The problem in one paragraph
A company registered in the Netherlands or France whose director lives elsewhere is perfectly legal and increasingly common. The difficulty is the account. Branch banks want to meet the director, see a local address and understand why a foreign resident owns a local company. Online providers are built for exactly this case, but many of them are not banks, and that changes how your money is protected. Both routes work; you should choose knowing the difference.
Three kinds of provider
A credit institution, a bank, takes deposits. Your balance is a deposit, covered by the national deposit guarantee scheme up to €100,000 per depositor, and most companies qualify as depositors. A payment institution is licensed to run payment accounts and execute payments but not to take deposits; it must keep client money in a segregated account at a bank or in low-risk assets. An electronic money institution issues e-money and safeguards it in the same way. Safeguarding protects you against the provider's own failure, not against the failure of the bank where it holds the funds, and it does not carry a €100,000 guarantee.
The names do not tell you which is which. Revolut's European entity and bunq are banks. Wise's European entity is a payment institution. Qonto is a payment institution. Several app-based business accounts popular with founders are e-money institutions. The licence is stated in the provider's terms and can be checked in the register of the European Banking Authority.
No right to an account
The EU right to a basic payment account, which lets any legally resident consumer open an account regardless of nationality, applies to consumers only. A company has no such right, and a provider may decline it for commercial or risk reasons. What a provider may not do is refuse a valid IBAN from another EU country: once you have an account anywhere in the euro area, a customer or supplier who refuses to pay into it because of the country code is breaking the SEPA regulation.
What every provider will ask for
Anti-money-laundering rules are the same for banks and fintechs, so the checklist is too. The company's registration extract, no older than a few months. Its articles of association. The identity document of every director and of every ultimate beneficial owner holding 25 percent or more, usually verified by video or by a selfie against the passport. Proof of the director's residential address. A description of the business, its expected turnover and its main countries of payment. Some providers also ask for a website, a first invoice or a contract to show the business is real.
For a Dutch company the registration extract comes from the Chamber of Commerce and the UBO register is checked alongside it. For a French company it is the Kbis extract. Have the documents in the local language or English; certified translations are rarely required by online providers.
Who actually onboards a non-resident
Online banks and payment institutions generally accept directors resident anywhere in the EEA and, with more scrutiny, in many third countries. Branch banks typically want at least one director resident in the country, and some require it outright. Expect every provider to ask why the director lives abroad; a plain answer, such as a remote-first company or a founder who has not yet relocated, is enough.
Two things slow onboarding down more than anything: a company whose activity is high-risk in the provider's eyes, such as crypto, gambling or adult content, and an ownership chain that runs through another company or a trust. If either applies to you, say so at the start rather than after two weeks of review.
What it costs
Fintech business accounts usually charge a monthly fee from zero to a few tens of euros, with limits on free transfers, plus a percentage on foreign-currency payments. Bank business accounts charge more per month but often include more transactions and a relationship you can call. Compare on your own pattern: monthly fee, the transfers you actually make, the currency conversion you actually need, and card fees. For a company that invoices in euros only, the difference over a year is usually small; for one paid in dollars or pounds, the conversion mark-up decides.
The order that works
Register the company. Gather the documents above in one folder. Decide whether you need a bank or a fintech is enough: a company holding large balances, taking on credit or needing cash handling wants a bank; a company that receives and pays invoices online is well served by a payment institution and can add a bank later. Apply to one provider at a time, answer questions within a day, and expect a fintech to open within days and a bank within weeks. Once the IBAN exists, put it on your invoices; nobody in the EU may refuse it.
