Bankera Review 2026: Fees, Licence, Safety — and Mano Bank vs Bankera for a Business

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Is Bankera a bank? No. Bankera's own website states that it is run by Era Finance Ltd, "a registered agent of Pervesk UAB which is an electronic money institution authorised by the Central Bank of Lithuania (Licence No. 17)", and that "Era Finance Ltd is not a bank". Customer money is therefore safeguarded rather than covered by a deposit guarantee scheme. Its business account costs €5 a month for companies in conventional industries in the EEA and UK, and €50 a month (plus a €450 application review) for businesses outside the EEA or in high-risk industries. If you are choosing between Bankera and Mano Bank — a Lithuanian licensed bank — the short answer is that Mano Bank is the protected, bank option and costs far more for non-resident and financial-sector businesses, while Bankera is the cheaper, more crypto-tolerant e-money option. All figures below were read from both companies' websites and the Bank of Lithuania's register on 7 November 2026.

Bankera is a Lithuania-linked fintech offering European IBAN accounts, SEPA and SWIFT transfers and cards, with a business focus and a longstanding association with the crypto platform SpectroCoin. If you are evaluating it, the single most consequential thing to establish is not its fees. It is what kind of institution it is.

If you are comparing it against the larger e-money providers covered further down, Wise and Airwallex are the two biggest in that group. Neither is a bank either, so the same protection questions below apply to them.

What Bankera charges

Bankera publishes three business tiers on its business page, read on 7 November 2026.

A priority review of the application costs €1,500 on every tier, and a rejected payment carries a €20 administration fee plus correspondent bank charges. A listed exchange fee of 0.00% does not tell you the exchange rate itself; compare the amount you would receive against the mid-market rate before relying on it.

The distinction that decides everything else

Bankera's accounts are provided through a licensed electronic money institution regulated by the Bank of Lithuania, not through a bank.

That is not a criticism and it is not unusual — Lithuania hosts a very large number of licensed payment and e-money institutions, and plenty of well-run businesses operate this way. But it changes the protection you have, and it changes it in a way the branding does not signal:

• A credit institution — a bank — takes deposits, and those deposits are covered by a statutory deposit guarantee scheme up to EUR 100,000 per depositor per institution under Directive 2014/49/EU.

• An e-money institution does not take deposits in that sense. E-money and the funds exchanged for it are not treated as deposits. Customer funds are instead safeguarded — held separately from the firm's own money, so they are insulated from its creditors — but there is no guarantee scheme standing behind them and no EUR 100,000 backstop.

Safeguarding is real protection and it is the mechanism that returns customer money in an orderly wind-down. It is simply a different mechanism, with a different failure profile, from a deposit guarantee. Anyone comparing a "bank account" from an e-money institution with one from a bank on fees alone is comparing two different products.

Check the licence yourself

Bankera's footer names the e-money institution and its licence number. Confirm the current status on the Bank of Lithuania's public register of financial market participants rather than relying on our reading or anyone else's — it takes about two minutes, returns the status as it is today, and the procedure is the same for any provider in any EEA country. How to check whether a bank is actually licensed walks through it.

Mano Bank vs Bankera for a business or fintech company

Searchers often weigh these two because both are Lithuanian and both serve businesses that high-street banks turn away. They are different kinds of institution.

Mano Bank — AB "Mano bankas" — is a bank. The Bank of Lithuania's register entry shows a specialised bank licence valid from 5 October 2018, with activities including "receipt of deposits and other repayable funds" and lending, and Mano Bank's own site refers depositors to Lithuania's deposit insurance scheme. Eligible deposits are therefore covered by the statutory scheme. The same register entry also lists supervisory measures against the bank, the most recent dated 13 February 2026 under ICT and security risk-management rules, including the EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act. Read the entry yourself; a past measure is not a solvency finding, but it is part of the record.

Mano Bank's business account price list, read on 7 November 2026, splits customers into residents and non-residents. A company established in Lithuania whose owners and controllers are Lithuanian residents is a resident; a company established abroad, or with foreign owners or controllers, is a non-resident. Businesses primarily engaged in gambling, currency exchange, cryptocurrency trading or other high-risk activities pay the non-resident and financial-institution fees regardless.

Sources: Mano Bank's business accounts page and the Bank of Lithuania register; Bankera's business page. Customers with loans from Mano Bank are exempt from its account charges, per the same price list.

What that means in practice. For a non-resident or fintech company, Mano Bank's euro balance fee of €0.03 per day per €1,000 works out at about €10.95 per €1,000 a year — roughly 1.1% of a euro balance held all year — on top of €70 a month per account and four-figure onboarding fees. In return you hold money at a bank, with statutory deposit protection, and — if you are a payment or e-money firm yourself — a dedicated safeguarding account for your clients' money, which an e-money provider cannot offer you in the same way.

Bankera is far cheaper to open and run, and it explicitly supports transfers to and from crypto exchanges, but your balance is safeguarded e-money, not a deposit.

Which is more reliable? "Reliable" usually means one of two things. If it means what happens to my money if the provider fails, a licensed bank with deposit insurance is the stronger structure, so Mano Bank wins on paper. If it means will they open and keep my account, that depends on your sector and residency — both firms price high-risk and non-resident clients separately for a reason — and the honest answer is to apply and read the terms you are offered. A licensed fintech company that holds client money will usually need a bank-held safeguarding account somewhere; that is a regulatory requirement for the firm, not a preference.

Five practical differences between an e-money institution and a bank

Protection if the provider fails. A bank: a statutory scheme pays out up to the limit, on a defined process. An e-money institution: safeguarded funds are returned through an insolvency process, without a scheme, a limit or a timetable.

Interest. A bank can pay interest on deposits because it lends them out. An e-money institution generally cannot pay interest on e-money balances, because it is holding your money rather than lending it.

Overdrafts and credit. Lending is a banking activity. An e-money account will not come with a real overdraft, and any credit offered alongside it is typically a separate product from a separate lender.

Account permanence. Payment businesses close or freeze accounts in higher-risk categories with limited explanation more often than high-street banks do. That is a compliance obligation rather than caprice, but you feel it.

Direct debits and payroll. An e-money IBAN is a real IBAN, but some domestic direct-debit and payroll systems still treat non-bank IBANs inconsistently, which is worth testing before you move anything critical.

Who Bankera genuinely suits

It suits businesses and freelancers who need European IBANs and multi-currency handling quickly, without a traditional bank's onboarding; companies whose working balance is operational rather than stored; and businesses that have been declined by banks because of sector, residency or company age — Bankera prices those cases openly in its Business+ and Premium tiers rather than refusing them.

It suits you less well as a place to hold savings or reserves. Money you are not going to touch for a year belongs where a statutory guarantee scheme covers it.

What Bankera competes with

The realistic alternatives for a business needing European IBANs and multi-currency handling are other e-money institutions — Wise, Airwallex, Revolut Business and a long tail of smaller providers — plus, if you can get one, an actual business bank account. Compare Bankera against the first group on fees, currency coverage, onboarding speed and how it treats your sector; compare it against the second group on protection and permanence.

Wise vs Airwallex covers the two largest in that first group, Airwallex fees explained sets out one of them in detail, and best business bank accounts covers the second. Scale matters here in a way it does not for banks: a larger e-money institution has more banking partners and more regulatory scrutiny, and those are real advantages when the protection floor beneath everyone is safeguarding rather than a guarantee.

The practical test

Ask three questions of Bankera, Mano Bank or any comparable provider, in this order.

Which legal entity holds the money, and what licence does it hold? Not the brand — the entity, and the licence type. It should be findable in the provider's own terms and confirmable in a public register.

If that entity failed tomorrow, what returns my balance? A deposit guarantee scheme, or safeguarding arrangements? Both are answers. "Your funds are secure" is not.

Is my balance operational or stored? Operational money can reasonably sit with an e-money institution. Stored money should not, when a guaranteed alternative exists at comparable cost.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bankera a bank?

No. Bankera's website says it is run by Era Finance Ltd, a registered agent of Pervesk UAB, an electronic money institution authorised by the Bank of Lithuania (Licence No. 17), and that Era Finance Ltd is not a bank. Customer balances are safeguarded rather than covered by a deposit guarantee scheme.

How much does a Bankera business account cost?

For companies and sole traders in conventional industries in the EEA and UK, the application review is free and maintenance is €5 a month; outgoing SEPA transfers cost €0.20 and SWIFT 0.25% (minimum €25). Businesses outside the EEA or in high-risk industries pay a €450 review and €50 a month, and compliance-intensive clients such as crypto exchanges €900 and €200 a month.

Mano Bank vs Bankera for a fintech company: which should I choose?

If you need a licensed bank — for example to hold your own clients' money in a safeguarding account — Mano Bank is the bank option, at €500 per account to open, €70 a month and onboarding checks from €1,000 for non-resident and financial-sector clients. If you need a cheaper operational account and accept e-money protection, Bankera costs from €5 to €200 a month depending on your risk tier.

How does Mano Bank compare to Bankera on account pricing?

For a Lithuanian resident business in a conventional sector, both are cheap: Mano Bank €5 a month per account with free opening, Bankera €5 a month. For non-resident or financial-sector businesses, Mano Bank charges €500 to open, €70 a month and a euro balance fee of €0.03 per day per €1,000, against Bankera's €450 review and €50 a month on Business+.

Which is more reliable, Mano Bank or Bankera?

On protection, Mano Bank: it is a licensed specialised bank, so eligible deposits are covered by Lithuania's deposit insurance, while Bankera's balances are safeguarded e-money. Both appear in the Bank of Lithuania's register, which also lists past supervisory measures against Mano Bank; check the current entries before you decide.

Can Bankera pay interest on balances or provide overdrafts?

An electronic money institution generally cannot pay interest on balances, because it holds funds rather than lending them, and an e-money account will not come with a real overdraft. Bankera lists business loans as a separate product on its site.

The bottom line

Bankera is a functional multi-currency and payments provider operating through a Lithuanian e-money licence, aimed largely at businesses, and it should be judged as that rather than as a bank. The name invites the comparison; the licence does not support it. Its published fees are low for conventional EEA and UK businesses and transparent for high-risk ones.

If your requirement is genuinely business multi-currency, compare it against Wise and Airwallex. If you need a bank — for protected reserves or a client-money safeguarding account — Mano Bank is the Lithuanian bank option, at a much higher price for non-residents. If your requirement is a safe home for savings, the relevant list is banks, not e-money institutions — and what happens when a neobank fails explains why that distinction is the one worth caring about.