owner filing and the trade licence, in the order that makes the file complete: the trade licence guide.
The identification route, and the second route.
Which of the remote procedures in § 6 Abs. 4 FM-GwG an institution actually operates, and what the law still allows if it declines.
Three lawful routes to the share-capital deposit
A domestic credit institution.
The amount is credited to an account of the company under formation, or of the managing directors at their free disposal (GmbHG § 10 Abs. 2). The institution issues the confirmation and answers to the company for it.
A credit institution from another member state.
BWG § 9 Abs. 1 lets a CRR credit institution authorised elsewhere in the Union work in Austria through a branch or under the freedom to provide services. GmbHG § 10 Abs. 2 names it expressly, so the deposit need not sit at an Austrian bank.
The notary's trust account.
The same paragraph lets the money go to the notarising notary's Anderkonto, passed to the company after registration. This route needs no bank account for the company at all, and the notary's confirmation carries the same liability.
An institution authorised as an e-money or payment institution is not a credit institution: E-GeldG 2010 § 1 Abs. 2 puts them in separate classes. The test is the authorisation, not the product name.
The simplified electronic founding is the one case where company law reaches inside the bank, and its bank step cannot be done remotely.
| The simplified electronic founding | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Who it is open to | one shareholder who is a natural person and at the same time the sole managing director (GmbHG § 9a Abs. 1) |
| Capital | exactly EUR 10,000, of which EUR 5,000 in cash (§ 9a Abs. 2) |
| The deed | none; the declaration is electronic (§ 9a Abs. 4) and the filing needs no certified form (§ 9a Abs. 5) |
| Formation costs | the declaration may provide for reimbursement up to EUR 500 (§ 9a Abs. 3) |
| The bank step | the credit institution takes the cash into a newly opened account, checks the official photo identity document in person, and takes the specimen signature (§ 9a Abs. 6) |
| Existing customers | the in-person check applies "even where the shareholder and managing director is already a customer of the credit institution" (§ 9a Abs. 6) |
| Bank secrecy | the institution needs an express release before it may transmit anything (§ 9a Abs. 7 with BWG § 38 Abs. 2 Z 5) |
| What the institution sends | bank confirmation, identity-document copy and specimen signature, over the ERV as three separate PDF files with the IBAN as the reference (VGV § 2 Abs. 1 and 2) |
| The portal | the Unternehmensserviceportal, with identification through the E-ID under § 4 E-GovG (VGV § 1 Abs. 1) |
| The court fee | collected from an account different from the one the capital was paid into (VGV § 3 Abs. 1) |
| A defect in the bank documents | the applicant must get the institution to re-send over the ERV inside the court's time limit (VGV § 4 Abs. 2) |
| A FlexCo | the same route and the same ordinance apply (§ 4 FlexKapGG, VGV § 4a) |
| Who it is closed to | two or more shareholders, a corporate shareholder, a director who is not the shareholder, and anyone without an active ID Austria |
| Which institutions carry it out | eleven, per the business service portal, last updated 1 January 2026: Bank Austria/Unicredit, BAWAG, BKS Bank AG, easybank, Erste Bank, Oberbank AG, Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien, Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark AG, Raiffeisen Oberösterreich, Volksbank, Volkskreditbank |
The list comes from the portal page Stammeinlage und Bankverfahren, which is the Federal Chancellery's and says not every credit institution carries the procedure out. It names who operates a statutory procedure, not who will take your company as a customer, and none of them is a partner of ours.
Austria · share capital deposit
Three lawful routes to the deposit, and the one route that is not available
Starts here
The share-capital deposit, at least EUR 5,000 in cash before the company is filed (GmbHG § 10 Abs. 1). The court is satisfied by a written confirmation, not by the money arriving.
The fork: three routes the statute permits
- 01 /
A domestic credit institution
Account of the company under formation, or of the managing directors at their free disposal. The institution issues the confirmation and answers to the company for it.
GmbHG § 10 Abs. 2 - 02 /
A CRR credit institution from another member state
Through a branch or under the freedom to provide services. The deposit need not sit at an Austrian bank.
GmbHG § 10 Abs. 2 with BWG § 9 - 03 /
The notarising notary's Anderkonto
No company bank account needed
Passed to the company after registration. The notary's confirmation carries the same liability.
GmbHG § 10 Abs. 2
Not available
An e-money or payment institution
An institution authorised as an e-money or payment institution is not a credit institution: E-GeldG 2010 § 1 Abs. 2 puts them in separate classes. The test is the authorisation, not the product name.E-GeldG 2010 § 1 Abs. 2
No institution is named in this graphic. All three routes end in a confirmation the register court accepts under GmbHG § 10 Abs. 3, and only the first needs an Austrian bank to say yes.
The simplified electronic founding and its bank step: GmbHG § 9a, in force from 1 January 2024, and the Vereinfachte GmbH-Gründungsverordnung, BGBl. II Nr. 363/2017 as amended by BGBl. II Nr. 205/2025, in force from 1 October 2025 (VGV § 1). The Ministry of Justice adds that an active ID Austria is mandatory and that the bank confirmation is valid only for a limited time.
How a corporate account application runs
Fix the structure first.
Who owns the company, through what, and who controls it. This sets the length of the review and cannot be repaired later. The sequence starts with company registration austria.
Build the file the institution is required to build.
Ownership traced to natural persons, documented source of funds, the purpose of the relationship, expected volumes and the counterparties' countries. A thin file does not get refused. It stalls.
Choose the deposit route.
Credit institution or notary's trust account. This decides whether any institution has to accept the company under formation before the court can act at all.
Pay in and obtain the confirmation.
At least EUR 5,000 in cash, and the written confirmation (GmbHG § 10 Abs. 2 and Abs. 3). The application also declares the money is at free disposal and unrestricted by counterclaims.
File with the Firmenbuch.
The confirmation goes to the court with the application. The entry is constitutive: only after it can an account be opened in the company's own name.
File the beneficial owners, because the institution has to read them.
Within four weeks of the first Firmenbuch entry (WiEReG § 5). At the start of a new relationship the institution must obtain a register extract as proof they are registered (FM-GwG § 7 Abs. 1). See the austrian beneficial owner register.
Apply for the operating account.
A separate application with its own review, of the company rather than the founders. Acceptance at the deposit stage carries no weight here, and a refusal there does not decide this one.
No step above carries a duration, and this page prints none. No statute sets a decision time for a company account, no authority publishes an average, and we have no measured figure. The ten business days in VZKG § 23 Abs. 5 are a consumer's right and do not reach a company.
Want the file checked before it reaches an institution?
Send the ownership chain and what the company will do. We will say what the file is missing and which deposit route fits it.
What the institution must ask for, and the paragraph that makes it ask
None of this is preference. Each line is a duty the Finanzmarkt-Geldwäschegesetz puts on the institution, and an institution that cannot discharge it may not open the account.
- Identification of the customer, and photo identification of each natural person (§ 6 Abs. 1 Z 1 and Abs. 2).
- Proof the company subsists, its name, legal form, representation and seat (§ 6 Abs. 2 Z 2).
- The beneficial owners, and the ownership and control structure (§ 6 Abs. 1 Z 2).
- A beneficial-owner register extract, at the start of the relationship (§ 7 Abs. 1).
- The purpose and intended nature of the relationship (§ 6 Abs. 1 Z 3).
- The origin of the funds being used (§ 6 Abs. 1 Z 4).
- Anyone acting for the company, and their authority (§ 6 Abs. 1, closing part).
- Where anyone holds for another, the settlor and the trustee's written declaration (§ 6 Abs. 3).
- A risk classification the institution must justify to the FMA (§ 6 Abs. 5).
| What Austrian law fixes | Where it is fixed |
|---|---|
| The checks are done before the relationship is established | FM-GwG § 7 Abs. 1 |
| For an Austrian entity, a beneficial-owner register extract must be obtained at the start | FM-GwG § 7 Abs. 1 |
| An account may be opened before the checks are finished, but no transaction may be carried out until they are | FM-GwG § 7 Abs. 3 |
| The checks are repeated on existing customers at an appropriate time, on a risk basis | FM-GwG § 7 Abs. 6 |
| Where the institution cannot complete them, it may not open the account and must end a relationship that already exists | FM-GwG § 7 Abs. 7 |
| Enhanced checks apply wherever the institution's own risk analysis shows a higher risk | FM-GwG § 9 Abs. 1 |
| Complex, unusually large or economically purposeless transactions must be examined | FM-GwG § 9 Abs. 3 |
| A third party established in a high-risk third country may not be relied on | FM-GwG § 13 Abs. 4 |
| Bank secrecy binds the institution without limit of time, and is lifted by your express consent | BWG § 38 Abs. 1 and Abs. 2 Z 5 |
| The account register records the IBAN, the representatives, the settlors and the beneficial owners | KontRegG § 2 Abs. 1 Z 3 |
| Deposits are covered up to EUR 100,000 per depositor per member institution | ESAEG § 7 Abs. 1 Z 5 |
| Whether to take your company as a customer | nothing. This is the institution's own decision |
| Which of the four remote identification routes it offers | § 6 Abs. 4 permits four; the institution chooses |
| What it charges you | its own product terms, which we do not publish |
FM-GwG, BGBl. I Nr. 118/2016, § 6 in force from 30 December 2024 (BGBl. I Nr. 151/2024); bank secrecy BWG § 38, BGBl. Nr. 532/1993; the account register KontRegG § 2 and § 4, BGBl. I Nr. 116/2015; the deposit guarantee and its eleven exclusions ESAEG § 7 and § 10, BGBl. I Nr. 117/2015.
Austria · FM-GwG due diligence
The duty, and the document that satisfies it
| # | What the institution must establish | What satisfies it |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Identification of the customer, and photo identification of each natural personFM-GwG § 6 Abs. 1 Z 1 and Abs. 2 | An official photo identity document |
| 02 | Proof the company subsists: name, legal form, power of representation, seatFM-GwG § 6 Abs. 2 Z 2 | Register extracts, articles and appointment resolutions, certified and translated where required |
| 03 | The beneficial owners, and the ownership and control structureFM-GwG § 6 Abs. 1 Z 2 | The ownership chain traced to natural persons through every intermediate entity |
| 04 | The purpose and intended nature of the relationshipFM-GwG § 6 Abs. 1 Z 3 | A written business description a compliance officer outside your sector can follow |
| 05 | The origin of the funds being usedFM-GwG § 6 Abs. 1 Z 4 | Documentary evidence of the money's origin |
| 06 | Anyone acting for the company, and their authorityFM-GwG § 6 Abs. 1, closing part | The instrument that confers the authority |
| 07 | Where anyone holds for another: the settlorFM-GwG § 6 Abs. 3 | The trustee's written declaration, with identification exclusively in physical presence |
| # | The route, and the condition on it |
|---|---|
| A | Video-supported online identificationThe FMA fixes the safeguards by ordinance, the Online-Identifikationsverordnung, BGBl. II Nr. 5/2017 |
| B | An electronic identity documentAs permitted by § 6 Abs. 4 |
| C | A qualified electronic signature routeAs permitted by § 6 Abs. 4 |
| D | A first payment from an account at a § 13 credit institutionThe account must be held at a credit institution within FM-GwG § 13 |
What the law requires the institution to establish
The four substitutes apply where there is no personal contact, and which of them an institution operates is its own choice. One case is outside them: in the simplified electronic founding the photo identity document is checked in person, even for an existing customer (GmbHG § 9a Abs. 6).
When an institution says no
A refusal is sometimes compulsory, and sometimes a choice.
Where an institution cannot complete its duties it is forbidden to establish the relationship, and must end one that exists (FM-GwG § 7 Abs. 7). That is a different thing from a risk-appetite decision, and only a documentation gap is worth a second attempt with the same file. Ask which it was.
The share capital has a route that needs no bank.
GmbHG § 10 Abs. 2 lets the money sit on the notarising notary's trust account, and § 10 Abs. 3 gives that confirmation the same standing. The company can be registered without any institution having said yes.
Another member state's institution can serve an Austrian company.
A CRR credit institution authorised elsewhere in the Union may work in Austria through a branch or under the freedom to provide services (BWG § 9 Abs. 1), and GmbHG § 10 Abs. 2 accepts it for the deposit.
A ready-made company does not solve it.
It arrives registered, but its ownership changes on the day you buy it, and that is what the institution reviews. See our ready-made companies overview.
Ready to map the next route?
Tell us what was asked for and what was supplied. We will say which lawful route is still open and what has to change in the file first.
Related pages
Company Registration Austria: Austrian VAT Number (UID / ATU) Not issued automatically, and refused where the applicant is not an entrepreneur.
Company Registration Austria: Tax Number in Austria (Steuernummer) It comes from the Finanzamt, and it is among the first things a new company is asked to show.
How this page is kept accurate
Last updated 17 September 2026. Every rule and figure here is cited to the Austrian statute or ordinance named beside it, in the version in force on that date. We publish no fee of our own; it is quoted on request. We name no institution as a partner and we rank none. And we do not tell you an account will be opened, because that is not our decision and nothing we can cite predicts it.
Frequently asked questions
Can a non-resident open a business bank account for an Austrian company?
Nothing in Austrian law forbids it and nothing in Austrian law entitles you to it. The right to a payment account with basic features in VZKG § 23 Abs. 1 belongs to a consumer, defined in § 2 Z 1 as a natural person acting outside their trade or profession. A company therefore has no right of access, no closed list of reasons it may be refused, and no decision deadline.
Can a foreigner open a personal bank account in Austria?
A consumer lawfully resident in the European Union may open and use a payment account with basic features at a credit institution established in Austria, wherever they live (VZKG § 23 Abs. 1). The institution may refuse only on a § 24 Abs. 1 ground and must open the account or refuse within ten business days of a complete application (§ 23 Abs. 5). That is a personal account, not a company one.
Which Austrian bank is best for foreigners?
We do not rank banks and we name none as a partner. No Austrian bank publishes acceptance criteria for a foreign-owned company, so any ranking is somebody's guess presented as a finding. What is published is which institutions carry out the statutory bank procedure for the simplified electronic founding, and that is a different question from who will take your company as a customer.
How long does it take to open a business bank account in Austria?
We do not say, because nothing we can cite fixes it. No Austrian statute sets a decision time for a company account: the ten-business-day rule in VZKG § 23 Abs. 5 is a consumer rule and does not reach a company. The elapsed time is set by the institution's own review under FM-GwG § 6 and § 7. Any number you are shown elsewhere is an estimate.
Do I have to travel to Austria in person?
For an ordinary company account, not necessarily. FM-GwG § 6 Abs. 2 Z 1 requires personal presentation of an official photo identity document, but § 6 Abs. 4 lets an institution replace that where there is no personal contact, by video-supported online identification, an electronic identity document, a qualified electronic signature route, or a first payment from an account at a § 13 credit institution. Which of the four it offers is its own choice.
Can I use an e-money or payment account for the share capital deposit?
GmbHG § 10 Abs. 2 allows the credit only at a domestic credit institution, at a CRR credit institution within BWG § 9, or on the notarising notary's trust account, and § 10 Abs. 3 accepts only a written confirmation from a credit institution or from that notary. E-GeldG 2010 § 1 Abs. 2 puts e-money institutions in a class of their own, separate from credit institutions. The test is the provider's authorisation, not its brand.
What happens if a bank refuses?
A refusal is one institution's decision, not a finding about the company, and it is sometimes compulsory: FM-GwG § 7 Abs. 7 forbids an institution to establish a relationship where it cannot complete its duties, and requires it to end one that already exists. For the share capital two lawful routes remain open: the notary's trust account, and a CRR credit institution from another member state under BWG § 9.
Do I need the company registered before I can open an account?
Not for the capital deposit. That account exists before the company does: GmbHG § 10 Abs. 2 names an account of the company or of the managing directors at their free disposal, and the register court will not enter the company until it has the written confirmation § 10 Abs. 3 requires. The operating account is a separate application, made after the Firmenbuch entry.
Can I open a European bank account online as a non-resident?
Austrian law lets an institution identify a customer remotely under FM-GwG § 6 Abs. 4, and the FMA fixes the safeguards for video identification by ordinance, the Online-Identifikationsverordnung, BGBl. II Nr. 5/2017. One case is different. In the simplified electronic founding the credit institution must check the photo identity document in person, and GmbHG § 9a Abs. 6 says that applies even to an existing customer.
Is money held at an Austrian bank protected?
Covered deposits are eligible deposits up to EUR 100,000, or the equivalent in foreign currency, per depositor per member institution (ESAEG § 7 Abs. 1 Z 5). § 10 Abs. 1 excludes eleven categories, among them deposits of other credit institutions, financial institutions, insurers, pension funds and state bodies, and any deposit whose holder was never identified under the FM-GwG. An ordinary operating company is not on that list.
What documents will a bank ask an Austrian company for?
Enough to verify that the company subsists and to establish its name, legal form, power of representation and seat (FM-GwG § 6 Abs. 2 Z 2); the beneficial owners and the ownership and control structure; the purpose and intended nature of the relationship; and the origin of the funds (§ 6 Abs. 1 Z 2 to 4). At the start of a new relationship it must also obtain a beneficial-owner register extract (§ 7 Abs. 1).
Does a nominee or trustee arrangement change anything?
It makes the identification stricter, not looser. Where a customer holds for another, FM-GwG § 6 Abs. 3 requires the trustee to be identified exclusively in physical presence, excludes identification through third parties, and requires a written declaration from the trustee about the settlor's identity. The account register records settlors and beneficial owners in any event (KontRegG § 2 Abs. 1 Z 3).
Is there a minimum deposit or a minimum balance?
No Austrian statute read for this page sets one for a company account. The only statutory amount is the share-capital pay-in: at least a quarter of each cash contribution, in any event at least EUR 70 on each, and at least EUR 5,000 in total before the filing (GmbHG § 10 Abs. 1). Anything beyond that is a product term, and we publish no institution's product terms.
What does having an Austrian bank account put on the record?
The account register carries the IBAN, the persons with power of representation towards the institution, the settlors and the beneficial owners under WiEReG § 2, the reporting institution, and the dates the account was opened and closed (KontRegG § 2 Abs. 1). Bank secrecy binds the institution without limit of time (BWG § 38 Abs. 1), and inspection of the register is confined to the authorities and purposes in KontRegG § 4.
Start with the file, not the institution
Send the ownership structure, the intended activity and where the money comes from. You get the deposit route, the document list and the order the filings go in, in writing.