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A bank account is a right for every EU citizen: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/financial-products-and-services/bank-accounts-eu/index_en.htm ht
by tedeh 7y ago
A bank account is a right for every EU citizen: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/financial-products-and-services/bank-accounts-eu/index_en.htm https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/financial-pr...
Banks are not allowed to refuse account opening to any resident.
- jussij 7y agoFrom your link: > In some EU countries, your bank might still charge you an annual fee for this basic payment account. This fee should remain reasonable. For someone who is really poor, that annual account keeping fee is a much bigger hit to their pocket when compared to others not doing it so tough.
- username90 7y agoIt is around $20 a year, there are no people poor enough for that to be an issue in Europe.
- throwaway99674 7y agoBelieve me, there are people in Europe for who paying 20€ extra can be an issue. Even worse: unexpectedly having to pay 20€. Source: been there, done that.
- theshrike79 7y agoIt's not an unexpected 20€, more like 1-2 euros a month. Every month. At the same time.
- Mirioron 7y agoMinimum wage in Bulgaria (part of the EU) is €3,743 per year. Now imagine someone that's not full-time employed. €20 for them is not nothing. For them that would be the equivalent of someone earning $100k a year having to pay $500 to have a bank account. Note that often these low income accounts also have to pay when doing (some) transactions.
- Symbiote 7y ago"Reasonable" in Bulgaria will be a lower fee than in Denmark, where the fee is more like €30/year for a standard account (cheaper options are probably available).
- ferzul 7y agoWell, I don't know if it's the difference between “resident” and “citizen”, but i was told “no” or “maybe in a few weeks” many times when trying to open a bank account in October/November last year in Germany. “Maybe in a few weeks” is as good as a refusal.
- hocuspocus 7y agoI've lived two years in Germany and hung out with lots of foreigners. Not only tech employees with high and steady incomes, but also freelancers or people on working holiday visas, working part-time at bars and restaurants. Between big commercial banks and savings banks, online banks (comdirect, ING, DKB, ...) and challengers like N26, I've never met anyone who had trouble opening a bank account. Americans didn't have access to some non-essential investment products thanks to FATCA, but that's it.
- tixocloud 7y agoHow are the KYC requirements handled in Germany? What sort of documentation do you need to open a bank account?
- hocuspocus 7y agoYou should not need more than an ID and the certificate of registration from your municipality. Some online banks outsource this process to the Post: https://www.deutschepost.de/en/p/postident.html https://www.deutschepost.de/en/p/postident.html I'm not sure how N26 does it these days, at the time it was over videochat. I believe it's just a picture of your ID and a selfie now?
- pitkali 7y agoI opened an account this week and it was a videochat (they call it IDNow). However, while you need a German address, no registration is necessary (which I'm only having done on Monday). I didn't even have any German phone number yet at that point.
- 7y ago
- Sir_Substance 7y agoIcelandic banks make 2FA mandatory, and your only 2FA choice is phone SMS. So now there is a ~1000kr/month fee for using the bank here, with a ~8000kr startup cost, because you need a phone and a sim card.
- brtkdotse 7y agoYou don't have prepaid card and used phones on Iceland?
- Sir_Substance 7y agoOh yeah, there are used phones. But there are two ways to pay someone for one: A) Direct bank to bank transfer B) Cash
- Gwypaas 7y agoOn the other hand basically no one pays for a phone landline anymore so I guess the cost is about equal to what it used to be? Though in Sweden the 2FA we tend to use is called BankId which is a standalone app only requiring an internet connection.
- zAy0LfpBZLC8mAC 7y ago> only requiring an internet connection. Oh, so how do you interface with your IP router for this?
- zulln 7y ago1000kr/month = $7,93/€7,00 8000kr = $63,40/€55,97
- mchaver 7y agoOne thing that has always seemed strange to me is you have to prove you have an address to access many parts of society like banks and schools. This leaves out the homeless and people who have a residency but for some reason (bad landlord, staying at a friend’s place and not on the lease, etc.) can’t prove it in a way that satisfies the authorities.
- hocuspocus 7y agoI've never seen a school ask for proof of address in Europe. As for banks, it depends a lot on the country. While it's an issue for the homeless, it shouldn't be for people who're staying at some temporary accommodation. For instance in Germany, where most banks ask for proof of address (the registration at your municipality), it's also trivial get a valid document from whoever is hosting you (landlord or main tenant, it doesn't matter, you don't have to be on the lease).
- 2rsf 7y agoSince you can choose any school in Sweden, and schools are funded by the local community (communities pay for students going to other communities) they do require a proof of address
- rags2riches 7y agoBut they can refuse to take your cash and point to the regulations against money laundering.
- hocuspocus 7y agoIf you're poor, you aren't going to deposit cash in amounts that are anywhere close to what a bank should consider suspicious.