Since the vote to leave the European Union, there's been a "sharp" rise in people wanting to become a digital citizen of Estonia. The country's e-residency program, which launched in 2014 and has had more than 20,000 people apply, with more than 1,060 of these applications coming from the UK.
Read more: Concerned about Brexit? Why not become an e-resident of Estonia
One of the many benefits of the program is that e-residents can register bank accounts in Estonia, but to do so you have to visit the country in person first. Now, the officials behind the scheme have introduced 'borderless digital banking' meaning any of its digital residents can set-up an EU company without visiting the nation.
"Enabling Brits, and almost anyone, to set up a complete EU business online significantly lowers their barriers to entrepreneurship so they can test out new business ideas without breaking the online bank," e-residency program director Kaspar Korjus tells WIRED.
For those in the UK, the borderless company scheme will allow them "access to the EU business environment without having to leave". As well as the new account type, the Estonian initiative has launched a new website.
In a Medium blog post, Korjus says that when e-residency was launched, it took four visits to Estonia to set-up a company and open an bank account.
"We could offer them a location-independent business, but the process of establishing the business was far from location-independent," he writes. In total there are 3,000 companies being managed and run by Estonia's e-residents and Korjus hopes the introduction of a digital bank for businesses will mean more firms will be launched in the country.
E-residents are given a digital ID, can be a director of a company remotely, declare taxes online, sign documents online and send encrypted files.
Read more: Transferwise's Borderless bank account lets you save money in different currencies
The new banking system allows "almost everyone" to create an e-residency business account (although currently not those in the US) and has been created with Finnish fintech firm Holvi. Setting up an account costs €35.00 (£30 per month) and applicants get a Mastercard as part of the deal.
Business accounts registered with the company additionally come with an EU international bank account number. Previously, Estonia's parliament changed the country's laws to allow bank accounts to be opened remotely but it took some time for the remote account creation to become a reality.
"Now, a complete EU business with banking can be established online from anywhere and we believe a new era for location-independent entrepreneurs has begun," Korjus writes.
This isn't the first borderless bank account to be announced this week. On May 23, London-based fintech firm Transferwise announced it was creating a borderless account that works across countries and doesn't charge international transfer fees.
The account allows people in the UK and Europe to store money in 15 different currencies and have local account numbers. Like with the Estonia e-account, it's not possible to use Transferwise's account in the US yet. Transferwise says that as its account isn't "constrained by country or currencies" it allows businesses "more freedom and control" over their finances and spending.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
