How to open a bank account in Tallinn as an Erasmus student

Opening a bank account in Estonia is one of the first things you should do in your second week. You can survive without one — most things take card — but having an Estonian IBAN unlocks rent payments, scholarship deposits, transit subsidies, and signing leases. It also lets you stop paying foreign-transaction fees on every coffee.

There are three banks worth your time: LHV, Swedbank, and SEB. From the experience of every Erasmus student I've talked to, LHV is the friendliest to internationals, Swedbank is the most established, and SEB is fine but slower. I went with LHV.

Before you walk into the branch

Get these in order. The branch will turn you away if any is missing.

• Valid passport with at least 6 months' validity
• Estonian ID card — the plastic one issued after residence registration. You can technically open a non-resident account without it, but with it the appointment takes 20 minutes instead of two weeks of follow-up emails.
• Residence registration confirmation from the linnaregister — print it out, even though the bank can theoretically look it up
• Dorm contract or rental agreement showing your Tallinn address
• Admission letter from Tallinn University — proves the reason for your stay
• Phone number with an Estonian SIM — most banks won't open the account without one (you need it for SMS verification)

Tip. If you don't have the ID card yet, wait until it arrives. The friction of opening an account without it is genuinely not worth saving a week.

Booking the appointment

You can walk in, but you'll wait an hour and may get sent home for missing one of the items above. Book online. All three banks have English booking flows.

For LHV: lhv.ee → Become a customer → Book a meeting. Choose any central Tallinn branch — Tornimäe is the easiest by tram. Pick a slot at least 3 days out so you have time to assemble paperwork.

At the branch

Bring physical copies of everything. Estonia is digital-first but bank branches are paper-first.

The advisor will:

1. Verify your identity from the ID card and passport
2. Open a current account in EUR
3. Issue you a debit card (Visa Debit, usually) — mailed to your dorm in 7–10 days
4. Set up your Smart-ID or Mobile-ID for online banking
5. Give you a one-time PIN envelope for first login

The whole appointment takes 30–45 minutes if your documents are in order. Decline anything you don't actively need — they'll often pitch a credit card and an investment account; you can add either later in two clicks from the app.

What it costs

There is genuinely no monthly cost for students at any of the three banks, which is one of the small Estonian luxuries.

After the appointment

Within an hour your account number will be active. Do these three things immediately:

• Email your IBAN to TLU finance so they can deposit the Erasmus stipend. It usually lands in your account on the 5th of each month after this is set up.
• Add the card to Apple/Google Pay the moment it arrives — Estonian shops universally accept contactless and you'll rarely take the physical card out again.
• Set up Smart-ID if you didn't already. It replaces almost every paper signature in Estonia — leases, government forms, university registrations.

Mistakes I made so you don't have to

I tried to open the account in week one before my Estonian ID card arrived. The advisor was patient but the paperwork was endless — they had to do extended due diligence because I was technically a non-resident. Wait the extra week for the ID card.

I also forgot to bring the dorm contract because I thought the residence registration would be enough. It wasn't. Bring everything; bring printouts.

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The first Erasmus stipend hitting your new Estonian IBAN is a quiet but real moment. It's the first time the programme stops being theoretical and starts paying for your groceries.