Send money to Estonia from Canada
Estonia has used the euro for years, so money leaving your Grey balance is converted once and credited in euro to an Estonian IBAN. Swedbank Estonia, SEB Estonia and LHV Bank are supported over SEPA. The euro amount, the rate and the fee are shown before you confirm, and a transfer from a funded balance typically arrives within minutes.
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Two kinds of sender on this route
The first is a family one. Toronto has held an Estonian community since the post war years, with smaller groups in Ottawa and Vancouver, and the money moving that way now tends to be a contribution to an elderly relative in Tallinn or Tartu, or a share of the costs on a house nobody wants to give up.
The second sender has no Estonian connection at all. Estonia is where a great many Canadian companies and independent founders have their developers, designers and accountants, and those people invoice in euro. Paying them ought to be a single euro credit into an Estonian IBAN, not a wire that takes a week and arrives short.
Both get the same route. One conversion into euro, a SEPA credit to Swedbank Estonia, SEB Estonia or LHV Bank, and nothing at all required of the recipient beyond giving you their IBAN.
Sending to an Estonian IBAN, step by step
Open the account
It is free, takes about five minutes on a phone and needs a single valid identity document. Save the Estonian IBAN once and later payments take seconds to set up.
Choose your balance
Canadian dollars cannot be held on Grey. You hold euro, pounds or US dollars provided by Lead Bank, funded by a client, an employer abroad or a transfer you make yourself.
Confirm and send
Enter the Estonian IBAN, read the euro total alongside the rate and the fee, and confirm. The SEPA credit typically reaches the Estonian bank within minutes.
The cost of a transfer to Estonia
For anyone paying an Estonian invoice every month, the cheapest version of this route is often to hold euro in the first place. Euro to euro means no conversion at all, and the only thing left to consider is the transfer fee.
If your income is in dollars, the conversion is where the money is won or lost, and the figure to compare between providers is the euro credited in Estonia rather than the advertised fee.
The rate is set when you confirm, not later
The conversion into euro happens once and is priced at confirmation. The rate you accept there is applied to the payment, and nothing is adjusted once the SEPA credit is moving.
For a monthly contractor payment that is the difference between an invoice settled in full and one that arrives a little short because the rate wandered between agreement and execution.
Grey compared with a Canadian bank wire
Canadian banks treat Estonia as an international wire: SWIFT, wire pricing, several business days and a rate chosen by the bank. For a small monthly invoice that can cost a noticeable share of the invoice itself, and the correspondent chain can trim the amount again before it arrives. A Grey payment is a euro SEPA credit with the rate and fee stated before you confirm, which is closer to how Estonians pay each other.
How the payment looks in Estonia
A euro credit appears in their Estonian bank as a SEPA payment and reads like any domestic transfer. They need no Grey account and take no action to receive it.
Estonian IBAN
Swedbank Estonia, SEB Estonia and LHV Bank all take the credit on an IBAN, which is the only detail you need to collect.
SEPA delivery
The payment travels on the euro area's own rails, so it lands in their app with a reference rather than arriving as an opaque international wire.
GreyTag if they use Grey
An Estonian contractor who keeps a Grey account can be paid by GreyTag, instantly and with no fee, in whichever currency suits their books.
How money gets into your Grey account
Interac e-Transfer is domestic and stops there, so the real question is which balance you want to hold before paying Estonia.
Euro
The obvious match. Holding euro means the Estonian payment involves no conversion, only the fee for moving it.
US dollars
Provided by Lead Bank, and the usual balance for Canadians paid in dollars. A single conversion turns it into euro at the moment of sending.
Pounds
Worth keeping if some income arrives from the United Kingdom, and it converts to euro in the same single step.
Each option is priced separately before confirmation, so you can compare them on the screen rather than after the fact.
Why Canadians pay into Estonia
Paying Estonian contractors
Developers, designers and accountants working for Canadian companies from Tallinn or Tartu, invoicing in euro on a monthly cycle.
Small company costs
Hosting, bookkeeping, legal and registry costs for a business run from Canada with an Estonian presence, all quoted and paid in euro.
Elderly relatives
Regular support to a parent or aunt in Tallinn from the Estonian community around Toronto, usually the same amount on the same date.
Property upkeep
Utility charges, repairs and taxes on a family flat or summer house in Estonia, settled from a Canadian salary.
Four uses account for most of this corridor, and two of them are business rather than family.
Five things that make this route worth using
Collect the IBAN, pick the balance you want to pay from, and check the euro figure before confirming. If the payment repeats monthly, the saved recipient turns it into a short routine.
Every transfer carries a record you can point at, which is what an Estonian contractor will ask for if an invoice looks unpaid at their end.
FAQs
Which Estonian banks can receive a Grey transfer?
Swedbank Estonia, SEB Estonia and LHV Bank are supported, along with other Estonian banks reachable on an IBAN through SEPA.
What currency does a recipient in Tallinn receive?
Euro. Estonia is in the eurozone, so your balance converts once and the Estonian account is credited in euro.
Can I pay an Estonian developer or contractor through Grey?
Yes. Enter their Estonian IBAN, confirm the euro amount with the rate and fee shown, and the SEPA credit carries your reference.
How long does a payment to Estonia take?
A transfer from a funded Grey balance typically arrives within minutes, because the euro moves over SEPA rather than as an international wire.
Can I avoid the conversion on an Estonian payment?
Yes. Hold euro on Grey and the payment to an Estonian IBAN is euro to euro, leaving only the transfer fee.
Does my relative in Tartu need a Grey account?
No. The euro arrives in their existing Estonian account as a standard credit, with nothing for them to sign up to.
Can I hold Canadian dollars on Grey before paying Estonia?
No. Grey has no Canadian dollar balance. You hold euro, pounds, or US dollars provided by Lead Bank.
Is the euro rate fixed when I confirm an Estonian transfer?
Yes. The rate on the confirmation screen is applied to the payment and is not revised once the credit is moving.
Will my Estonian contractor see an invoice reference?
Yes. The payment arrives as a SEPA credit with a reference, so a numbered invoice can be matched in their accounts.
How does Grey compare with a Canadian bank wire to Estonia?
A bank wire uses SWIFT, takes business days and is priced as a wire. Grey sends a euro SEPA credit quoted in advance.
Can I pay utility bills on a property in Estonia?
Yes. Charges on an Estonian flat or summer house are paid in euro to the provider's IBAN like a local payment.
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