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Whats the best Foreigner Friendly Bank in Poland

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Sep 2, 09, 14:14 #1

I just need other Expats' experiences my Polish is not yet that Good Ja ucze sie codziennie.
What is the best Bank u recomend i should open an account with some one said Millenium Bank. How good are they and do they have websites and helplines in English? ( Not that they should for some foreigners like us. Im still learning Polish but im eager to improve).
Im told PKO BP have a free transfere agreement to UK with NatWest Unfortunately i have a Lloyds Tsb Account will they allow me to transfere me money into that account or they will charge me for it??

All replies Appreciated

ArturBabulaThreads: - Posts: 3 Joined: Jul 29, 09 ♂	Sep 2, 09, 17:57 #2
If you are staying in Krakow I can recomend you Allianz Bank. If you want to open bank account I can help you.

jonniThreads: 26 Posts: 4,189 Joined: Nov 27, 07 ♂	Sep 2, 09, 20:40 #3
Allianz are indeed OK. A lot of foreigners (even most that I know) use Millenium Bank - they are very used to English speakers. I bank with Nordea, who are also very good for foreigners.

laczkokataThreads: 1 Posts: 3 Joined: Sep 2, 09 ♀	Sep 2, 09, 20:43 #4
Hi, I use CitiBank, they speak English, even on the phone, easy-to-use internet banking page in English too. They send me the monthly summary outside the country, they accepted that I do not have a registered address in Poland now without any issues. I am satisfied with them.

alan2009	Sep 2, 09, 22:29 #5
hi I was in katowice on 18 aug to open bank account with BZWBK and the whole thing took 10 mins, english speaking staff, very helpfull with personal contact number and email if there are any problems with using their english website/ online banking, it was far easier than opening account in ireland(iam irish). they deal with a lot of foriegn students so they know what they are doing

PaulieThreads: 1 Posts: 49 Joined: Aug 15, 09 ♂	Sep 3, 09, 08:25 #6
alan2009: bank account with BZWBK I have banked with BZWBK for over 3 years. Complete and utter rubbish really. Incompetent rude staff, poor advice given if any, terrible rates for savings and loans, charges for using your bank card to withdraw your money unless it is a WBK machine, and I could go on. Go with Millennium, PKO BP, or Allior Bank.

jonniThreads: 26 Posts: 4,189 Joined: Nov 27, 07 ♂	Edited by: jonni Sep 3, 09, 09:25 #7
Paulie: Complete and utter rubbish really I agree about BZWBK 100%. Millenium is good, Nordea is excellent, Citibank is good but expensive. PKO BP is good in parts and a bit of a lottery depending which branch you use. PKO SA is not the same and I wouldn't recommend it at all. Avoid Fortis at all costs. M-Bank and Multibank are good if you do most of your banking on the internet.

andy bThreads: 6 Posts: 195 Joined: Nov 26, 07 ♂	Sep 3, 09, 09:36 #8
If you are staying in Krakow I can recomend you Allianz Bank. If you want to open bank account I can help you. Hi Artur, Which branch do you work at in Krakow? I may come along to meet you. Andy B

benszymanskiThreads: 9 Posts: 510 Joined: Feb 29, 08 ♂	Sep 3, 09, 12:55 #9
M-bank are good but their website is only in Polish. PKO are probably the least foreigner friendly bank in Poland so wouldn't recommend them at all. I have heard good things about Millenium and Alior though.

Wroclaw BoyThreads: 56 Posts: 5,267 Joined: Jul 3, 09 MEMBER ♂	Sep 3, 09, 13:00 #10
Paulie: Incompetent rude staff, poor advice given if any, Thats not exclusive of BZWBK, thats customer service in Poland the country on a whole.

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Sep 3, 09, 13:36 #11

Thanks for the Advice lads n lassies this is me experience so far. Went into PKO BP with me wife we live in a LOVELY SMALL town the Rude lady at the Enquiries says PKO only accepts Foreigners with Permanent Residence in Polska.I only have a residence card 'Karta Pobytu' so it means i can only open an account with them after 5yrs of being resident in the country.
Utter bo****ks i thought unfortunately moja po polsku nie dobra. And the wife's not the argumentative type so we just stream out to the next Bank WBK who are Irish owned and alas no problem with Karta Pobytu at well im more than welcome, same as the next Millenium Bank and Kredit Bank.
So my question is. Is there something wrong with PKO BP or should i call their Customer Care Manager to ask about this coz i dont think its real that a foreigner can open an Account with them only after 5yrs of being resident in the country.....

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Edited by: Jay24 Sep 3, 09, 13:41 #12

al111:

Im told PKO BP have a free transfere agreement to UK with NatWest

I went with PKO BP for this reason but apparently the arrangement with Natwest allows for money transfers from UK to Poland but not Poland to UK - if that makes sense. Plus, I'm not even sure if they still have this relationship with Natwest now.

As banks go though, PKO BP seem OK so far.

al111:

a foreigner can open an Account with them only after 5yrs of being resident in the country

I was here for 2 weeks and opened my account with PKO BP with no problems, this was in May this year.

mafketisThreads: 15 Posts: 1,830 Joined: Mar 31, 08 ♂	Sep 3, 09, 13:55 #13
al111: the Rude lady at the Enquiries says PKO only accepts Foreigners with Permanent Residence in Polska. Total crap, I've helped foreigners open accounts at PKO BP within a week of arrival in Poland. Tell the lady that she's wrong.

al111Threads: 34 Posts: 106 Joined: Sep 2, 09 ♂	Sep 3, 09, 14:51 #14
mafketis DO u yourself work for PKO BP mate?? If so can u give me the number for the Head Office Customer care center need to speak to someone there regarding this issue.

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Sep 3, 09, 16:28 #15

al111:

If so can u give me the number for the Head Office Customer care center need to speak to someone there regarding this issue.

Save your time: they won't give a f*ck, nobody at PKO does. I used to teach a department director (and board member) there. When he joined the bank (after being headhunted) he decided to open a bank account with them and so went into the branch in the HQ building. One desk was closed, one had a queue and one had no queue, so he went to the one with no queue. The woman there said "I must see your VIP card. This desk is for VIPs only." He explained that he was a member of the board of PKO and he wanted to open an account. She replied "I must see your VIP card. This desk is for VIPs only." He showed her his bank ID card and business card. She said "I must see your VIP card. This desk is for VIPs only." She had no other work to do and no customers waiting but simply refused to serve him. That woman was still working at that branch when the board member left the company.

A Canadian I used to work with had a 2000zl debt with PKO and when she was last here (two years after taking out the money) she went to pay it off. First she was told to come back later because the woman who dealt with old debts was at lunch. Then when she came back she was told that she couldn't pay it there because she had to go to head office and pay there because the debt was so old. My friend never paid them the money.

MEMBER ♂

Edited by: Wroclaw Boy Sep 3, 09, 16:37 #16

Heres a good one i had been collecting change for a while, just emptying my pockets into the jar every now and again. Evcentually we decided to change it up we roughly counted 200 PLN. We took it to our branch of BZWBK to have counted. They were not busy but refused to count it on the spot as no body was available, they made an appointment for us to return to the bank two days later when somebody would count it, then we could pay it into our account in person.

WTF

Harry:

Save your time: they won't give a f*ck, nobody at PKO does.

True, they wont.

On the plus side i nailed the guy at Kentucky for giving me two drum sticks and a wing for a three piece meal the other day, cheecky bastad.

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Sep 3, 09, 18:08 #17

Wroclaw Boy:

just emptying my pockets into the jar every now and again. Evcentually we decided to change it up we roughly counted 200 PLN

Oh dear. Me and the girlfriend have been doing this. We thought it would help towards our holiday in November. We counted the money last night and we're close to 800 PLN. I'm now worried this is going to be a real pain to get changed - I guess I'm used to walking into a bank in the UK and having them weigh your money and giving you cash. Anyone know where would be the best place for me to change this up?

mafketisThreads: 15 Posts: 1,830 Joined: Mar 31, 08 ♂	Sep 3, 09, 23:30 #18
al111: DO u yourself work for PKO BP mate?? If so can u give me the number for the Head Office Customer care center need to speak to someone there regarding this issue. No I don't work there but I've always found the branch where I opened my account (kosciuszko street in poznan) to be very foreigner friendly. Maybe it's an exception? I don't know but I'm happy with them.

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Sep 4, 09, 07:13 #19

Pekao SA have been good to me so far. Plus their online banking has an English option.

I opened a non-resident account (you'll need your passport ID and an officially translated proof of address... stamped because Polish bureaucracy loves stamps on documents!)

In Bydgoszcz near the square there is a really helpful guy who explained everything in English and said that if I need any help just to drop into the branch so he can practice his English skills.

You don't need a residency card but you will need a Polish address and phone number for correspondance and to receive your card/PIN/TANs etc.

One more thing, there is a point in the registration of an account where the computer asks which country you should be paying tax to. Since you've already paid your tax, just select ZZ at the end of the list - otherwise you'll require a tax office number to proceed.

Hope this helps!

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Sep 4, 09, 08:28 #20

I opened my account with WBK.. mainly as i live in the west of Poland... and there are hundreds of cash machines so i don't have to pay 5zl to take cash out...

Their internet portal is in English which is useful...

Although i have two accounts with them.. one in zl and one £ mainly because the crap exchange rate at the moment.. although i tend to take money out in £ at the branch and go to a Kantor to get a better rate than the bank...

All i needed was my Passport and my 5 year registration plus you can get a Visa for your account

alan2009

Sep 4, 09, 21:48 #21

hey guys, i am irish but i needed to open bank account in poland. i went into bwbzk(even though i work in AIB who own bzwbk) i found the customer service person very nice and he showed me how to log into internet banking and its free when you lodge 1500zl per month. and unlike irish banks, he gave me his work phone and email if i had any problems. also unlike irish banks but maybe not polish banks they gave me a visa debit card in 3 days just before i was to fly back to ireland. I did contact norde bank and they were helpfull but i decided to keep irish connection with bzwbk

Wroclaw BoyThreads: 56 Posts: 5,267 Joined: Jul 3, 09 MEMBER ♂	Edited by: Wroclaw Boy Sep 4, 09, 21:57 #22
al111: Whats the best Foreigner Friendly Bank in Poland None of em are friendly foreigner or otherwise. Theyre fcukers period. Customer service sucks go with BZWBK.

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Sep 4, 09, 23:03 #23

WB may appear cynical to many but he is right on the money half the time. No, I ain't a dog (Snatch) but my experiences square with his. Although I prefer to look at the positive side of things, I can't help but see the other side. I was made to wait 15 mins today whilst the shop assistant decided if she had given me change or not. She wouldn't have made a Pole wait that long. That was purely bloody-minded and wasted my time. I was right and I told her I was. Time is money these days and she gave me nothing for wasting it.

As for banks, DON'T go to PKO. They are lazy bas*ards who don't give a Castlemaine XXXX. They keep you waiting forever and frown as a matter of principle. They should be slapped with huge fish.

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Sep 4, 09, 23:36 #24

Speaking of WBK i went in to a branch today to withdraw 500zl because i had forgot my card, to find out they had "forgot" to add my passport as ID on my account, so theoretically I opened my account with my PESEL number with no photo ID.... was made to wait nearly 40mins to sort it out but in the end I got my cash..... I couldn’t believe it! good job I went with my translator (well fiancée... lol)

Other than that.. they are great!

ArturBabulaThreads: - Posts: 3 Joined: Jul 29, 09 ♂	Sep 15, 09, 15:15 #25
4 Podwale St. (right in the heart of Krakow)

pgtxThreads: 48 Posts: 6,269 Joined: Feb 14, 09 ♀ [Moderator]	Sep 15, 09, 19:16 #26
al111: Whats the best Foreigner Friendly Bank in Poland banks in Poland aren't people friendly in general...

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Sep 18, 09, 18:14 #27

pgtx:

banks in Poland aren't people friendly in general...

I had a long 2 days going around out local city for a business account, long queues, uninterested staff, mind boggling rates and charges, left the city very downhearted. Stopped in the local market town for something to eat and for a laugh went into a very crowded PKO bank. I believe this is one of the last communist banks, perhaps someone could put me straight on that.

Went to an information counter, the lady said sorry, but it will be 5 minutes before someone can see you, well thats better the rest to start with. In the end saw a nice lady who gave a good account of the bank, answered all my questions, seem to have good rates and low charges. I went for it and so far no problems, very happy with them. The standard deal was way better than the other banks were offering and she was smiling.......

mw78Threads: 3 Posts: 37 Joined: Feb 4, 09 ♂	Sep 18, 09, 18:20 #28
alior have been good to me so far, was easy to open a bank with them. just took my passport and my address.

DamienThreads: 1 Posts: 4 Joined: Jul 14, 09 ♂	Sep 22, 09, 20:42 #29
HSBC is good. They have branches in Krakow and Warsaw as well as a lot of other countries including the UK. I have been using the branch in Krakow because I need a Polish bank account for when I am at uni there. They speak good English and have been very helpful in helping me set up an account.

Zaij	Sep 26, 09, 11:56 #30
I intend to study in Sweden for 6 months next year (am currently in Krakow), what bank would you recommend?

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