Bank Account in Finland

[danielmotta]

Hello,
I'm a foreigner and I'm going to move to Helsinki shortly. I would like to know how hard it is for a foreign citizen to open a bank account and, most importantly: can I open an online bank account even before moving to the country?

[vla]

Hello,
I'm a foreigner and I'm going to move to Helsinki shortly. I would like to know how hard it is for a foreign citizen to open a bank account and, most importantly: can I open an online bank account even before moving to the country?

It's easy to open an account. It's impossible to open it online, unless you already have strong authentication (linked to finnish ID card and finnish bank account) which I assume you don't.

I would suggest to open a bank account in Nordea, as they have all the services and communication in english. Again, here I am assuming you don't speak finnish. Anyway, I guess a lot of people here would say that Nordea is a bad bank, but I haven't had any problem with them and I really like the service they provide. My opinion.

[Maaria]

It's easy to open an account. It's impossible to open it online, unless you already have strong authentication (linked to finnish ID card and finnish bank account) which I assume you don't.

I would suggest to open a bank account in Nordea, as they have all the services and communication in english. Again, here I am assuming you don't speak finnish. Anyway, I guess a lot of people here would say that Nordea is a bad bank, but I haven't had any problem with them and I really like the service they provide. My opinion.

Do you need a Finnish Personal ID number to open a bank account? Or is there some bank that would allow you to open an account without a Finnish Personal ID number?

[Upphew]

It's easy to open an account. It's impossible to open it online, unless you already have strong authentication (linked to finnish ID card and finnish bank account) which I assume you don't.

I would suggest to open a bank account in Nordea, as they have all the services and communication in english. Again, here I am assuming you don't speak finnish. Anyway, I guess a lot of people here would say that Nordea is a bad bank, but I haven't had any problem with them and I really like the service they provide. My opinion.

Do you need a Finnish Personal ID number to open a bank account? Or is there some bank that would allow you to open an account without a Finnish Personal ID number?

"According to Finnish law, banks are required to comply with the customer due diligence standards, which means that banks must identify and know
their customers. Besides personal details of the customer, the bank must have sufficient information on the customer’s activities, financial position,
banking practices, and purpose for which the services are used. In practice, banks must verify their customers’ identity from an official identity docu-
ment and find out what kind of services the customer needs. Moreover, the law requires banks to ask where incoming money comes from and what the
money is going to be used for."
http://www.finanssiala.fi/en/materials/ ... fault.aspx

[deepsudeep]

You need RP card to open an account. You can look into a N26 account.

[Maaria]

You need RP card to open an account. You can look into a N26 account.

They don't issue any card to EU citizen though.

[tavastia]

They issue a registration paper for EU citizens, you will need that. About Nordea they may not accept your national passport, and ask a Finnish ID card which is issued for foreigners also by the police.

[vla]

They issue a registration paper for EU citizens, you will need that. About Nordea they may not accept your national passport, and ask a Finnish ID card which is issued for foreigners also by the police.

They just asked for my residence permit card and my home country passport.