Continuing the digitisation of the bank’s services and adapting to the emergency situation, from October this year businesses will be able to open a new current account with Luminor remotely from anywhere in the world. Until now, opening an account without visiting a bank branch was only offered to individuals and businesses that are existing customers of the bank, so the new solution will make it easier to open an account at a time when it is advisable to avoid face-to-face meetings.

“The pandemic has contributed significantly to the digitisation of many services and the transition to online operations, which is a major time-saver for our customers. For a couple of years now, we have been offering most of the bank’s daily services to our customers digitally. Last year, we observed a consistently high level of interest in opening new current accounts from both existing and new business customers. Small and medium-sized enterprises are the most frequent openers of new accounts, accounting for almost 85% of all Luminor current accounts opened for legal entities. Switching to remote account opening is an obvious modern digital solution that will create additional convenience and save time for our clients, as all necessary actions can be performed completely remotely from anywhere in the world,”

says Jekaterina Ziniča, Luminor Business Development Manager for the Baltics.

The new solution enables remote customer identification through several levels of checks, including automated verification of customer data and documents in databases and registers. Customer biometric data is also processed as required by the laws and regulations. Remote account opening with Luminor will be available for companies registered in Latvia the signatories of which have access to authentication with a Smart-ID Qualified and soon also with eID electronic signature. If the signatory is not yet a customer of Luminor, additional remote identification is carried out via a video call. Upon receipt of an application, a representative of the company will be contacted by the bank’s staff to tailor a range of services to suit the needs of each customer. Signing of the contract will be done after submission of the documents and identification of the customer with an electronic signature.

Also, if the business grows and additional products are needed, the customer will be able to request the services they need remotely and will no longer need to visit a branch in person.

In a survey conducted by Luminor in September 2021*, 34% of small and medium-sized enterprises in Latvia indicated that they plan to develop and expand their business in the coming year. At the same time, 13% stressed that they would also need to raise additional funds – a loan – to further develop their operations, and that opening a new current account might also be necessary. 

The remote service is provided by a partner of Luminor – Ondato UAB, who is ensuring customer identification and synchronising data with external databases.  “Digitalization is one of the main steps a financial institution can take to make itself more competitive and convenient for its clients. While Know Your Business (KYB) procedures are often regarded as something forced on businesses due to regulations, this can also be an opportunity to make your day-to-day processes more effective. We’re happy to provide Luminor with modern tools that will increase the safety and quality of their remote procedures,”

says Liudas Kanapienis, Ondato CEO.

In early 2020, before the pandemic, Luminor Bank introduced a similar innovative solution for individuals, offering the possibility to become a customer of the bank by performing all necessary activities completely remotely.