Banking in Poland, as a foreigner.

I'm heading over to poland in a couple of months from australia and I'm looking for the best options for managing money whilst there. (3-6 months)

I'm not nessesarily going to be working whilst there but will need to make regular atm/eft withdrawls whilst there from money I've earn't in Australia.

The easiest option for me is just to use my visa debit card and my aussie bank account, but the problem is the ridiculous fees I'm going to incur along the way.

Has anyone got any advice/suggestions?

Change banks

I banked over there with hardly any fees whilst there. I did not have an issue. Make sure you take out enough to not need to withdrawal cash 5 times a day and it is little problem.

Hello,

The easiest way is to open an account in Poland. Not all banks, but some will let you open and account based on foreign passport, the same way Swiss banks do. It takes time and paper work but it is possible. Once you have a polish bank account, wire transfer the money from "down under" to Poland, get an atm card and you're set.

Cheers Mate
Bart

hey guys, do you have any recommendations as which are the most reliable polish banks,

with smallest transaction fees, and no "administration" monthly fees?

i am looking just for a normal savings account with a debit card attached,
that would be in zloty PLN, would work on internet, and at ATMs in Europe also

BIG thanks in advance

Sorry, I only just checked back on this one.

I've been doing a bit of research to find the best bank for overseas ATM,VISA and EFT transactions.
BTW these are all Australian Banks.

Savings and Loans
ATM Transaction - $4
EFT Transaction - FREE
Conversion Fee - 2% on all transactions

Bank West
ATM Transaction - $5
EFT Transaction - FREE
Conversion Fee - 2.5% on all transactions

HSBC
ATM Transaction - $4.50
EFT Transaction - $1
Conversion Fee - 1% on ATM and 1.1% on EFT and 0% on HSBC ATMs

Anyone got any better offers?

Excluding the HSBC option, this information does not include any fees which may be charged by the Local ATM branch. Does anyone have any information on what sort of ATM charges you can expect in poland and ways of possibly avoiding them?

G'day Ozdan,

Alior Bank.

I have opened an account with them and I have money from Australia, UK, and U.S with them..

It's free to transfer money to this account. Money can be withdrawn in each currency then taken to an exchange place(kantor), which offers better exchange rates.

It also provides free withdrawals from any cash machine in Poland and the EU.

Oh yeah...it's also free(no monthly charges).

Thank you guys for your info...I was thinking to open the bank account in Poland..My polish friend said is not possible because i dont have Polish ID..but now, i know :)

If you are under 30 then open an account with WBK, no ATM fees and minimal charges :)

Some banks can be funny, but mBank are very painfree in respect of foreigners.

I opened an account at Millenium last week and they didn't even want to see proof of address (which I had), just my British passport was enough for them.

mbank seem quite good and can all be done online in english.

Are mbank and millenium one and the same?

I'm not sure if they are, Mbank seems to be part of BRE bank......

how do you open an account with mbank ?

looks pretty straightforward

mbank.pl/en/guide/join_us.html

join us page on mbank website

yes - but I see I need to be living there first before I can do this. Thanks for the help :-)

Hi guys,

Im having problem to open the bank account wt Mbank..

I was in Poland (Torun), last week for short visit and i went to the Mbank kiosk but they want to see proof of address in Poland. I can use my friend address in Poland but they said is not possible..

I really want to open an account with polish bank for some reason...

I don't know about Polish banks but I would expect it's the same all over Europe and other places in the World too......it's to do with Terrorism and money laundering and you need that sort of proof these days....

To open an account you need to have proof that you are currently living in Poland, i.e rental contract with your name on it. Without that it will be almost impossible to open an account, unless you have a large amount of cash ready to deposit, and even with that, you may still find it difficult to open an account. The banks will not open account for people who are not in Poland, due to the economic crisis ect. 5 years ago it was possible, maybe try my bank Deutsche bank, as they seem quite willing, but i needed proof of address before.

It's really to do with the World Bank and the combatting of International Terrorism via a clamp down on money laundering.

It was 2001 when the rules came out and I think they all had 18 months or so to ensure they were complying by introducing their own controls.....

I'd have to find some links if you want more information.

No Bank can afford to allow you to open an account without proper client identification etc etc


And especially if you try to deposit a large amount of money ! They will report you as suspicious. They are legally obliged to do so .

:)

Either that or they will assume you are a British politician stashing a few expenses away,

Yep they tried exactly that with me. Most banks here are ok, i haven't had too many problems any.

Yes, I tried to open an account with Northern Bank when I first came to N. Ireland but they kept dragging things out and questioning me about my previous address and why was I opening an account in Ireland etc.. In the end I was so p. off I said to them, "Hey, do I really look like a member of the IRA? Your attitude stinks." and I went to Ulster Bank instead. They opened an account for me that same day and the service and attitude was brilliant. I would highly recommend the Ulster Bank for anyone over this part of the world.

As noted above, I had no problem opening a bank account with Millenium showing them only my passport. I did bring utility bills in my name as proof of address but they didn't want to see those.

mBank couldn't care less, as they need to come to you to sign the forms anyway. If you don't have proof of your stay in Poland, then they accept a written declaration that you're resident anyway.

I didn't need anything when I opened with WBK. Just used my UK adress.