Making a bank account in Finland

clarinda000 · Post by **clarinda000** » Sat Jul 09, 2016 11:20 am

Hey! I am european , married with Finnish guy. I live in Finland for 2 years and 7 months. Does anybody know if it's possible to make a bank account, and which is the best bank, only with european passport, (not Finnish as they require ) and residence permit + Kela card? My husband keeps saying that is not possible without the Finnish passport which I get it after 5 years of living in Finland.
Thank you!

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JK_Ironak · Post by **JK_Ironak** » Sat Jul 09, 2016 12:04 pm

European but not EU?

Beep_Boop · Post by **Beep_Boop** » Sat Jul 09, 2016 1:48 pm

European, EU, or even non-EU. Doesn't matter. You can go almost any bank and open a bank account. Your husband has no clue what he's talking about.

Online banking, however, might be tricky. Anecdotally, OP bank is quite easy on giving internet banking access willy nilly, or at least not as strict other banks.

JK_Ironak · Post by **JK_Ironak** » Sat Jul 09, 2016 4:00 pm

My friend couldn't get a bank account in any of the banks, she's European, but not EU, has Finnish husband. They told her she has to have some kind of income every month, of certain amount, otherwise they will not open a bank account...

betelgeuse · Post by **betelgeuse** » Sat Jul 09, 2016 4:14 pm

JK_Ironak wrote:My friend couldn't get a bank account in any of the banks, she's European, but not EU, has Finnish husband. They told her she has to have some kind of income every month, of certain amount, otherwise they will not open a bank account...

This is blatantly illegal and should be reported to the authorities. Every ETA resident has a legal right to a bank account. The grounds to refuse are very limited. Not having regular income is not one.

http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/alkup/2014 ... idp3787488

Beep_Boop · Post by **Beep_Boop** » Sat Jul 09, 2016 5:13 pm

JK_Ironak wrote:My friend couldn't get a bank account in any of the banks, she's European, but not EU, has Finnish husband. They told her she has to have some kind of income every month, of certain amount, otherwise they will not open a bank account...

I believe that you believe this, but I don't believe the story at all. I've never, all my life in Finland, heard any incident of this sort. It would be a pretty big story if this was happening to people.

What I have heard, however, is the same exact thing happen for online banking. Nordea, for example, are known to not give you internet banking access until you have had some income for a few months.

betelgeuse · Post by **betelgeuse** » Sat Jul 09, 2016 8:17 pm

roger_roger wrote:I am not sure about this but they may not have home loan and such facilities like other traditional bank.

They do nowadays after the mergers and acquisitions.

clarinda000 · Post by **clarinda000** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 11:56 am

roger_roger wrote:
clarinda000 wrote:Hey! I am european , married with Finnish guy. I live in Finland for 2 years and 7 months. Does anybody know if it's possible to make a bank account, and which is the best bank, only with european passport, (not Finnish as they require ) and residence permit + Kela card? My husband keeps saying that is not possible without the Finnish passport which I get it after 5 years of living in Finland.
Thank you!
Almost 3 years and you still don't have your own bank account?

If you need basic banking service S-Bank is the best one IMO, no monthly fees, gets bonuses directly in account, does have online banking and can pay bills, withdraw money via ATM, etc. I am not sure about this but they may not have home loan and such facilities like other traditional bank.

Yeah, I know...almost 3 years and still don't have a bank account. That's because my husband made a "family account" , and there is one card wich he is using for paying all the bills and other things . He said is more easy, but I think he wanted to have the control for his own purposes. Thanks for the tips!

clarinda000 · Post by **clarinda000** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 12:20 pm

I guess my husband doesn't want me to have a bank account so he can control the all the finances and kept telling that is easier this way and I trusted him. We have a "family account " on his name, but only one card . Two years ago I asked from Danske Bank and they told I cannot make an account without Finnish passport, so my husband said that is not so important at the moment because he is managing all the payments. I'll search for more information and finally find a solution.
Thanks for your replies!

Flossy1978 · Post by **Flossy1978** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 7:46 pm

What rubbish. Of course you can have your own bank account.

Go and get one for yourself and transfer whatever money you earn into.

You definitely need your name on the so called family account. It's his account, if only his name is on it. Which is wrong on so many levels, it isn't funny.

betelgeuse · Post by **betelgeuse** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 8:35 pm

Flossy1978 wrote: You definitely need your name on the so called family account. It's his account, if only his name is on it. Which is wrong on so many levels, it isn't funny.

I agree in principle. However, the need only comes to play if there's a balance on the account. Without your name on it, you need to overcome the "name principle" with enough proof when assets are split or separated (death, divorce).

clarinda000 wrote:Two years ago I asked from Danske Bank and they told I cannot make an account without Finnish passport, so my husband said that is not so important at the moment because he is managing all the payments. I'll search for more information and finally find a solution.

You are eligible for a Finnish id for foreigners from the police station. It has the same standing for the banks as a Finnish passport. Apply for one as it will make it easier for you in the bank.

https://www.poliisi.fi/identity_card/is ... gn_citizen

However, even without the id the magic word to ask for is "peruspankkipalvelut". This means an account and a card. You need the Finnish id for online identification to be possible with online banking credentials.

betelgeuse · Post by **betelgeuse** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 8:37 pm

betelgeuse wrote: I agree in principle. However, the need only comes to play if there's a balance on the account. Without your name on it, you need to overcome the "name principle" with enough proof when assets are split or separated (death, divorce).

Actually it currently works to your advantage for asset handling because you benefit from having more assets counted to your husband. However, I would still do it just for the sake of having access to the statements.

Beep_Boop · Post by **Beep_Boop** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 12:01 pm

roger_roger wrote:I couldn't understand the family account type

Simple case of suspicious husband who wants to control the money. He told her this was a "family account" while it's actually his own personal account.

clarinda000 · Post by **clarinda000** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 1:01 pm

The "family account " it's a joint account from Danske and at the moment I am unemployed. This year I finished one year of language school. The thing is that I would like to make a personal account without my husband to know, at least for know.

clarinda000 · Post by **clarinda000** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 1:13 pm

...and I am an EU citizen. I am not sure which bank to choose .

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