Coming to Poland to work or study, you should take care of opening an account and having a payment card from a Polish bank from the first days. There are enough reasons for this: paying for travel in public transport, convenient payments in shops and services, the ability not to worry about the safety of funds and not to carry a wallet with cash. In addition, the question of how to open an account in a Polish bank, you will come across directly during employment, because the employer needs to provide the account number for the payment of wages.
Choosing a bank to open an account
Since there are a large number of banks in Poland, it is difficult to immediately decide which one is more profitable, reliable and promising. Special sites can help with this, which make a kind of overview of banks and their services, from issuing a card and ending with real estate lending.
These sites include:
- direct.money.pl
- najlepszekonto.pl
- topkontabankowe.pl
- jakibankwybrac.pl
- kontabankowe24.
When choosing a bank, you should pay attention to how large it is, whether it participates in the Bank Guarantee Fund, and also how the network of branches and ATMs is ramified across the country.
Before contacting a specific bank branch, it will be useful to clarify the cost of service, the availability of Internet banking and the speed of operations.
What a foreigner needs to open a bank account
Polish banks are loyal to foreign clients and are ready to cooperate, even if you do not speak Polish well. To make the conversation with managers more productive, it is better to prepare for the questions that may be asked:
- the names of the father and mother;
- Mother's maiden name;
- residence address;
- residence address in Poland;
- do you work in Poland;
- Polish phone number.
Required documents for opening an account
To become a client of the bank, you need to prepare a list of documents. Which ones - depends on the bank, but, as a rule, everywhere it is required:
- international passport;
- a document confirming the legality of stay in Poland (if the entry was made not within the framework of the visa-free regime).
Some banks may also require:
- country identification code number;
- PESEL - personal identification number of a person in Poland;
- residence statement.
Bank accounts are opened in about half an hour. First, a bank employee enters the passport data into the program, scans it. Then he asks the above questions and introduces the conditions for using the account and card, briefly explains the basic functions of Internet banking.
The card is not issued directly at the department - it is sent within a week to the indicated postal address of residence in Poland.
It is worth noting that many banks in Poland offer additional options - the ability to leave a preliminary application for opening an account on the website or use the services of a call center. After that, a courier with documents will be sent from the bank to sign the agreement to your home or work.
Opening a bank account by a legal entity
Since the Polish economy is stable and the state is interested in the inflow of fresh capital, business in this country feels quite comfortable. The emergence of new firms, as well as branches and subsidiaries of foreign companies is not uncommon here.
Of course, they need an account with a Polish bank to be successful. Compared to opening an account by an individual, a larger number of documents are provided for registration for a legal entity:
- notarized certificate of company registration;
- notarized copies of the company's charter;
- documents indicating the data of persons who will have the right to manage the account (submitted in Polish).
In addition, banks, in order to prevent the legalization of funds obtained illegally, often require more detailed information:
- owner's identity card;
- confirmation of the source of origin of funds;
- a questionnaire describing the purpose of opening an account and planned transactions on it;
- postal addresses and contact details of the company.
The decision to open an account is taken from 3 to 10 days, the service costs up to PLN 100. The payment for servicing an account opened for a company differs depending on the bank, but, as a rule, the larger the number and the greater the amount of transactions, the cheaper banking services will be for the client.
Some banks provide additional benefits. For example, PKO Bank Polski SA offers for companies that have been operating for less than a year, service without commission for 6 months without additional obligations.
Getting a loan in Poland if you have an account
Having arrived in Poland for study, work or permanent residence, migrants often face a shortage of money. The way out is to borrow money from a bank, especially in Poland interest rates on loans are among the lowest. They depend on the form of the loan and range from 3.5% for mortgage loans to 11% for cash loans.
If certain conditions are met, a loan is also issued to a foreigner - Ukrainian, Belarusian, Moldovan and others.
When issuing a loan, the bank closely examines the client's solvency, credit and banking history.
In this case, the presence of an account plays a huge role, since after the bank analyzes all transactions on it, the chances of a positive answer increase. You also need to have an account to obtain an online loan, which is offered, for example, by the Szybkagotowka service.
Features of opening a deposit in a Polish bank
In comparison with the countries of the post-Soviet space, Poland can boast of the stability of the banking system. All deposits here are protected by the Bank Guarantee Fund, which is controlled by the state.
True, the price of such guarantees is an ultra-low interest on investments - in national currency it fluctuates within 4%, even less in foreign currencies.
At the same time, it is necessary to pay additional tax from the amount of interest income: for residents of Poland it will be 19% of income, and for non-residents the calculation is more complicated and requires the provision of a certificate of residence.
Placing funds on a deposit account abroad is possible only for the period of study or work in Poland.
For Ukrainians, the law provides for the closure of a deposit account before returning to their homeland. But there is the option of providing a license to place currency abroad.
The process of obtaining this license is quite laborious and costs about 40 euros. True, banks in Poland, when making deposits, operate exclusively within the framework of Polish law and do not ask for any licenses, while maintaining the confidentiality of the bank deposit, but whether such a workaround is permissible is up to everyone.
Directly at the bank, to open a deposit account, an identity document is required. Also, the bank may ask about the permanent place of residence and, in some cases, ask for confirmation of the source of income.
How much does it cost to use an account in Poland
The banking system of Poland is interested in attracting the maximum number of clients to use its services. One way to achieve this is through free account opening. You may also not be charged for maintaining an account, but for this the client must comply with a number of conditions.
In banks, the list of requirements is different, you can familiarize yourself with them in more detail in the table:
| Options | Bank Millennium | ING Bank Śląski | PKO Bank Polski | Pekao Bank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditions for free use of the card | Receipt of at least 1000 PLN per month and at least 1 payment from the card | Transactions in the amount of 200 PLN per month | Transactions in the amount of 300 PLN per month | Receipt of at least PLN 500 per month and at least 4 payments from the card |
| The amount of using the card if the conditions are not met | 15 PLN | 10 PLN | 6.9 PLN | 9.98 PLN |
| Transfer from a bank branch | 5-10 PLN | 9 PLN per transaction | 9 PLN per transaction | 5.99 PLN |
| Withdrawing cash from ATMs of your native bank | is free | is free | is free | is free |
| Withdrawing cash from ATMs of other banks | Free or 5 PLN if conditions are not met | Is free | 3%, but not less than 5 PLN | 3%, but not less than 5 PLN |
| Cash withdrawals outside Poland | 2.5%, but not less than PLN 9 | 0.25%, but not less than PLN 50 | 4%, but not less than 10 PLN | 3%, but not less than 10 PLN |
To attract the younger generation (up to 26 years old), many banks offer free use of the card without any conditions, as well as other bonuses. For example, Pekao Bank issues a card that doubles as a student card.
Account verification capabilities
Since in the modern world more and more payments are made with a payment card, it is easy to lose track of the money that is on the balance. But for clients of Polish banks, this is not a problem - the account status can be easily checked at an ATM, using Internet banking or at a bank branch.
Of course, the Internet banking service is in the greatest demand. To access it, the client is given a special code when opening an account - a login. By entering it and your personal password on the bank's website, you can check the status of the account, even without being in Poland.
If, outside the Republic of Poland, the client decides to check the status of the account at the ATM, it should be borne in mind that the service may be paid.
Bank card as an indispensable attribute of a modern person
Even 20-30 years ago it was impossible to believe that cash would begin to go out of use. Although businesses have long been paying for goods or services using bank accounts, for an individual, it seemed a long way off to complete a transaction in a couple of minutes without leaving home, but it has become a reality.
If in the countries of the post-Soviet space bank cards are only gaining popularity, in Poland non-cash payments are already widespread. Thanks to a bank account and a small bank card, it is quite simple and quick to attach the card to the terminal and in a few seconds have paid travel, food, services, and utility bills.
The convenience of choosing and completing the purchase of a house without standing in lines, the ability to keep your salary with you and at the same time are not afraid to lose it - these and other advantages can be obtained when opening a bank account.
