Bank Account and Share-Capital Deposit for an Austrian GmbH

The capital has to be credited before the Firmenbuch registers the company, and not every bank opens a pre-registration account for a non-resident without an existing relationship. § 10 Abs. 2 GmbHG also allows a notary's escrow account (Anderkonto), so the deposit and the written confirmation can run through the notary instead of a bank.

§ 10 Abs. 2 GmbHG names a domestic credit institution, a CRR credit institution within the meaning of § 9 BWG, or a notary escrow account. Whether an e-money institution qualifies is an open legal question, and in practice notaries often refuse a capital confirmation from such a provider. We therefore place the deposit with a credit institution.

For the GmbH's deposit, residence is not the statute's test; the Business Service Portal says the capital rules apply equally to founders from EU member states. What a non-resident meets is identification: on the eGründung route the bank must see an official photo ID in person (§ 9a Abs. 6 GmbHG), and the account stays its decision.

For the share capital, the statute's test is where the money is credited: a domestic credit institution, a CRR credit institution under § 9 BWG, or a notary escrow account (§ 10 Abs. 2 GmbHG). The bank identifies each person under the FM-GwG, and for a beneficial owner domiciled abroad the company also uploads a photo ID copy through USP.

We do not rank banks. For a sole shareholder who is also sole managing director, the Business Service Portal lists eleven institutions offering the eGründung bank procedure, among them Erste Bank, Bank Austria/UniCredit, BAWAG, Oberbank, BKS Bank, Volksbank, easybank and three Raiffeisen banks. Each identifies that founder in person before opening the account.

The GmbH Act has no ranking. For the share capital its test is narrow: the money must be credited at a domestic credit institution or a CRR credit institution within the meaning of § 9 BWG, or to a notary escrow account (§ 10 Abs. 2 GmbHG). Any institution that meets that test is one the statute accepts for the deposit.

A GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung) is the Austrian limited liability company. Its share capital must reach at least EUR 10,000, each contribution at least EUR 70 (§ 6 Abs. 1 GmbHG). The reform effective 1 January 2024 lowered the minimum, previously EUR 35,000, and abolished the old founding privilege (WKO).

It is the account into which the cash contributions are paid before registration: an account of the company or of a managing director at their free disposal, or a notary's escrow account (§ 10 Abs. 2 GmbHG). The credit institution or notary then confirms the deposit in writing, and that confirmation goes to the Firmenbuch.

On the simplified eGründung route, yes: § 9a Abs. 6 GmbHG speaks of payment to a newly opened account of the future shareholder and managing director. The bank identifies that person by an official photo ID presented in person, even an existing customer, applying § 6 FM-GwG, and takes the specimen signature itself.

At least one quarter of each cash contribution, at least EUR 70 per contribution, and at least EUR 5,000 in total (§ 10 Abs. 1 GmbHG). The EUR 5,000 floor applies even where a quarter of the contributions comes to less. At least half of the share capital must be raised by fully paid-up cash contributions (§ 6a Abs. 1 GmbHG).

The confirming party. The written confirmation is mandatory proof of the deposit, and under § 10 Abs. 3 GmbHG the credit institution, or the notary as trustee, is liable to the company for its accuracy. Where taxes, fees or costs were paid out of the deposited amount, that must be proved by type and amount.

The statute contemplates it. § 10 Abs. 2 GmbHG names a domestic credit institution or a CRR credit institution within the meaning of § 9 BWG, so an EU or EEA bank passporting into Austria falls within its wording. The written confirmation, and the confirming bank's liability to the company for its accuracy, work in the same way.

On the eGründung route, yes: the Business Service Portal calls it the Bankverfahren, in which the bank sends the confirmation, the ID copy and the specimen signature to the registry court. The route is open only to a single shareholder who is also sole managing director; other structures use the notarial route, which may run by video (§ 69b NO).