How to Open a Business Bank Account in Austria in 2026

An Austria business bank account gives your company a euro IBAN that clients, suppliers and the tax office pay into, SEPA transfers across Europe and deposits protected up to €100,000 per bank. A new GmbH also needs one early, because at least €5,000 of its €10,000 share capital is paid in before registration.

The hard part is the onboarding. Austrian banks must identify every managing director with an official photo ID, in person or by video, and check the owners against the beneficial ownership register. Their online opening is built for companies on the Austrian commercial register, so foreign owners often wait for a branch appointment and weeks of questions.

Setting it up with us is simple. We work with regulated partners who open euro and multi-currency accounts for Austrian and foreign companies in about 4 days to a week, remotely. We prepare the commercial register extract, the beneficial owner records, your KYC pack and the source of funds. Tell us about your company, and we get it done.

Our top-rated, licensed banking providers open accounts for Austrian GmbHs, FlexCos and foreign companies in about 4 days to a week, with directors verified online from wherever they live.

Austria Business Bank Account for Non-Residents

An Austria business bank account for non-residents is possible, but the local banks make it slow. They must identify every director and beneficial owner under the Financial Markets Anti-Money Laundering Act (FM-GwG), and their fast online routes are built for companies already on the Austrian commercial register. A complete file gets an account, an incomplete one gets weeks of questions.

Austrian Banks Build Online Opening for Local Companies

The big Austrian banks build their online opening around the Austrian register. Erste Bank says its digital account opening is for companies entered in the Austrian Firmenbuch, companies in formation and holders of an Austrian trade licence, and only a legal representative can open the account. Bank Austria's online configurator covers companies registered in Austria. A company founded outside Austria is asked to book a personal appointment instead.

Every Director Is Identified With an Official Photo ID

Section 6 of the FM-GwG says a natural person's identity is checked by presenting an official photo ID in person. Section 6(4) allows the same check by video, in an online identification process. That means every managing director of your GmbH shows a passport or national ID card to the bank, at a branch or on camera. Erste Bank's digital check needs the ID document and an active camera on your device.

Austria Corporate Bank Account for Foreign Companies

An Austria corporate bank account for a foreign company starts with a register problem. The parent is not in the Firmenbuch, so the online routes at Erste Bank and Bank Austria are closed to it. Many register an Austrian branch or form a subsidiary first, then apply in that entity's name, with the parent's register extract and articles attached.

A trade licence adds a residency rule. Under Section 39 of the Trade Act (GewO), a business owner with no residence in Austria must appoint a trade managing director. That person must live in Austria, unless an agreement ensures that administrative fines can be served and enforced where they live.

Strict Checks on Owners and the Ownership Register

Section 6(1) of the FM-GwG makes the bank establish the identity of each beneficial owner and says that checking the beneficial ownership register (WiEReG register) is an appropriate step. The register is kept by the Federal Ministry of Finance, and companies can file a Compliance-Package there with the documents banks need. A European holding company in the chain means every layer needs its own documents.

High Risk Sectors and No Right to an Account

Crypto, gaming, payments and cash-heavy trade all get enhanced checks, so a high risk bank account is hard to get locally. The Consumer Payment Account Act (VZKG) gives a basic account only to consumers, defined as natural persons acting outside their trade or profession. A GmbH has no legal claim to an account. One of our partners accepts gambling businesses, betting, casino and crypto companies, so these sectors still have a route.

What to Do After a Refusal

Do not send the same file to the next bank. Find out which part failed, fix it with documents, then apply where the rules fit your company. Banks can also close business accounts later when a review finds gaps. We review refused files, close the gaps and place them with our partners.

Read more: Business bank account for non-residents and why banks reject business account applications.

Best Bank for Business in Austria

The best bank for business in Austria depends on where you live and how often you pay. The big banks charge about €7 to €11 a month for a basic business account, plus €0.35 to €0.54 for each booking. Austrian residents with a simple GmbH do well here. Foreign owners meet register and appointment rules first.

For an Austrian-resident founder, a local bank may well be the cheapest choice. For a foreign owner, the real cost is the register rule, the appointment and the time in review. Each Raiffeisen bank and Sparkasse publishes its own prices, so these are examples, not national rates.

A Fee on Every Booking

Austrian business accounts charge per booking on top of the account fee. Erste Bank charges €0.49 for every electronic booking from 1 July 2026, in and out. Bank Austria charges €0.48, Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark €0.35, and BAWAG €0.54 for each booking from the 21st to the 50th in a month. These business bank account fees add up fast.

International Payments Cost Extra

Payments outside SEPA carry their own fees. Bank Austria's terms from 1 July 2026 charge €16 for a foreign payment up to €5,000, €32 up to €10,000 and €54 up to €20,000. Paying all charges for the beneficiary costs the same again, and payments in US dollars add €8. Erste Bank charges €13.89 up to €5,500 and 0.20% above that, plus €10.50 on every US dollar payment.

Foreign Currency Accounts Are Charged Separately

An Austrian business account is a euro account. Erste Bank charges each corporate foreign currency account 0.040% of turnover, at least €31.22 a quarter, plus €0.62 for every entry. A multi-currency business account holds them in one place.

Free Business Bank Accounts in Austria Are for Founders

Free offers exist, but only for new companies and only for a limited time. BAWAG's BusinessBox Starter costs nothing for 12 months and then moves to €9.90 a month. Erste Bank waives the account fee for founders in the first year. Bank Austria waives the GoGreen account fee for the opening quarter and four more, for new small business customers who open by 31 December 2026. Booking fees apply from day one.

Read more: Best countries for business banking and best EU countries for business banking.

A Faster and Simpler Way to Open an Austria Business Account

The faster way to open an Austria business account is through our regulated partners. Both are electronic money institutions. One is licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority. The other is authorised by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and has an e-money institution in Luxembourg authorised by the CSSF. They open accounts in about 4 days to a week, remotely, for owners anywhere.

We prepare the file before the partner sees it. Both partners must safeguard client money by law, kept apart from their own funds. They are not banks, so there is no deposit guarantee, and they offer no loans, overdrafts, interest or cash handling.

Under Article 9 of the SEPA Regulation (EU) No 260/2012, a payer or payee may not specify the EU member state where your account must be. Since 9 October 2025, euro area payment providers also check the payee's name against the IBAN before a transfer.

Our partners win on speed, on owners abroad, on harder sectors and on holding 65 or more currencies in one account at one partner.

An Austrian bank is cheaper for a resident founder with a simple GmbH that pays only in euros. Bank Austria's €7.08 account with €0.48 bookings costs far less than plans of €50 to €100 a month, and one partner charges €2 per SEPA payment. A company that needs a loan or a cash desk keeps an Austrian bank as well.

Austria Business Bank Account for Foreign Companies

Foreign companies gain the most here. A German, Dutch or UK company that sells to Austrian clients, or runs an Austrian branch rather than a subsidiary, does not need an Austrian bank to collect euros. Our partners open the account in the company's own name, with an EU IBAN Austrian clients must accept.

How to Open a Business Bank Account in Austria With Us

You send your company details through the form. We build the file and submit it to the partner that takes your business. Each director verifies their identity remotely, and we answer the partner's questions until the account is live.

Documents to Open a Business Bank Account in Austria

The documents to open a business bank account in Austria follow from the FM-GwG. The bank verifies the company from its register entry and founding documents, every person from an official photo ID, and the owners against the beneficial ownership register. Prepare them once and every review moves faster.

Company Documents

For a GmbH or FlexCo, the bank wants a current Firmenbuch extract with the register number (FN), the articles of association and the list of shareholders and managing directors, and it checks your WiEReG entry. A foreign company adds its home register extract and articles. Foreign documents may need an apostille and a certified translation, so order them early.

Managing Directors and Owners

Every managing director, and every beneficial owner holding more than 25%, provides a valid passport or national ID card and proof of address. A clear UBO and ownership chart that shows each layer with percentages saves a round of questions. If a holding company sits in between, bring its register extract and its own shareholder list too.

Tax Numbers and the Business Profile

The tax office issues the company's tax number after registration, and a VAT number where the company charges VAT. Banks also ask what the company does, who its customers and suppliers are, which countries the money moves between and the monthly volumes you expect.

This is the checklist we work from, built on the documents banks ask for everywhere:

• Firmenbuch extract: current, showing the FN number and the managing directors.
• Articles and shareholder list: the notarial deed and the current shareholders.
• WiEReG entry: an extract or Compliance-Package for every beneficial owner.
• Director and UBO IDs: passport or ID card, plus proof of address.
• Tax numbers: the tax number and the VAT number once issued.
• Source of funds: a written note with bank statements, contracts or a sale agreement.
• Business profile: activity, customers, countries and expected monthly volumes.

Austria Business Bank Account Costs

An Austria business bank account costs about €7 to €11 a month at the big banks, plus €0.35 to €0.54 per booking and separate fees for foreign payments and currency accounts. Our partners charge €50 to €100 a month on published plans, with free opening at one and a one-off €500 onboarding fee at the other. The table sets them side by side.

The markup sits in the fees around the account, not in the headline price. Take a company at Erste Bank that moves €50,000 a month and makes 300 electronic bookings. The 0.040% turnover fee on €150,000 a quarter is €60, or €20 a month. The bookings add €147 and George adds €7.43. The real bill is about €174 a month, not €10.41.

Currencies push it higher. Two foreign currency accounts at Erste Bank cost at least €249.76 a year before any entry, and a €20,000 US dollar payment at Bank Austria costs €62, or €116 when you pay all charges. We confirm the partner's pricing for your flows before you apply.

For an Austrian-resident founder with a small GmbH that pays only in euros, a local bank is cheaper: opening is free, the monthly fee starts at €7.08 and euro bookings cost under €0.55 each. For a foreign-owned company that holds several currencies or cannot get through an Austrian onboarding, our partners are often the better route. All figures are planning ranges from the banks' own published prices.

Read more: EU multi-currency business account and best banks for European companies.

How Long Opening a Business Bank Account in Austria Takes

Opening a business bank account in Austria can take one day at a local bank when the company is on the Firmenbuch and a director passes the online identity check. With foreign owners or a foreign company, expect an appointment and weeks of review. With our partners, the account opens in about 4 days to a week once the documents are ready.

The steps before the account are the same on both routes. The difference is the review: a local bank reads a foreign file slowly, often in German, while our partners review a file we built for them.

What Slows It Down

The usual delays are a company not yet on the Firmenbuch, owners missing from the WiEReG register, a foreign holding company with no documents, and a source of funds with no evidence.

How to Speed It Up

File the WiEReG entry as soon as the company is registered and keep the extract ready. Collect every document in one round, apply online once and answer the reviewer's questions the same day. Apply to one provider that takes your owners' countries, not to three banks at once.

Read more: Easiest country to open a business bank account and how long it takes to set up a company.

What Happens After the Account Is Open

After the account opens, fund it, add your users and send the IBAN to clients, suppliers and the tax office. Banks and our partners review every client again over time, and the first months set the pattern that later payments are checked against.

An Austrian GmbH pays corporate income tax of 23% from 2024 under Section 22 of the Corporate Income Tax Act. A minimum tax applies even in a loss year: 5% of a quarter of the €10,000 minimum capital for each quarter, which is €125 a quarter or €500 a year. Every GmbH files its annual accounts with the Firmenbuch court each year.

Update the WiEReG register when owners change, and tell your provider about new owners, directors or activities before the payments change. If you later need a second account elsewhere in Europe, the same clean file makes it quick.

Read more: Germany business bank account and Malta business bank account.

Why the Company Comes Before the Account

A bank cannot open an operating account for a company that does not exist yet. An Austrian GmbH is formed by a notarial deed, and at least €5,000 of the €10,000 share capital is paid in cash first. Section 10 of the GmbH Act allows that payment only into an account at an Austrian bank or an EU bank entitled to operate in Austria, or into the trust account of the notary who certifies the deed, with a written confirmation. A founder setting up a company as a non-resident can use the notary route. Then the company is entered in the Firmenbuch, and our partners open the operating account. The European company formation guide covers the wider choice.

Common Austria Business Bank Account Mistakes

Most problems with an Austria business bank account come from the wrong order or an incomplete file. These are the mistakes we see most often, with what they cost, and each one is easy to avoid.

Paying the Share Capital Into the Wrong Account

Founders sometimes plan to pay the share capital into an e-money account they already hold. Section 10 of the GmbH Act does not allow it: the cash must go to an Austrian bank, an EU bank entitled to operate in Austria, or the notary's trust account. A payment to the wrong place means no valid confirmation, so the filing waits while the money is paid in again, and a fresh capital confirmation at BAWAG costs €55. Use the notary or a bank for the capital, and our partners for the operating account.

Reading Only the Monthly Fee

A €7.08 account looks cheap until the bookings start. At Bank Austria, 300 electronic bookings a month at €0.48 each add €144, so Konto4Business costs €151.08 a month. Founder offers end after a year, and BAWAG's free Starter plan becomes €9.90 a month with only 20 bookings included. Count your monthly bookings and foreign payments, and price the whole year, not the headline fee.

Paying Foreign Suppliers From a Euro Account

A trading company that pays suppliers in Asia or the US from an Austrian euro account pays a transfer fee on every invoice. At Bank Austria, 20 US dollar payments of €5,000 each cost €16 plus €8 per payment, or €480 a month, and €800 when the company pays all charges. Plan the currencies before you open the account. One of our partners holds 65 or more currencies in one account, so you can pay in the currency of the invoice, and we confirm its pricing on your flows first.

Letting the Bank Confirmation Expire

On the simplified formation of a one-person GmbH, the founder visits the bank, identifies with an official photo ID, pays in the capital and gets a bank confirmation. The Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO) says the online filing must follow within a few days, because the confirmation is only valid for a limited time. Founders who wait lose it and pay again, for example €55 at BAWAG. The route also needs ID Austria, which many non-residents do not have, so plan the filing date first or use the notary route.

Bottom Line

An Austria business bank account is easy for an Austrian-resident founder with a company on the Firmenbuch, and slower for almost everyone else. Austrian banks must identify every director with an official photo ID, check the owners in the WiEReG register, and charge a fee on every booking and foreign payment. Prices from €7.08 a month are only the start.

For a foreign-owned GmbH, a FlexCo or a foreign company selling into Austria, the faster route is a regulated partner with an EU IBAN that Austrian clients must accept. Pay the share capital through a bank or the notary, then open your Austria business bank account with us in about 4 days to a week, and keep an Austrian bank only if you need its loans or cash services.

Sources

• Erste Bank, current accounts of corporate customers, price sheet 4.302 (1 July 2026)
• Erste Bank, international payments and foreign currency accounts, price sheets 5.000 and 5.510
• Erste Bank, digital business account opening
• UniCredit Bank Austria, business account configurator
• UniCredit Bank Austria, standard terms for international payment services (July 2026)
• BAWAG, conditions for BusinessBox Starter and Dynamic (4 May 2026)
• Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark, Geschäftskonto conditions (1 April 2026)
• GmbH Act (GmbHG), Section 10, payment of share capital
• Financial Markets Anti-Money Laundering Act (FM-GwG), Section 6
• Trade Act (GewO), Section 39, managing director
• Corporate Income Tax Act (KStG), Sections 22 and 24, tax rate and minimum tax
• Federal Ministry of Finance, Register of Beneficial Owners (WiEReG)
• Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA), deposit guarantee schemes
• Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO), simplified formation of a GmbH
• Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 (SEPA Regulation), EUR-Lex