Banking and paying in Poland: the free basic account in złoty, and what your Dutch account still does

Opening a Polish account is not a favour from the bank for a Dutch citizen. Whoever is legally resident in an EU country has the right to a basic payment account, and in Poland that basic account, the podstawowy rachunek płatniczy, is free for domestic payments: a debit card at no cost, five free transfers a month, and five free withdrawals or deposits at another bank's cash machines. The finding is in the condition. The account is meant for those who don't yet have another złoty account in Poland. If you first open an ordinary account with a package, then as long as it exists you can no longer fall back on the free option at another bank.

Do you have a right to a Polish account?

Yes. Your Europe, the EU portal, says it plainly: whoever is legally resident in an EU country may open a basic payment account, and a bank may not refuse you because you don't live in the country. It may refuse if you don't comply with the rules against money laundering and terrorist financing, or in some countries if you already have a similar account with another bank. Poland does the latter: the basic account is for consumers who have no other złoty account in Poland that allows the same payments.

That right only applies to the basic account, not to savings accounts or other products.

What does the basic account include, and what does it cost?

Since 8 August 2018 all Polish banks and cooperative savings banks have had to offer the basic account, in złoty. The Polish supervisor KNF sets out the rules.

Item	Cost
Keeping the account, domestic payments	free
Issuing a debit card	free
Transfers within Poland	first 5 a month free
Withdrawing or depositing at another bank's machines in Poland	first 5 a month free
Above that	no more than that bank's usual rate over the last 12 months
Payments abroad	may cost something, no more than the usual rate
Overdraft or a credit card	not possible with this account

With the basic account you can deposit and withdraw money in any EU country, pay by card, in shops and online, and make transfers, standing orders and direct debits. No credit comes with it: you don't get a credit card or an overdraft facility.

What do you bring to the bank?

What a Polish bank asks for exactly differs per bank, and what a bank asks for to establish your identity falls under the money-laundering rules. Two things always play a role in Poland.

The first is your PESEL. The Polish tax administration assumes that a foreigner living in Poland has the PESEL as a tax number, and you also need it for a profil zaufany. You get it with the address registration. So only go to the bank once that registration is done, or ask beforehand whether the bank will open an account without a PESEL.

The second is the profil zaufany, the Polish digital identity. You can have it confirmed at a counter, but also without a counter via your bank, only if your bank offers that. The government itself adds that the list of banks that can do this is limited. Whoever wants to use the digital government in Poland without going to a counter therefore chooses a bank from that list.

Don't immediately open the first package a branch offers. The free basic account is only for those who don't yet have another złoty account in Poland. Whoever opens an ordinary account with monthly fees in the first week no longer has that right at the next bank as long as that account exists. Ask explicitly in the branch for the podstawowy rachunek płatniczy, and ask for the fee overview, which the bank must give you before opening.

What does your Dutch account still do?

A lot. Within the EU your bank may not charge more for a payment in euro than for the same payment at home. A Polish bank may not charge more for a euro payment within the EU than for a domestic payment in złoty. And whoever pays in złoty with a Dutch card may pay conversion costs, but the bank or the shop must show you those costs before the payment.

On top of that, a Polish company or authority that accepts direct debits or transfers from domestic accounts may not refuse your Dutch IBAN because it comes from another EU country. Why you'd better not close that account and your DigiD is in keeping a bank account and DigiD.

Is your money guaranteed at a Polish bank?

Yes, up to 100,000 euro per person per bank, through the Polish deposit guarantee fund BFG. That applies to balances in any currency, but the payout is in złoty, within seven working days after the deposits become unavailable. The scheme follows the European directive on deposit guarantees.

Where the bank fits in the order of address registration, residence registration and healthcare is in the step-by-step plan for Poland.

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 Poland or go straight to step 4.5 in the open plan.