A bank account for your Dutch BV when you live outside the EEA: which bank accepts you

The matrix: what each bank publishes for an owner or director outside the EEA

Where a cell says the page is silent, the bank reviews each case under its own customer due diligence. The Dutch central bank (DNB) allows a bank to refuse a customer that brings too many risks. Ask the bank in writing before you apply, with the ownership chart attached. Where a bank asks for extra documents from owners outside the EU, business.gov.nl names a visa or residence permit as examples.

What every bank asks

• The extract from the Chamber of Commerce (KVK). The company exists, with its directors and its address. Some banks ask for an extract of at most 30 days old.
• The beneficial owners. The extract from the UBO register, or the bank’s own UBO form, plus the register of shareholders and an ownership chart up to the people at the top. Banks compare the application with the UBO register and ask about every difference.
• The articles of association and the deed of incorporation.
• Identity documents and proof of home address of every director and every beneficial owner.
• A business plan or business description: customers, suppliers, the countries you pay and receive from, the currencies and the expected monthly amounts.
• Proof of activity and of the source of funds: contracts, orders, invoices, a website, and documents that show where the share capital and the first money come from.

The KVK lists the same documents in its guide of 2 October 2026. The Tax Administration accepts any IBAN from the SEPA area; some suppliers and payroll providers prefer a Dutch IBAN (business.gov.nl).

Why a real address and real activity matter

A bank checks three things: who you are, what the company does, and whether the facts match. A company with a registered address at a letterbox, an empty website and a director who has yet to set foot in the Netherlands fails the third check. A company with its own office or workspace, staff or a Dutch contractor, Dutch customers or suppliers, and a director who comes for the board meetings passes it. Banks ask about the reason for a Dutch company; the answer is in the business plan.

That is also why the company is yours and the address is yours. We provide the set-up and the bookkeeping; the office, the contracts and the board are real and in your name. See substance requirements for a Dutch BV.

An EEA co-director, or a stake below 25%: what the banks state

Two banks tie acceptance to who lives in the EEA. Revolut Business asks for at least one director or beneficial owner in the EEA or Switzerland. bunq counts a person with 25% or more as a beneficial owner and declines when any beneficial owner or non-executive lives outside the EEA. Founders read this as two options: appoint a co-director who lives in the EEA, or keep the stake of the owner outside the EEA below 25%.

A co-director with real duties, a real say in the board and a real presence meets Revolut’s rule as published. A nominee in name only meets the letter of it and fails the review, because the bank asks what the director does. The directors are yours; we provide the set-up and the bookkeeping. A stake below 25% changes who counts as a beneficial owner in the bank’s test and in the Dutch UBO register, which also lists people who control the company by other means. The register must show the real owners and the real control; a bank compares the two and asks the reason for the split. A real partner with a real stake is a reason. Ownership on paper for another person is a false statement to the register and to the bank.

One Dutch company, many roles

Your own Dutch BV is the account holder, the employer, the VAT registrant and the contracting party. A holding above it keeps the shares and receives the profit; the operating company has the bank account for daily payments. Some banks accept the holding and the operating company as two accounts; Knab, for instance, allows a holding with one operating company. Prices: your Dutch company (BV) from €2,950 excl. VAT, and a holding with an operating company from €4,950 excl. VAT. Partner work has its own price, which you see first. See company formation in the Netherlands for non-residents.

Who does what

• You own the company and decide the bank. You supply the identity documents, the proof of address, the source of funds and the contracts, and you answer the bank’s questions.
• We prepare the bank file with you: the company documents, the ownership chart, the business description, the checklist for the source of funds and a match check across every document and the KVK register. We introduce you to the bank and help with its questions until it decides. The bank file has its own price, which you see first.
• The bank decides. Partners do the specialist work where a bank asks for it: a notary or law firm abroad for delegated identification, a payment institution for card payments and marketplaces.

Based in the United States? See services for US founders. Want our team to have a look?

Sources

• bunq, who can open a bunq Business account; company information and documents needed; how to open a bunq Business account (read on 27 October 2026).
• Qonto, who can open a Qonto account on behalf of my company; what activities are prohibited at Qonto; creating your BV or holding in the Netherlands with Qonto (read on 27 October 2026).
• Wise, can my business use Wise; how can I verify my business; acceptable use policy (25 March 2026).
• Revolut Business, eligible countries of residency; requirements for directors and beneficial owners; unsupported industries (read on 27 October 2026).
• ING, zakelijke rekening openen (read on 27 October 2026).
• ABN AMRO, zakelijke rekening openen; Know Your Client documents for new clients (read on 27 October 2026).
• Rabobank, zakelijke rekening openen als nieuwe klant; onboarding manual, document checklist (read on 27 October 2026).
• Knab, zakelijke acceptatiecriteria; zakelijke rekening openen (read on 27 October 2026).
• Business.gov.nl, opening a Dutch business bank account (2026).
• KVK, zakelijke rekening openen: deze documenten heb je nodig (2 October 2026).
• De Nederlandsche Bank, combating money laundering and fraud (2026).

Last reviewed: 27 October 2026. The matrix follows the pages that the banks and payment institutions publish themselves, as read on 27 October 2026, plus business.gov.nl and the KVK. Banks change their rules; the bank’s page of the day decides.

Common questions