The short answer: Open Swedbank first — Lithuania’s largest retail bank, with the biggest branch network, a Lithuanian (LT) IBAN for your salary and a decision usually within 10 working days once your documents are complete. SEB is the best fallback for digital banking. Keep Revolut as a multi-currency sidekick — it is a Lithuanian bank, so its LT IBAN is local here, and it opens in about ten minutes while your permit is still processing.
Lithuania draws expats for its fast-growing tech sector, its universities and its low cost of living — students in Vilnius and Kaunas, IT engineers in the fintech hub, healthcare workers and skilled workers arriving on permits. Whatever brings you here, the first money task is the same: a Lithuanian bank account, because your employer pays your wages into a bank account, your landlord expects rent from a local account, and the migration office wants to see salary landing in Lithuania when you renew a permit.
Below we compare the five accounts every expat in Lithuania considers — Swedbank, SEB, Luminor, Šiaulių bankas and Revolut — on the criteria that actually matter to newcomers: fees, a Lithuanian IBAN, English support, branch access and cheap transfers home. One fact shapes the whole comparison: Revolut Bank UAB is a Lithuanian bank, so its LT IBAN is local here — the only country in Europe where that is true. Fees and features change regularly, so always verify on the provider’s official site before applying.
ExpatMoneyEU answer: Lithuania’s national gross minimum wage is €1,153 a month from 1 January 2026 (€7.05 an hour), and the 2026 tax reform moved Lithuania to a three-tier income tax — 20% up to €83,237.40 a year, 25% to €138,729 and 32% above — with the non-taxable amount (NPD) worth up to €747 a month at minimum-wage pay. At the average wage of about €2,312 a month our Lithuania salary calculator estimates roughly €1,420 a month take-home. Deposits at licensed Lithuanian banks are protected up to €100,000 per depositor under the EU deposit guarantee scheme (European Commission).
Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this page may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you — see our affiliate disclosure. Always verify current fees with the provider before applying.
Quick comparison: bank accounts in Lithuania for expats
| Account | Opening fee | IBAN | Free ATM withdrawals | Branches | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swedbank | €200 (non-resident) | Lithuanian (LT) | Free at Swedbank ATMs | Yes, largest | New arrivals, branches |
| SEB | €250 (non-resident) | Lithuanian (LT) | Free at SEB ATMs | Yes | Digital banking, English |
| Luminor | €200 verification | Lithuanian (LT) | Free at Luminor ATMs | Yes | Everyday banking |
| Šiaulių bankas | Check price list | Lithuanian (LT) | Free at Šiaulių ATMs | Yes | Lithuanian-owned bank |
| Revolut (Standard) | €0 | Lithuanian (LT) | €200 / month free, then 2% | No | Multi-currency complement |
→ Free Lithuania Net Salary Calculator — check your take-home pay before you sign a contract
Expert Score: how the five accounts rate
We scored each account from 0 to 10 on the six criteria below, using only the facts stated on this page. A “—” means the attribute is not stated for that bank on this page, so it is excluded from that bank’s average. Scores are the editorial judgment of the ExpatMoneyEU Research Team — never ranked by commission.
| Account | Monthly fee | Local IBAN | Free ATM access | Branches & cash | Deposit protection | English support | Expert Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swedbank | 7 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9.0 |
| SEB | 6 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8.7 |
| Šiaulių bankas | 8 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 8.3 |
| Luminor | 6 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8.2 |
| Revolut (Standard) | 10 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 7.5 |
Scores by ExpatMoneyEU Research Team from the criteria above — not influenced by commissions.
Swedbank
Swedbank is Lithuania’s largest retail bank and the expat favourite for one simple reason: it has the biggest branch and ATM network in the country, so there is almost always a branch near your home, your university or your office. Foreign nationals generally apply at a branch with valid ID and a document showing a link to Lithuania — a work contract, an enrolment letter or a lease — and once all requested information is provided, the bank says it normally makes a decision within 10 working days.
The cost to watch is the opening fee: Swedbank charges €200 to open an account for a person who is not legally resident in Lithuania, another EU member state or an EEA country. Once the account is open, the minimum daily-services fee is €0.70 a month, which covers maintaining the account and everyday payments. You get a real Lithuanian (LT) IBAN, which is what employers, landlords and the migration office expect — and because Revolut’s IBAN is also Lithuanian, the two pair well together.
SEB
SEB is the Baltic region’s digital-first bank, and its app and online banking are the strongest of the three big Lithuanian banks — fully in English, with instant notifications, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and multi-currency accounts you can add from the app. For an expat who does everything from a phone, SEB is the most comfortable daily experience in Lithuania.
The cost is higher than Swedbank’s: SEB charges €250 to open an account for a non-resident under its definition, plus a minimum service fee of €10 a month for non-residents. Foreign nationals generally apply at a branch and must explain why they need the account, show their connection to Lithuania and provide supporting documents — SEB’s remote video option requires a Lithuanian-issued identity document and a qualified electronic signature, so most newcomers should plan a branch visit. Once your residence permit is issued, ask for the resident price list, which is far cheaper.
Šiaulių bankas
Šiaulių bankas is Lithuania’s largest locally owned bank, with its roots in the country’s fourth city and branches across the country — a useful option if you live outside Vilnius and Kaunas, or if you simply prefer a Lithuanian-owned bank to a Nordic group. It offers the full range of personal accounts with a Lithuanian IBAN, debit cards and an English-language app, and it is the bank many Lithuanian small businesses use.
We do not publish fee figures for Šiaulių bankas here because its non-resident pricing is not stated in a single public price list we could verify at the time of writing — ask the branch for the current price list before you apply, and compare the annual total against Swedbank’s €200 opening fee and SEB’s €250. If you already live in Šiauliai, Panevėžys or another regional city, its branch network may be the most convenient of all.
Luminor
Luminor is the third of Lithuania’s big three banks, formed from the Baltic operations of Nordea and DNB, and it is a solid everyday choice with branches in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and Šiauliai. Its price list separates standard account fees from charges for customers who are not legal residents of the EU, EEA or Switzerland — contact the bank before applying to confirm eligibility and the documents it wants from you.
The non-resident cost is the thing to budget for: a €200 document-verification fee when opening an account, plus a €15 monthly account-maintenance fee for a non-resident outside the EEA. That makes Luminor the most expensive of the three big banks for a newcomer without a permit — but once you hold a Lithuanian residence permit, the resident tariff applies and the maths changes completely. Check the current price list at the branch before you commit.
Revolut
Revolut is different in Lithuania from anywhere else in Europe: Revolut Bank UAB is a Lithuanian bank, so the IBAN it issues is a Lithuanian (LT) IBAN — a local IBAN, not a foreign one. That makes Revolut a genuine salary-account option in Lithuania, not just a sidekick: employers, landlords and the migration office all accept a LT IBAN, and there is no IBAN-discrimination argument to have.
It is still best used as a complement to a branch bank for most people, because Revolut has no branches and no cash-deposit network — but for transfers home it is genuinely useful: free currency exchange up to €1,000 a month on the Standard plan, instant transfers between Revolut users, and balances in EUR, GBP, USD and other currencies you can hold and spend. Just remember the limits: free ATM withdrawals stop at €200 a month (then 2%), and weekend FX carries roughly a 1% markup. Revolut Bank UAB holds the deposits under the EU deposit guarantee scheme.
Send money home from Lithuania without the bank markup:
How to choose: a 3-question shortcut
- Do you need a Lithuanian IBAN for your salary this month? → Open Revolut in ten minutes for a local LT IBAN, then open Swedbank at a branch for the full-service account.
- Do you send money home every month? → Keep Revolut alongside and send with Wise — both beat Lithuanian bank transfer fees for most corridors.
- Do you want branches and cash, or is an app enough? → Choose Swedbank for the biggest branch and ATM network; an app-only setup with Revolut is fine if you live in Vilnius or Kaunas. Šiaulių bankas is the local pick outside the big cities.
→ Best Bank Account for Indians in Lithuania — the Indians’ guide
Sending money home from Lithuania
Most expats in Lithuania send money home every month, and the corridor is where a bad choice costs real money: Lithuanian banks charge high international transfer fees plus a poor exchange rate, so the standard advice is to receive your salary in your Lithuanian account and send it onward with a specialist. Wise shows the fee and the real exchange rate before you send, and pays out to bank accounts in India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and most other home countries — check the live fee in the app before every transfer, because exchange rates move daily and all figures here are illustrative.
Send on payday, not at month-end: convert what you need and send it the same day, and keep the receipts — they double as proof of income if you renew a residence permit or sponsor a family visit. Never use informal cash couriers: they are unregulated and uninsured, and a failed delivery leaves you with no receipt and no recourse. If your family banks with a bank at home, a direct bank payout is usually cheaper than a cash-pickup option.
→ Free Money Transfer Cost Calculator — compare the true cost of a transfer before you send
Documents you will need
Expats arrive in Lithuania mainly as students, IT and healthcare workers and skilled workers on work permits, and non-EU nationals go through the full document checklist at the branch. Lithuanian banks ask every foreign applicant to show a link to Lithuania — a contract, an enrolment letter or a lease — so bring originals of everything below:
- Passport — the bank verifies your identity in person at the branch.
- Lithuanian residence permit (TRP) or national visa (D visa) — for non-EU citizens; if your permit is still being processed, bring the application receipt and ask what the bank can open in the meantime.
- Lithuanian personal code (asmens kodas) — issued when you register your residence; banks ask for it to open the account.
- Proof of address in Lithuania — usually a rental contract or a utility bill in your name.
- Proof of income or employment — your work contract, university enrolment letter or a salary slip; banks ask for it to satisfy source-of-funds checks.
→ Free Cyprus Net Salary Calculator — compare the Mediterranean offer
Practical tips for expats opening a Lithuania account
- Expect a branch visit. Online opening in Lithuania is built for residents with a Lithuanian ID and a qualified electronic signature; as a foreigner, plan one in-person appointment for ID verification, even if you start the application online.
- Ask for the basic payment account if money is tight. Lithuania has a regulated basic payment account service basket: banks and credit unions must offer the covered basic services for no more than €1 a month, or €0.50 for qualifying low-income residents.
- Budget for the non-resident opening fee. Swedbank charges €200, SEB €250 and Luminor €200 to verify documents for applicants who are not legally resident in the EU or EEA — that fee is charged before the account is opened and is usually non-refundable if the bank refuses, so bring complete documents the first time.
- Use Revolut as your day-one account. It opens in about ten minutes with a passport and gives you a local LT IBAN while the branch banks process your file — then move your salary to the branch bank once it is open, or keep both.
- Fees change. Monthly fees and opening charges are revised at least once a year — always ask for the bank’s current price list before you apply, and re-price the account once your residence permit is issued.
What changes in 2027
Re-check every figure on this page each January: Lithuanian banks revise their price lists at least once a year, and the government reviews the minimum wage annually — the €1,153 floor from January 2026 will move again. The 2026 tax reform’s three-tier bands are set at 36 and 60 times the average wage, so the €83,237 and €138,729 thresholds will also move as average pay moves — re-run our Lithuania salary calculator every January. The 2027 watch item for expats is the residence-permit renewal cycle: keep your salary slips and transfer receipts, because they are the cleanest proof of legal employment at renewal time.
How we compared: the methodology
How we compared
Fees and features checked: the providers’ official websites and published price lists, as referenced throughout this guide — including Swedbank’s rates of fees effective 3 May 2026 and Luminor’s private-customer price list — plus Lithuania’s 2026 account-opening rules and the Bank of Lithuania’s register of licensed credit institutions. Criteria: monthly fees, ATM access, IBAN type and expat-friendliness — including opening requirements such as the residence permit, personal code, English support and deposit protection. Verdicts are the editorial judgment of the ExpatMoneyEU Research Team — not financial advice. Figures are illustrative; always verify the current terms with the provider before opening an account.