Estonia is a debit country. Cards are everywhere — 83% of card payments are contactless and 57% of point-of-sale payments are by card against 44% across the euro area — but the card in an Estonian wallet is usually a debit card. Credit is a smaller, more regulated corner, and it has one rule worth knowing before anything else: price a loan too high here and the contract is not merely unenforceable, it is void.
An APR above 3x the Bank of Estonia average makes the contract void
Law of Obligations Act § 406²: a consumer credit contract is void if its annual percentage rate of charge exceeds, by more than 3 times, the last-published Bank of Estonia figure for the average APR on consumer loans over the preceding six months. The bank publishes that average twice a year, by 1 January and by 1 July.
Void does not mean free. You still repay the principal by the original date, at the statutory interest rate instead of the contractual one, on a recalculated schedule.
Table of Contents
The usury cap
This is the most consequential consumer credit rule in Estonian law and it is barely mentioned in English anywhere.
What exactly is capped?
The krediidi kulukuse määr — the annual percentage rate of charge, meaning the total cost including fees, not the headline interest rate.Capped at what?
3× the Bank of Estonia's published average APR on consumer loans granted by credit institutions to private individuals over the preceding six months. Mortgage-secured loans are excluded from that average.Which figure applies to my contract?
The one in force on the date the credit was granted, not today's. A contract is tested against the number published when you signed.What happens if it is breached?
§ 406²(3): the contract is void. You repay the principal by the originally agreed date at the statutory rate under § 94(1), and the creditor must recalculate and reissue the schedule. You do not keep the money.The rule is fixed; the number moves every six months. Publishing "the cap is X%" on a page that will still be online in two years is how a your-money page goes quietly wrong — and a stale usury cap is worse than none, because a reader would use it to conclude a contract was lawful.
The financial supervisor runs a free public calculator that tests your own contract against the cap for the right date: look for the tarbijakrediidi kulukuse määra kalkulaator on minuraha.ee. Use that rather than any figure you find in an article, including ours. For scale only: when the rule came into force in July 2015 the reference rate was 26.57%, giving a cap of 79.71%.
Responsible lending
The other half of the framework. § 403⁴ obliges a creditor, before lending, to gather enough information to assess whether you can actually repay, and to exercise due diligence over your income, existing obligations, payment history and any foreseeable increase in your obligations. It may only lend if satisfied you are creditworthy, and it must reassess before increasing a limit.
Two provisions worth knowing you have
§ 403⁴(10): if a creditor refuses you on the basis of a database query, it must tell you the result and name the database. You do not have to guess why you were declined.
§ 403⁴(13): in a dispute, the burden of proof is on the creditor. And under § 403⁴(7), a breach drops the rate to the statutory one and means no other fees or charges are owed at all.
Consumer credit providers need an activity licence from the financial supervisor, which publishes a public register of licensed creditors, intermediaries and agents — worth checking before you sign anything with a lender you have not heard of. In 2025 the supervisor inspected three creditors on responsible lending and found their internal creditworthiness rules "did not always fully comply"; it inspected four on the APR cap and found no deficiencies.
The National Audit Office is less impressed
Its 2023 audit of non-bank consumer lending found that one in four consumer loans is not repaid on time, and criticised supervision for leaning on guidance rather than enforcement. That is the context in which the cap and the responsible-lending duty exist.
What the banks offer
Published terms, from each bank's own current price list. Interest rates and fees change; check the bank's page before applying.
| Bank | Monthly fee | Interest | Interest-free | Min. net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHV | €1 (ages 26–65) | from 16% | up to 40 days | €350 |
| Coop Pank | €1 | 18% fixed | up to 40 days | €500 |
| SEB | €1.60 | 18% | up to 45 days | €640 |
| Swedbank | €2 (free under 25) | 19–22% | to end of month | €600 |
| Luminor Black | €6.90 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
Commercial comparison · Links to providers, no commission earned
Ordered by published monthly card fee, lowest first — ties broken by published minimum net income. Ordering reflects fees, features and how well each option works for someone arriving from abroad.
LHV
The lowest published minimum income of the five — AS LHV Pank
Key features
- The lowest published minimum net income of the five banks
- Up to 40 interest-free days
- Publishes a representative example, so the APR is comparable
Published terms
- FX margin outside the euro
- 1%
- Cash advance
- €2 + 2.5%, no interest-free period
- Eligibility
- Adult Estonian citizen or resident with a valid residence permit
Summary
- The lowest published minimum net income of the five banks
- Up to 40 interest-free days
- Publishes a representative example, so the APR is comparable
- Cash advances accrue interest immediately — LHV states this explicitly
Coop Pank
Same monthly fee as LHV, higher income requirement
Key features
- Fixed 18% rather than a range
- Up to 40 interest-free days
- Publishes a representative example
Published terms
- Cash advance
- 2.5% + €2, Estonia and abroad
- Eligibility
- Estonian citizen or valid permit holder, 18+, clean payment history
Summary
- Fixed 18% rather than a range
- Up to 40 interest-free days
- Publishes a representative example
- The highest representative APR of the three banks that publish one
SEB
Longest interest-free period — and the APR that misleads most — AS SEB Pank
Key features
- The longest published interest-free period of the five, at up to 45 days
Published terms
- FX margin outside the euro
- 1.5%
- Cash advance
- €2 + 2.5%
Summary
- The longest published interest-free period of the five, at up to 45 days
- Its 2.97% representative APR assumes the balance is cleared every month — it is not comparable with LHV's or Coop's
- The highest FX margin of the banks that publish one
- The second-highest minimum net income, at €640
Swedbank
Publishes no representative example, so this card shows no rate — Swedbank AS
Key features
- Free for under-25s
- Tiered cards reduce the rate for anyone carrying a balance
- Platinum removes the foreign-exchange margin entirely
Published terms
- Eligibility
- Income regular for the past six months, probation completed, total loan payments under 40% of verified income
- Free for
- Under-25s
Summary
- Free for under-25s
- Tiered cards reduce the rate for anyone carrying a balance
- Platinum removes the foreign-exchange margin entirely
- The six-month income rule rules out most recent arrivals on its own
Luminor
Luminor Black — informational only; almost nothing is published
Key features
- Free cash withdrawals at Luminor ATMs up to a monthly ceiling
Published terms
- Monthly fee
- €6.90
Summary
- Free cash withdrawals at Luminor ATMs up to a monthly ceiling
- The highest monthly fee of the five, at €6.90
- A 2% debit FX margin, plus €5 outside the euro area
Read the representative APR, not the interest rate
The banks publish representative examples and they are not comparable at face value, because the assumptions differ. SEB shows 2.97% — on an example where the €1,000 limit is repaid in full every month, so almost no interest accrues. LHV shows 19.15% and Coop 22.21% — on examples where €1,000 is repaid over a year. Same kind of card, wildly different headline, entirely because of the repayment assumption. Swedbank publishes no representative example on the pages we read.
Swedbank's tiers are worth knowing if you carry a balance: Gold at €7/month drops the rate to 17–20% and Platinum at €17/month to 14–17%, with Platinum also removing the 1% foreign-exchange margin and giving up to 40 interest-free days.
Revolut, Wise and N26 do not offer credit cards in Estonia
People assume they do, because they do elsewhere. Revolut states plainly that it offers no credit products in Estonia — no loans, no credit cards, no overdrafts — and lists credit cards as available in Brazil, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Spain and the US. Wise says its card is a debit card and that it does not offer a credit card at all. N26 operates in Estonia but its overdraft and credit pages cover only Germany, Austria, France, Italy and Spain, so Estonia appears to be debit-only there too — that last one is an inference from an absence, not an N26 statement.
Getting one as a newcomer
Published conditions
What the banks actually state:
- LHV — adult Estonian citizen or resident with a valid residence permit
- Coop Pank — Estonian citizen or valid permit holder, 18+, clean payment history
- Swedbank — income regular for the past six months, probation completed, total loan payments under 40% of verified income
- Credit limits typically start at €300, capped at one to two months' net income
What that means in month one
Realistically:
- A debit card is immediate
- A credit card at a big bank is unlikely — the six-month income rule alone rules most arrivals out
- The fintechs will give you a card fast, but it is not credit
- Opening the account at all needs proof of a connection to Estonia, in person
For opening the underlying account, Tallinn's own municipal guide is the clearest published source: a valid ID plus proof of a connection to Estonia — a rental agreement, employment contract, university enrolment letter or business registration — with identity verified in person, and a decision taking up to 10 business days. See bank accounts.
Your credit record
| Today | From 2028–29 | |
|---|---|---|
| What exists | A private payment-default register run by Creditinfo Eesti | A statutory credit register under the Credit Information Sharing Act |
| What is recorded | Defaults only — the negative half | Contracts, balances, schedules, rates AND defaults |
| Threshold | €30.00, unpaid more than 45 days | Reporting duty on lenders |
| Retention | 5 years after settlement; up to 15 years unsettled | Not yet published |
| Timing | Now | Act in force June 2026; lenders report from 1 July 2028; live 1 March 2029 |
Nobody has to warn you before publishing a default
Creditinfo states it directly: Estonian law lays down no separate obligation to notify you that a payment default is being published. A debt of €30.00 unpaid for 45 days is enough, the register answers over 800,000 queries a month from banks and telecoms, and you may never be told. Checking your own record is free at minucreditinfo.ee with an ID card, Mobiil-ID or Smart-ID — and it also shows you who has queried your data in the past two years. Do it before you apply for anything, not after you are declined.
The coming statutory register is worth knowing about for one consumer-friendly feature: it will let a person register a voluntary self-imposed lending ban, reviewable after six months.
The costs that bite
| Bank | FX margin outside the euro | Cash advance on credit |
|---|---|---|
| LHV | 1% | €2 + 2.5%, and no interest-free period on cash |
| Swedbank | 1% — 0% on Platinum | €2 + 2.5%; Gold free to €500/mo, Platinum to €1,000/mo |
| SEB | 1.5% | €2 + 2.5% |
| Luminor | 2% (debit), plus €5 outside the euro area | Free to €1,200/mo at Luminor ATMs, then 2% |
| Coop Pank | Not published | 2.5% + €2, Estonia and abroad |
The pattern: a cash advance costs roughly €2 plus 2.5% and starts accruing interest immediately — LHV says so explicitly. Using a credit card at an ATM is the single most expensive ordinary thing you can do with one.
A merchant cannot charge you extra for paying by card
Surcharging on ordinary consumer debit and credit cards issued in the EEA is prohibited, deriving from PSD2 Article 62(4) and transposed into the Law of Obligations Act. A narrow carve-out survives for instruments outside the interchange-fee regulation — commercial cards, three-party schemes like Amex issued directly, and non-EEA-issued cards — where a surcharge may not exceed the trader's direct cost of accepting that payment method. And if you withdraw from a distance contract, the trader must refund the whole amount including any surcharge.
The surcharging ban is transposed into the Law of Obligations Act, and the finance ministry's own explanatory memorandum to the PSD2 transposition points at § 724¹. That is unverified against the current consolidated statute — the state gazette needs JavaScript — so we are naming the directive, which we are confident about, rather than the domestic section, which we are not.
And where your money sits
Deposits at a licensed Estonian credit institution are guaranteed to €100,000 per depositor per bank, covering interest accrued to the suspension date, with payout within 7 working days. A further €100,000 is temporarily protected around defined life events — a property sale, marriage or divorce, a change of job, retirement, an insurance payout.
Payment institutions are not covered by this at all
Money held with Wise, Revolut, Paysera, Payoneer and similar is outside the Estonian deposit guarantee scheme entirely — the Guarantee Fund names e-money and payment institutions as expressly excluded. They safeguard client money under different rules, which is not the same thing as a guarantee. Note too that a branch of a foreign bank is covered by its home country's scheme, not Estonia's.
Common mistakes
Comparing representative APRs at face value
SEB's 2.97% and Coop's 22.21% describe similar cards under different repayment assumptions. Read the assumptions, not the number.Expecting Revolut or Wise to give you credit here
Neither offers a credit product in Estonia. Their cards are debit.Taking cash out on a credit card
About €2 plus 2.5%, and interest starts the same day — the interest-free period does not apply.Applying in your first month
Swedbank alone wants six months of regular income and a completed probation period. Build the file first.Not checking your own default record
It is free at minucreditinfo.ee, nobody has to warn you before publishing a default, and €30.00 unpaid for 45 days is enough to land on it.Assuming a fintech balance is protected like a bank deposit
The €100,000 guarantee covers licensed credit institutions. Payment institutions are expressly excluded.Frequently asked questions
Is there a legal limit on credit card interest in Estonia?
Yes, and it is unusually strict. Under § 406² of the Law of Obligations Act a consumer credit contract is void if its annual percentage rate of charge exceeds three times the Bank of Estonia's published average APR on consumer loans over the preceding six months. The bank publishes that average by 1 January and by 1 July each year, and the figure that applies is the one in force on the day the credit was granted. Void does not mean free: you still repay the principal by the original date, at the statutory rate.
Can I get a credit card in Estonia as a foreigner?
Eventually, yes; in your first month, probably not at a major bank. LHV and Coop Pank both publish a requirement to be an Estonian citizen or hold a valid residence permit. Swedbank requires income that has been regular for six months and a completed probation period. Published minimum net incomes run from €350 at LHV to €640 at SEB. A debit card, by contrast, comes with the account.
Do Revolut or Wise offer credit cards in Estonia?
No. Revolut states that it offers no credit products in Estonia at all — no loans, credit cards or overdrafts — and lists credit cards as available only in Brazil, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Spain and the United States. Wise states that it does not offer a credit card anywhere; the Wise card is a debit card.
How do I check my credit record in Estonia?
Free, at minucreditinfo.ee, using an ID card, Mobiil-ID or Smart-ID. It also shows who has queried your data over the past two years. The register is run privately by Creditinfo Eesti and records payment defaults of at least €30 unpaid for more than 45 days. There is no legal obligation to notify you before a default is published, so check before applying rather than after being declined.
Can a shop charge extra for paying by card in Estonia?
Not for ordinary consumer debit and credit cards issued in the EEA — surcharging on those is prohibited, deriving from Article 62(4) of PSD2. A narrow exception remains for cards outside the interchange-fee regulation, such as commercial cards and directly-issued three-party scheme cards, where any surcharge may not exceed the trader's direct cost of accepting that payment method.
Is my money safe with an Estonian bank?
Deposits at a licensed Estonian credit institution are guaranteed to €100,000 per depositor per bank by the Guarantee Fund, with payout within seven working days, plus a further €100,000 temporarily around defined life events. Payment and e-money institutions — Wise, Revolut, Paysera and similar — are expressly excluded from the scheme, and a branch of a foreign bank is covered by its home country's scheme instead.
Related guides
Compare before you apply
Every figure above comes from each bank's own current price list. Rates and fees change, so check the bank's page before applying — and read the representative example, not the headline rate.