Put your company
cash to work
Tried and trusted by
3,000+
companies
For businesses small and large
Freelancers & sole directors
Treasury management for SMEs and larger businesses
Tools for your business
Money Market Funds are low risk, highly liquid and AAA-rated investments that pay interest.
Backed by the best
Keeping your money safe
Your US securities are SIPC protected up to $500,000
EU investor protections insure up to €20,000 across your portfolio
Questions we’re often asked
Who can open a business account?
Business accounts are available for companies with single and multiple shareholders in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia and the UK.
The business accounts must meet our required terms of service / operate in a non-high risk industry. We cannot accept certain types of legal entities such as charities, trusts and foundations.
The person opening the account must reside in a country in which Lightyear is already available for personal accounts (see Can I open a business account?). If you have more than one business, you can open multiple business accounts with us.
How do I open a business account?
It’s super quick and easy to open up a business account.
You need to have your LEI code to hand. If you don’t have an LEI code yet, you can generate one right in the Lightyear app.
Just jump into the app, navigate to your profile from the top left corner, and you're there. If you don’t currently have a personal account with Lightyear, you’ll need to set that up first. See Opening an account.
How much does it cost to open a business account?
It’s free to open up a business account! We also don’t charge any custody or monthly fees.
Investing through a business is low-cost and priced just like investing from your personal account. We also pay interest on uninvested cash for businesses too.
Check out our full pricing information here.
Can I claim US tax treaty benefits?
You can claim US tax treaty benefits, but it’s optional. Uploading a W-8BEN-E allows you to reduce the tax you pay on dividends from US instruments, but there’s no benefit to that if you:
- Invest in non-US instruments
- Invest in non dividend paying US stocks
- Hold & convert cash
We fill in the W-8BEN-E form for you automatically. All you need to do is answer a few questions in the app, and we’ll generate the PDF form for you right there.
Why do I need a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)?
A Legal Entity Identifier, also known as an LEI, uniquely identifies your business. It's required by law for businesses trading stocks in Europe.
If you’ve already registered an LEI — we’ll find it for you during onboarding, all you need to do is confirm the details.
If you don’t yet have an LEI, you can generate one within the Lightyear app for 48 € + VAT.