Banking and paying in Finland: your right to an account, and the bank codes that keep you waiting

Yes, you can open a bank account in Finland before everything is arranged: as a legal resident of the EEA you have the right to a basic payment account, and according to the Finnish supervisor a bank may only refuse it for anti-money laundering reasons. What the bank may postpone are the bank codes, the login method Finland uses for almost every government service. The finding in Finanssivalvonta's rules: the bank may only refuse those codes if you do not yet have a personal identity code or are not yet in the population register, and must then give you a limited alternative. The pitfall is thinking the account and the codes are the same thing.

What is in a basic payment account?

Finanssivalvonta, the supervisor, describes the package precisely: a payment account with a debit card and online banking, cash withdrawals, payments, and an electronic means of identification if the bank offers one to its other customers. No overdraft, no credit card.

Every bank must offer this package on an equal and non-discriminatory basis to every retail customer legally resident in an EEA country. If a bank refuses, it must say why immediately, in writing and free of charge, and explain how to appeal. A valid ground for refusal usually exists only if the bank cannot reliably verify your identity, or has another reason under the money laundering rules.

European law says the same from the other side: whoever lives legally in an EU country has the right to a basic payment account, and a bank may refuse if you do not comply with the anti-money laundering rules. A bank may charge an annual fee for the package, but it must be reasonable.

Why are those bank codes so important?

Because the Finnish digital government runs on them. The notification of move to DVV and Posti asks for Finnish bank codes or a mobile certificate, and Ruokavirasto's dog register works with the same strong identification. Without codes you do such things on paper or at the counter, and that is slower and sometimes more expensive.

What	What the bank may do	Condition
Basic payment account with card	must offer; refuse only for money laundering reasons	legal resident of the EEA
Bank codes (strong identification)	may refuse as long as you have no identity code or are not in the register	then a limited login method for the account only
Termination by you	always, free of charge	none
Termination by the bank	only after 24 months without transactions, or if you no longer live in the EEA	two months' written notice

Account and codes are two different things. Whoever gets an account and a card in the first week easily thinks they are done. Then it turns out they cannot log in anywhere, because the bank may postpone the codes until the identity code exists. So ask when opening the account when the codes will come and what you need, and meanwhile arrange the second key below.

What is the second key?

The Finnish ID card. The police also issue it to foreigners who live permanently in Finland, and the chip carries a citizen certificate with which you log in securely to government services, independent of any bank. The conditions for that card are exactly the order of the Finnish process: you live permanently in Finland, your details are in the population register, including a municipality of residence, and your right of residence is registered.

ID card for a foreigner	Fee
Application at the police station	€ 59
Application online	€ 53
Online, with rapid delivery	€ 71
Online, with express delivery	€ 90

The card is valid for at most five years, or shorter if your residence document expires earlier, and it is not a travel document. To use it as a login method you activate it with two personal PIN codes; for that you need an activation code, which the police send to your address in the population register, a card reader and software. Whoever enters a wrong code a few times locks the certificate and needs a PUK code.

So the order is: first your right of residence with Migri, then your municipality of residence with DVV, then the ID card. From that moment you can log in, even if the bank is still dragging its feet.

Which account do I keep in the Netherlands?

Your Dutch account, and you do not close it. What a Finnish account gives you is something else: a Finnish account number for your employer and your fixed costs, and in time the bank codes. Why you never cut the Dutch side is in keeping a bank account and DigiD.

What do I bring to the bank?

Above all your passport or identity card: the only common reason to refuse you a basic account is that the bank cannot reliably verify your identity. Also bring what you already have, such as the Migri registration certificate and your employment contract. The supervisor names the lack of a personal identity code only as a ground to refuse the codes, not the account. And keep your DigiD active: not for the Finnish bank, but because it remains your login for everything on the Dutch side.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.5: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Finland or go straight to step 4.5 in the open plan.