Opening a European business bank account online: Everything you need to know
Last update: 2 Jul 2025
If you’re a Singaporean e-commerce business and you’re looking to expand into Europe, you may have found yourself coming up against certain challenges:
- You’re not sure how to open a European bank account online to receive EUR payments
- You need a solution which makes it easy and affordable to receive EUR and convert to SGD
- You want to be able to sell on European marketplaces, but currently can’t without European bank account details
- You want to be able to manage all your financial operations online and in one place
In this article we’ll outline everything you need to know to open a European business bank account online and what option may be best for your business needs.
The key thing to note is this: you don’t need to open a European bank account to do business in Europe. Instead, a multi-currency business account will enable you to expand in a faster, more cost-effective way.
Read on to learn more about:
- The challenges of opening a European bank account as a Singaporean business
- How WorldFirst saves you time and money with a multi-currency account
- Alternative options for expanding into Europe
Looking to create an account as soon as possible? Sign up for a World Account today.
The challenges of opening a European bank account as a Singaporean business
If you continue to use your Singaporean business bank account when expanding into Europe, your business will come across several key challenges:
- High transaction fees: Your business will be hit with conversion fees and unfavourable FX rates on every international transfer, reducing your profit margin
- Slow settlement speeds: Payments will take a long time to settle, as SWIFT transactions can take up to six days for international payments. This can cause issues with cash flow and prevent you from growing at the speed you want to
- Inability to sell on marketplaces: You won’t be able to sell on marketplaces like Amazon, as they require local account details for you to set up a merchant account. This prevents you from getting in front of a large segment of target customers
Opening a European bank account resolves a lot of these issues and this is why many Singaporean businesses choose to do exactly that.
However, the difficulty is that opening an account as a non-resident is a real challenge. It’s not something that many banks offer, so you need to research a variety of banks and contact them individually, asking what they offer and what their eligibility requirements are.
For banks that can open a European current account for Singaporean businesses, you’ll need to provide the following information as a starting point:
- Company name and registration number
- Proof of address
- Proof of identification of all business owners and shareholders
- Details about what your business does
Then there will be Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and compliance checks to ensure your business aligns with European laws. These include verifying your business’s legitimacy, reviewing bank statements to confirm the source of funds, and screening owners or shareholders to identify any politically exposed persons (PEPs). If a PEP is found, the bank assesses whether the risk is acceptable.
The bank is then likely to request an in-person visit, which gives them the opportunity to ask you questions about the business and verify the identity of the business owners.
Finally, you may need to register your business in a specific European country, which will have its own procedures depending on which country you choose to register in. This may also involve you establishing some form of local address so you can receive documentation.
As you can see, the process isn’t straightforward. There are many complex steps to creating an account in a European country, and you’ll need to replicate it for every European country you want to operate in, making the process more complex and lengthy.
One key solution to this is using an international multi-currency account: a financial account that allows you to set up local bank account details to receive multiple currencies and hold funds in those currencies.
Below, we explain how these accounts work and how they can benefit you.
How WorldFirst saves you time and money with a multi-currency business account
WorldFirst was established to help e-commerce businesses with the challenge of expanding internationally – saving them money and getting them to market faster.
We’ve been operating for over 20 years, enabling more than one million businesses all over the world to transact over $300 billion through our multi-currency business account, the World Account.
With a World Account, Singaporean businesses can set up 20+ currency accounts with local corporate bank account details including IBAN numbers, and transfer in 100+ currencies.
Here are a few reasons why e-commerce companies use WorldFirst:
Open a European account online, with no signup fees or running costs
Setting up a World Account is an entirely online onboarding process, so at no point will you need to make a visit to a European branch. You won’t even need to go to a Singaporean branch, as WorldFirst is a fully digital business.
All you need to open a World Account are a few standard business details which you would need to open any business account, including:
- Business name
- Company registration number
- Personal ID documents
Once you’ve submitted this information, you’ll be approved within 24 hours. You then choose the currencies you want to add to your account. You may want to start with EUR, but you can also add a variety of other currencies, including GBP, USD, CHF, PLN, SEK, AED, ZAR, SAR, ILS and CZK.
After that, you’re ready to go. The process usually takes less than 24 hours.
WorldFirst charges no setup or maintenance fees, no minimum balance and no fee for receiving payments. Instead of an endless back-and-forth with European banks, you’re set up within hours and ready to do business in Europe without spending a dollar.
Receive funds in EUR and convert to SGD in an easy, cost-effective way
Once your account is set up, you can start receiving funds in EUR. When a customer purchases from your online store, whether directly or via a marketplace, the funds are sent to your account via local payment rails such as Faster Payments, SEPA Instant or iDEA.
This offers a huge benefit to your business as it means that funds usually settle that same day, as opposed to the six days it can take to send payments via SWIFT. Once you have your funds, you can then choose to convert them to SGD instantly, or hold them in EUR to grow your business in Europe, paying suppliers and third parties in their own currency. WorldFirst charges a maximum of 0.6% to convert major currencies.
This approach to payments enables you to ease any cash flow challenges and increase the speed of your operations by paying suppliers faster.
Your World Account also helps manage currency exchange risk by letting you lock in a favourable exchange rate for up to two years with forward contracts. You can also set target rates and let WorldFirst automatically convert when those rates are met – saving you from constantly watching the market.
We’re committed to being completely transparent with our pricing, with no unexpected costs or new pricing tiers as you grow. You can find a full list of all costs here: WorldFirst Pricing and Fees
Sell on Amazon, Etsy, TikTok Shop and other European marketplaces and platforms
Without access to European bank account details, you won’t be able to sell on marketplaces throughout Europe. This limits your growth, as it closes your business to a vast potential customer base.
With WorldFirst, you receive local account details which can be used to set up a merchant account on various marketplaces, substantially increasing your reach.
Let’s look at Amazon as an example. If you’ve already set up a merchant account on Amazon in Singapore, just click ‘sell globally’ in your account settings to start selling on Amazon Europe. Here you can add your details, as well as a ‘proof of account’ which Amazon may ask for. Your proof of account can be found in your WorldFirst account details and is available for download. It looks like this:
Once that’s done, you can start selling. Payments received on Amazon Europe settle the same day, so marketplace sales are no slower to settle than direct sales.
WorldFirst is a certified participant in Amazon’s Payment Service Provider Platform, meaning that it meets Amazon’s strict standards for secure and reliable payments. Over 300,000 sellers on Amazon use WorldFirst to manage their payments, with over $300 billion being sent and received through WorldFirst and its partner brands since 2004.
But Amazon is just one example. WorldFirst connects directly with 130+ marketplaces all over the world, committing to fast, secure and affordable payment processing on all of them. If you want to sell on marketplaces in Europe, there are no account providers better suited to that use case than WorldFirst.
Manage all of your financial operations in one place
Another key difference between a World Account and a traditional European bank account is that you can perform all of your financial management in one place. Opening traditional bank accounts means that you also need to set up a local entity in each country, which takes longer and is more complex.
A World Account acts as one main account with which you can manage your domestic and international business together. You don’t have to log in to different systems to keep track of your business operations, but instead have a comprehensive platform to compare performance across different currencies, pay suppliers, manage tax and more.
This reduces the possibility of human error and bottlenecks, as you and your team aren’t using multiple account providers not designed to work together. WorldFirst even integrates directly with accounting software such as Xero and NetSuite, making bookkeeping as easy as possible, even when handling multiple currencies.
As your business grows, you can easily add multiple users to your account via your dashboard. You’re able to give users different permissions to maximise efficiency while minimising additional risk.
- Open 20+ local currency accounts and get paid like a local
- Pay suppliers, partners and staff worldwide in 100+ currencies
- Collect payments for free from 130+ marketplaces and payment gateways, including Amazon, Etsy, PayPal and Shopify
- Save with competitive exchange rates on currency conversions and transfers
- Lock in exchange rates for up to 24 months for cash flow certainty
Create your World Account today
If you’re ready to begin your European expansion, open your World Account today in a few simple steps:
- Visit the online account portal to get started
- Enter your account details, including address, personal information and company registration number
- Provide the necessary verification documents
- Select your WorldFirst account requirements, choosing EUR as a currency along with any other currencies you’d like to add
You may receive a call from WorldFirst to confirm your submitted information, and then that’s it! The process usually takes less than 24 hours.
If your business would benefit from a multi-currency virtual card to make payments in EUR, so you can pay for things like marketing ad costs while earning cashback, you can apply for one here.
How Tantex streamlined their international operations and saved 70% on payment costs through WorldFirst
Tantex, a long-established family-run textile business based in Singapore, has built a global footprint with suppliers and customers spread across Europe, Asia and the United States.
Despite the company’s success, handling international transfers remained a constant challenge. The fluctuating foreign exchange rates and high transaction costs were cutting into profits and making financial planning more difficult.
To address these inefficiencies, Tantex switched to a World Account with WorldFirst. This move allowed the business to streamline the process of receiving payments from customers around the world and to make supplier payments more efficiently across multiple regions. The result was a significant reduction in operational costs.
As director Janice Tan explains, “International payments used to be really cumbersome and it was also expensive. Cost is always a challenge. For each transaction with WorldFirst we now save about 70%, which overall amounts to thousands of dollars.” This shift not only improved cash flow but also allowed the business to reinvest in growth and further streamline its global operations.
Read the full case study here: Redefining Excellence in Global Textile Solutions
Alternative options for opening a European business bank account online
While WorldFirst offers a way for you to do business in Europe without the challenges of opening a traditional European bank account, there are also other options available to you.
Below are some alternatives, including e-residency options and other providers of multi-currency accounts for Singaporean businesses.
Apply for e-Residency in Estonia
Estonia’s e-Residency programme offers a simple, fully digital way for Singaporean businesses to set up and run a European business. Through this initiative, you can establish an Estonian private limited company (OÜ) entirely online and access EU business tools, payment systems and banking services without being physically present in Europe.
The process begins with applying for e-Residency via e-resident.gov.ee, which involves submitting identification documents and paying an application form fee of around €100–€120. Once approved (typically within three to eight weeks), you’ll collect your digital ID kit from an Estonian embassy or pickup point. With this digital ID, you can register your business using Estonia’s online Company Registration Portal for a state fee of about €265.
You’ll then need a bank account and legal address in Estonia, which you can rent annually. It’s worth bearing in mind that this approach will require you to get a business bank account anyway, and the European arm of your business will be separate from your Singaporean business.
Airwallex
Airwallex is another multi-currency account provider, offering Singaporean businesses access to EUR receiving details along with various other currencies. This financial services provider is popular among small businesses and startups. Key aspects of Airwallex’s multi-currency account to consider include:
- No set up fees or monthly minimums
- 23 currencies available within each account
- Currency conversion fees varying between 0.5% and 1% depending on the currency
- Local transfers are free, but SWIFT payments will cost between SGD25–35 each
- Debit and expense cards are available. Company cards are free to use, but individual employee business expense cards will cost SGD5 a month if you have more than one employee
Wise
Wise is known for facilitating payments all over the world and is a strictly digital business. It provides solutions for both individuals and businesses and offers a large number of currencies within a single account. Key aspects of Wise’s multi-currency account include:
- 23 currencies available within each account. Accessing account details to receive payments in foreign currencies costs SGD99
- No monthly minimums and no set up fee
- Currency conversion fees begin at 0.33%, though the exact fee will depend on the currency. Wise offers an online calculator here, which will show you the exact costs for converting between particular currencies
- Wise also offers physical cards. The first card is free, additional cards cost SGD4
- If you’re ever in Europe and need access to cash, Wise offers free ATM withdrawals for the first €200 each month. After that, there’s a SGD1.5 fee plus a 1.75% charge on each withdrawal
Payoneer
Payoneer is another digital multi-currency provider helping Singaporean businesses expand internationally. They offer a wide variety of currencies and the ability to send payments to a high number of countries. Key aspects of Payoneer’s multi-currency account include:
- No set up fees and no monthly fees for receiving funds in local currency
- Send funds to bank accounts in 190+ countries
- Currency conversion is 0.5%, with an additional 2% if you want to withdraw that currency
- Physical cards are available for USD29.95 annually
- There’s also a USD29.95 fee if your account is inactive for more than one year
Start selling in Europe with a World Account today
Opening a business bank account with a traditional European bank is an option for you, but it will take a considerable amount of time and effort, with no real advantages to be gained.
Instead, consider opening a multi-currency account. A World Account from WorldFirst enables you to:
- Get set up in a matter of hours
- Receive funds in EUR and many other currencies for free, before converting to SGD at favourable rates
- Get set up on marketplaces like Amazon with local details and proof of ownership
- Manage your financial operations across different platforms and currencies in one place
We’re always here to answer any questions you may have, but if you’re ready to get started, sign up for a World Account today.
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