Vialet

Vialet is an Electronic Money Institution licensed by the Bank of Lithuania, not a traditional bank, though it offers many of the same services for businesses that cannot access conventional banking. Founded in 2017, Vialet has positioned itself as a payments infrastructure company specifically designed for complex, regulated, and high-volume businesses operating across borders. Its client base includes digital merchants, e-commerce platforms, financial technology providers, crypto exchanges, iGaming operators, payment processors, and other businesses in regulated industries that struggle to find banking partners willing to serve them.

The core product is a business account with a dedicated IBAN, the European standard that makes a company appear as the direct account holder to anyone sending money in. This matters because it allows international clients to pay directly into your company's own account number rather than a generic commercial account. Vialet issues these IBANs for EU and EEA registered legal entities, including sole proprietorships, limited companies, cooperatives, and other corporate structures. The crucial point: Vialet accepts founders and business owners who do not live in the country where their company is registered. A UK limited company can be owned and run from anywhere; an Estonian e-residency company run from outside Estonia is a common use case; and a Cyprus company with a non-resident owner is no barrier to Vialet acceptance.

The account grants access to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), which means incoming and outgoing Euro payments across all EU and EEA countries move on a standardized rail, usually settling within one business day at low cost. Wire transfers are also available through SWIFT, allowing your account to send and receive payments in dozens of currencies to and from banks and payment institutions anywhere in the world. For businesses expecting significant volume, Vialet offers merchant acquiring: the ability to accept card payments directly and have those funds settle into your Vialet IBAN, useful for e-commerce sites, SaaS platforms, and subscription services that want to own the customer payment relationship rather than routing through third-party payment processors.

Account opening is entirely online and takes days, not weeks. You provide proof of your company's registration, personal ID, and a description of the business model. Vialet then verifies that your business is real, the company is active, and the country of incorporation or registration is not on a sanctions list. Non-residents are not excluded; the approval depends on the nature of the business, the countries you operate in, and your personal identity verification. High-risk sectors (crypto, forex, gambling, affiliate marketing) require more scrutiny and may be declined or subject to stricter terms, but Vialet explicitly lists these industries as part of its target market, meaning rejection is not automatic.

The fee structure is based on transaction volume. Unlike consumer accounts where you pay a monthly fee for a certain number of free transactions, Vialet charges per-transaction fees that scale down as you grow. SEPA payments typically cost less than 0.5 percent for large volumes; card acquiring is priced per transaction and varies by business type; and standing orders and routine payments are inexpensive. There is usually a monthly account fee as well, though it is often waived or reduced if you meet a minimum monthly volume. This model suits businesses expecting steady, significant flows; it is less attractive for companies with sporadic or very low transaction volume. Vialet publishes ranges on its website, but exact pricing requires a conversation with their commercial team because high-volume merchants, regulated industries, and niche use cases often negotiate custom rates.

Vialet's infrastructure is built on direct membership in the SEPA and card networks. The company is a principal member of Visa and Mastercard, meaning it issues cards directly rather than acting as a reseller, giving it control over pricing and features. It processes over 4.5 billion euros annually across all its customers and claims 99.99 percent operational uptime, suggesting a mature, scaled operation rather than a young startup. The company maintains offices in Vilnius (headquarters), Riga, and Cyprus, and its team is distributed across the Baltics and Cyprus, serving customers across the EU and internationally.

What makes Vialet stand out in this category is its explicit positioning for complex and regulated businesses. Most EMIs are general-purpose; Vialet's marketing and product roadmap center on high-value, high-risk sectors: e-commerce operators who process millions annually, fintechs and payment companies that need banking infrastructure, crypto and blockchain businesses, gaming platforms, forex dealers, and aviation/logistics. For these verticals, it has built specific integrations, compliance procedures, and pricing models. If you run a straightforward SaaS company and need an IBAN, other EMIs may be cheaper and faster. If you operate a marketplace, process high volumes, or are in a sector most banks decline, Vialet is built for you.

The regulatory picture is important to understand because client funds in an EMI are different from those in a traditional bank. Vialet, as an EMI licensed by the Bank of Lithuania, is required to safeguard client money in segregated accounts, meaning your funds are kept separate from Vialet's own capital and from those of other clients. However, this safeguarding is not the same as deposit insurance. In a bank, deposits up to 100,000 euros per account holder per bank are covered by the deposit guarantee scheme; in an EMI, your funds are segregated but not guaranteed. In practice, this means the risk depends on the EMI's financial health and the quality of its banking relationships. Vialet's size, profitability, and track record suggest this is a low-risk scenario, but it is worth understanding before committing significant funds.

For non-residents opening a business account in Europe without a local presence or a local director, Vialet removes the main friction. Traditional banks require you to visit a branch, provide proof of address in their country, or employ someone locally to sign the account paperwork; Vialet's fully remote process means a founder in Singapore with a Lithuanian company can open an account in hours of work. Combined with its pricing model favoring high-volume operations and its explicit acceptance of complex industries, Vialet is most valuable if you are a founder building a borderless business that either processes significant card volume or operates in a sector most mainstream banks will not touch. If you are a small e-residency project with minimal volume, a consumer IBAN account or a multi-currency account from a mass-market provider might suit you better. But if you are scaling an online business, building a fintech, or operating in a regulated or niche industry and need a proper European business account that will not require you to move back to Europe to open it, Vialet is one of the best options available.