Opening a Polish Bank Account by a foreigner in Poland. Recommendations.

What do foreigners think of the Millenium bank?

I'm running a small company in Krakow and i had a very bad experience in this bank where i'm client for 2 years now.

Last week after I had deposited 25.000 euro (in cash) onto my company account and had signed the receipt, I asked to exchange and transfer 5.000 euro onto my pln-account.

However a bizarre reaction followed: all of a sudden the lady refused my signature on the new receipt that I signed for this transaction. And this after there wasn’t any problem with my signature on the first receipt.

Both signatures are the same, although I guess no one can guarantee it’s without differences on a microscopic level…

The situation then escalated into an absurd discussion.
Another person (said to be ‘the manager’) joined but she also persisted and kept on refusing my signature, instead of resolving the matter.
Finally even after me putting 2-3 more signatures they refused to complete the transaction all together and further on ignored entirely my presence in the building.

I then had no choice but to leave

My passport was at their disposition,

I have been several times in this outlet, so the involved staff knows me personally

there's no where to complain to , the director of the outlet does not want to be disturbed.
Does anyone had similar experiences...?

They charge 5PLN for ATM withdrawals which ain't good. The staff are friendly enough mind you. Too many surcharges for my liking but I went through an arduous process to set up everything so I'm labouring on with it.

You don't have to complain. Just take the money out and go elsewhere - simple!


Is mBank no use to you where you are? They're wonderful here on account of WBK machines being plentiful (so free withdrawals!). Utterly painfree bank and certainly no hassle with stroppy counter assistants.

Here is my story with Nordea:
I opened an account 3 months ago because Pekao was terrible (transaction fee, communication, etc.). I knew that I have to be at Nordea for 3 months to have a VISA Classic card. So, at the end of this period I submitted the appropriate request form.

(It was already strange that I had to wait for 3 months)
Next day I got the answer - application rejected because I am not a resident here !!!
Based on the company policy I can have a VISA Electron only ! I didn't know that this discrimination is possible in the EU. If I had enough time and energy I would go to Bruxelles...

Now I'm looking for a new bank. The two options are: Millenium and DB
I need a VISA Classic or EUROCARD ASAP. What would you recommend ?

Ive had an account with them for the last few years.Not really had a problems.


That is so true I think its part of their job role

Standard. You're not going to get a credit card in most EU countries without valid residency.


And Brussels would tell you to obtain the EU residence permit which exists in all EU countries before complaining. If Nordea want you to be legally resident in Poland (which is normal for most finance institutions!) before issuing you with a credit card - then it's fair enough.

And..uh..tried doing anything like banking in France without a residence permit?


They're good if you need access to a branch network, but their offers are pretty dire otherwise.

Deutsche Bank is where I have my account and I have been pleased with the service. When they failed to deliver my ATM card, the staff at my local branch were on the case and the card arrived a few days later. Didn't have to deposit anything into the account to open it and I didn't need proof of address. No real complaint and on the whole satisfied with the service they provide.

Mar 1, 10, 19:03 - Thread attached on merging:
Polish Bank Account?

Hi Everybody,

I am planning to spend a considerable time in Poland (Kornik) in a few months with my work. I need to open a local bank account? Any suggestions as to what bank is better, and can I open the account from the UK...any ideas??? Help much appreciated

Try mBank.pl. They let you open a bank account using your passport and they speak English. Although you will need to be present in Poland at the time as they will send a courier to your home to sign some documents.

Millennium has been kind to me.

about Mbank
you can actually sign all your papers in one of their branches across Poland ( mBank kiosks - mainly in big shopping centres ) but better call them first on 0801 300 800 ask you want to talk in English and ask about the closest branch where you intend to live. Bring with you passport, sign your papers and wait 2 weeks to get your debit card on your Polish address.

I opened 2 accounts with Bank Zachodni WBK, one a £ sterling account the other a PLN account. It was very simple to do at the branch with a passport.

The idea of the 2 is that i can transfer easily from my UK account to the £ account for free whenever I want, then I can transfer to my PLN account whenever the exchange rate suits me (again for free).

The account has a Visa debit card and has been ideal for all my needs so far.

hi,im from uk and i opened an account with wbk last year as i travel alot to krakow, you do need a address in poland for them to send statements and anything to do with your account. they do need your passport details aswell and they also charge monthly for your account its not much though. you can arrange to pick up your bank card from the bank itself i did no problems.i have a online account with wbk and its in english which helps.... good luck

Merged:Open an account from abroad (not arriving to Poland until the next 3 months)

Hello, folks.

I was wondering if anyone could tell me if it is actually possible to open an account completely via internet. I will be going to Warsaw in September, but I really need that account (BTW I am not European, nor American).

Considering all crisis, regulations, norms, etc... mentioned in all 3 related posts, I only wanted to know if anyone of you ever did it, know if this was possible!

Dziękuję!

No it's not. You have to send copies of your passport and so on.


Well, what the heck are you then?

>^..^<

M-G (nuff said)

Ecuadorian :)

HSBC bank is international so chek it out!

Have you read nothing about Poland! they love to stamp things, make you wait in massive cues, then they have a face like a slapped ass when you ask for something :)

You can open an account with Mbank online, but I'm not sure if u have to be in PL to open an account with them. Most banks require a PESEL but Mbank don't :)

Good luck!

I use Millenium

Yeh, go drop a Yozzer Hughes on her.

I vote Millennium, opened an acc. with my passport no probs.

Been super happy with ING, about on par service wise with my credit union in the US and my banks in Japan and Canada. Friendly staff, no fees for the stuff I do most often (unless I use a teller, but I do everything mostly online and via bankomat and wpłatomat) and were pretty mellow about letting me open an account. All I had was a Canadian passport and a letter from the local urząd wojewódzki confirming my Polish citizenship. The teller had me set up in minutes, explained the procedures for getting my card activated and asked if I could come in and give them my dowód osobisty number once it arrives (I'm a returning Pole doing all the bureaucratic stuff from scratch.)

My girlfriend, who is American, has been treated well by them as well, and they've been able to accomodate her when she speaks English and broken Polish.

Thread attached on merging:
mBank... Is there a good bank for expats?

Why does mBank have this fabulous website in English and yet they have no one who speaks English at the phone number they say to call. I've been hung up on twice now trying to get someone and I don't understand. I thought they would be the right bank for us (as expats) and now I'm rethinking whether I should even bother.

Citibank always have English speakers available (and the automatic telephone banking can also be in English). Unfortunately the customer service sucks, but that is the same in all banks in Poland.

I am very happy with citibank. There is at least one english speaker in every branch. Also I never had any problem with online and phone banking services so I agree with Harry.

You mean on a par with the rest of Polish customer services ;)

Deustche bank is the bank I'm using. I found them really helpful.

Weird, I've never had a problem getting an English speaker. Could it be because you're trying to open an account through the phone and they don't have any English speakers in that particular department? I will say - mbank does suck if you want anything beyond a basic banking service with them in English.

To be honest, mbank is not the best bank if you need English service - I don't, so it's an irrelevance. For English, citibank or Nordea would be my recommendation - they're about the only two banks that can be consistently relied on to have English speaking staff available.

i would argue that most larger bank branches have a member of staff who speaks english. it's just a matter of if they are available or not.

For an expat you say? - HSBC does the best expat-connected services. Also I can recommend BZ WBK, which for me has the best and flexible attitude.

Currently the best performing bank in Poland, and PKO BP (the last state-owned bank, and worst in terms of customer service) were looking at taking it over before the Government themselves announced they might be selling their stake in PKO, which has put the whole aquisition into doubt.

Still, aside from PKO BP every bank in Poland is foreign-owned, so the staff have to have a modicum of English to get things done internally.

What about Alior Bank? It has some financial connections from Poland, but I guess it's located in Italy (or the majority of shares held by an Italian-Pole or something).

I definitely will not recommend Deutsche Bank and Raiffeisen - the latter had good service till the point where they screwed me big time when I was leasing a new car. Because of lack of professionalism and tremendous stupidity I lost money, so I say no to those two.