Banking in Hungary: the basic account, free cash withdrawals and the statement you have to make

Can you, as a Dutch citizen, open a bank account in Hungary? Yes: as an EU citizen legally resident there, you are entitled to a basic account. It isn't expensive: since 1 July 2026 at most 1,454 forint a month. The pitfall is a Hungarian rule you don't get automatically: two free cash withdrawals a month, together up to 300,000 forint. That only applies if you have a Hungarian address and ask for it yourself in writing.

May a bank refuse you?

Within the EU everyone legally resident in a member state is entitled to a basic payment account. A bank may not refuse one because you don't live in that country. It may refuse in two cases: if you don't comply with the rules against money laundering, and in some countries if you already have a similar account with another bank there. The right only covers a payment account, not a savings account.

The Hungarian central bank, the MNB, puts it this way: if you don't yet have a payment account, or you close your existing one, and you may not operate any other payment account, you can open a basic account (alapszámla). Every Hungarian bank must offer one.

What is in a basic account, and what does it cost?

Item	What you get or pay
Monthly fee until 30 June 2026	at most 1,334 forint
Monthly fee from 1 July 2026	at most 1,454 forint, half a percent of the December 2025 minimum wage
Payment card	included
Cash withdrawals	2 a month free in Hungary, together up to 150,000 forint, or 1 up to 50,000 forint at your own bank's counter
Transfers	besides standing orders 4 a month free, together up to 100,000 forint
Card payments in forint, cash deposits, direct debits	always free of charge
Overdraft	not possible

The maximum monthly fee is fixed: half a percent of the gross minimum wage on the last day of the previous year. Until the end of June 2026 the banks had agreed not to raise their fees.

Before you sign, the bank must give you an overview of the main services and their costs, and afterwards at least once a year an overview of what you have paid. That is how you compare banks.

Free cash withdrawals: the statement you make yourself

It doesn't happen automatically. In Hungary you may withdraw cash free of charge twice a month from one account of your choice, and since 1 February 2026 together up to 300,000 forint, at any Hungarian cash machine or at the post office. For that you must be sixteen or older, have a registered home or residence address in Hungary, and give your bank a written statement saying which account it applies to. If you make that statement before the twentieth, it takes effect the following month.

You make the statement in a branch or via online banking. In a branch you bring a photo ID. It applies to one account at a time, even if you have several; if you want a different account, you withdraw the statement and make a new one.

You only have a registered address once you have your address card. Until then you simply pay your bank's normal fees.

Do you keep your Dutch account?

Yes, and the European rules make that easy. A bank may not charge more for withdrawing cash in another EU country than at home. What you can pay at a Hungarian cash machine with a Dutch card are costs for converting euro to forint; those aren't covered by that rule. The machine must show you those costs before you confirm, so read the screen before you press accept.

Your savings are protected in both countries up to 100,000 euro per person per bank if a bank fails. For a joint account that amount applies per account holder.

When the bank comes up in the rest of your move is in the step-by-step plan for Hungary.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Hungary or go straight to step 4.3 in the open plan.