Whats the best Foreigner Friendly Bank in Poland

Nick MonThreads: - Posts: 5 Joined: May 6, 09 ♂	Sep 27, 09, 00:01 #31
Zaij: I intend to study in Sweden for 6 months next year (am currently in Krakow), what bank would you recommend? Nordea is a Swedish / Finish bank operating in Poland. They have good, secure internet banking in English. There are plenty of branches around Krakow. Probably depends which branch you try as to how helpful they are in English but ringing the internet bank in Gdansk is no problem.

WroclawThreads: 74 Posts: 7,276 Joined: Apr 1, 06 ♂ [Moderator]	Sep 27, 09, 12:02 #32
Nick Mon: Nordea is a Swedish / Finish bank operating in Poland. You'll need 1,000zl to open an account at Nordea. But they don't hit you with interest charges. (unless i'm mistaken)

♂

Sep 29, 09, 11:41 #33

I bank with Millenium and think they offer pretty good service,
at least compared to the UK any how.

Foreaxmple there was a delay in issuing my debit card as my first name isn't recognised in poland or whatever, so to say sorry they gave me two usb sticks? random but loads better than my experiences with natwest and barclays in the U.K.

Interestingly, what is the best way (cheapest) in peoples opinions to transfer cash from a UK account to a Polish one? I see no reason to keep my natwest account anymore.

♂

Sep 29, 09, 11:50 #34

When I got my PKO account I transfered £100 as a test more than anything else, as I get paid from Denmark normally, anyway the Halifax took their normal fee and PKO did not make a charge to receive, so a bit of a bonus I thought. I had to give a reason to move this money for the Halifax, so thought money laundering was good, but not an option to tick for that. The company in Denmark have made payments and they pay at their end, PKO have not charged anything to receive Do you know what Nat West will charge per transaction?

I would have thought you would have to go in person to the bank to close it, unless you mean just to empty the account and let it rest so to speak.

Some of the chaps here seem to have good advice regarding other ways.

slick578Threads: 22 Posts: 19 Joined: Apr 14, 09 ♂	Sep 29, 09, 12:45 #35
I can't transfer money to internationally using by accesing my account online, it says I need to go into the bank to do it and the fee is £25 (which doesn't seem cheap) I am being paid in Zloty's to me Polish account which is fine but I'd like to have all of my money in one place. Although, it might be easier just to take cash out of the bankomat when I need access to my £ funds.

♂

Sep 29, 09, 12:52 #36

I have the option in my Halifax online service. slick578, guess all banks are different. As I remember it was a tenner for any amount transfered. I do take money out using a ATM, but at the end of the month you get charged anyhow, the debit card I have from the Halifax they charge a lot to us that, my credit visa credit card from the Halifax less. I have not used them for a long time as I have money here and the £ is a bit pants.

alan2009	Sep 29, 09, 19:57 #37
Hi guys I transfer money from my AIB(Irish) account to my BZWBK account, it costs just 0.75 cent if you can wait 2 days for it to appear in account(bzwbk do not charge to receive it, and if i want to transfer money from Poland to international account I can do so on line, the customer service guy showed me how when I opened my account in Poland.

♂

Oct 7, 09, 14:55 #38

Go with WBK, I was only in the country for only a couple of weeks and was able to open an account on the spot with no appointments etc. They were happy to help and my account was open and ready to use there and then. Had to wait only 3/4 days for the card. I have a dual account in UK and PL. The process was reasonably fast, I brought my passport, tennancy agreement and was ready to go. Although they charge you for balance checks and using other machines there are generally a few machines in and around cities and towns so there is no need to walk far. I was given a debit card and there was no deposit needed for opening the account, all they asked was that i made 3 purchases in 3 months via debit which was easy. The whole process was totally hassle free.

♂

Oct 8, 09, 11:33 #39

My girlfriend and I opened an account with PKO BP. It took us over an hour and loads of paperwork, even though she had a permenant address to send all the documents to. They wouldn't let her translate everything to me inside the bank saying that she could do that "when we got home". As a result we ended up getting charged for everything under the sun as they tried to rush my girlfriend into signing up. 4 months later when we finally got back to Poland on our next visit, we went to PKO BP, closed the accounts and transferred them to BGZ. Much friendlier service, (this is very important to me), and charge a lot less.

ps. BGZ is quite modern in atmosphere too. PKO BP came across as very "stuffy" and tried to give the impression that we should be grateful for them taking our money.

jonniThreads: 26 Posts: 4,189 Joined: Nov 27, 07 ♂	Oct 8, 09, 12:00 #40
Wroclaw: You'll need 1,000zl to open an account at Nordea. But they don't hit you with interest charges. (unless i'm mistaken) I opened my account there with 10zl. Nordea are OK, and their customer service is more Scandinavian than Polish.

BevKThreads: 18 Posts: 281 Joined: Mar 20, 09 ♀	Oct 14, 09, 19:05 #41
Millenium have been good for me.

hotcarlThreads: 3 Posts: 4 Joined: Oct 13, 09 ♂	Oct 15, 09, 00:14 #42
ING have been good for me.

isaThreads: 13 Posts: 43 Joined: Oct 22, 08 ♀	Oct 15, 09, 21:30 #43
The term "friendly bank" is an oxymoron in Poland. Yes, an account in Millennium was super easy to open - fast and painless. It's been all downhill from there - there are fees for everything, even depositing money. Beware!

dxxThreads: 17 Posts: 118 Joined: Jul 22, 08 ♂	Oct 18, 09, 07:42 #44
I got raiffeisen in Krakow, happy about it.

al111Threads: 34 Posts: 106 Joined: Sep 2, 09 ♂	Oct 19, 09, 11:45 #45
isa "oxymoron term" thats for sure, some of the charges i have seen in these banks are just outrageous but then again thats the reason Poland is Overbanked they are all coming here to make a quick buck.

tadozThreads: - Posts: 30 Joined: Oct 25, 09 ♂	Oct 25, 09, 16:58 #46
I can highly recommend Deutsche Bank (I have researched many banks before deciding on DB), many branches around Poland, online banking in Polish and English, low fees, cordial service, easy setup for foreigners, have been banking with them for over two years and no complaints so far …

♂

Edited by: John Deer Nov 17, 09, 23:43 #47

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...?

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,160 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Nov 17, 09, 23:48 #48
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.

♂

Nov 18, 09, 00:13 #49

John Deer:

there's no where to complain to

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

Seanus:

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.

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.

♂

Edited by: tsabus Jan 7, 10, 21:12 #50

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 ?

g60editionThreads: 10 Posts: 284 Joined: Jan 18, 09 ♂	Edited by: g60edition Jan 7, 10, 21:19 #51
Seanus: As for banks, DON'T go to PKO Ive had an account with them for the last few years.Not really had a problems. Seanus: frown as a matter of principle That is so true I think its part of their job role

♂

Jan 7, 10, 21:24 #52

tsabus:

Next day I got the answer - application rejected because I am not a resident here !!!

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

tsabus:

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...

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?

g60edition:

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

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

♂

Jan 7, 10, 22:56 #53

tadoz:

I can highly recommend Deutsche Bank (I have researched many banks before deciding on DB), many branches around Poland, online banking in Polish and English, low fees, cordial service, easy setup for foreigners, have been banking with them for over two years and no complaints so far …

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.

frostThreads: - Posts: 1 Joined: Jun 22, 10 ♂	Jun 22, 10, 16:28 #54
I use Millenium

THE HITMANThreads: 1 Posts: 392 Joined: Jun 15, 10 ♂	Jun 22, 10, 20:08 #55
mafketis: Tell the lady that she's wrong. Yeh, go drop a Yozzer Hughes on her. I vote Millennium, opened an acc. with my passport no probs.

♂

Jul 5, 10, 23:23 #56

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.

♂

Mar 18, 11, 19:55 #57

hello i ve also Millenium bank but i think that is not a good bank for work and for make same operation.
Is very difficult find a people that speak in english and i live in the centre of Krakow,the people that work inside create a lot of troubble,and is necessary find all the operation like a supervisor (but the client dont work in the bank)bcs there is high possibility that the worker make same mystake.
If u ve any problem Good luck !!!
I lived in Poland from 5 years ,start the hell !!!i work also with different bank of this,for my point of wiew this bank is the wars.
Do u want take same euro (for example also 100 euro)?Forget that take immediatly is necessary order 2 days before.
The euro count have a cost (1 euro for month ) and if u want take yr money is necessary wait same days for few coins????
why is necessary pay this service ??? For what ???
If i pay same service i want have a good service!!!
So in the end i think that depend for what do u want have a bank ??? For have only a count in Poland and use only the card bankomat and polish pln is ok if u want make same operation more and want sleep well without any problem ,is better have another bank.
For my experience the best service u can find in deutsch bank without any problem.

♂

Mar 18, 11, 20:20 #58

Hello u are lucky,
bcs in millenium this is a normal situations!
After 5 years if u want i can write a lot of episode like this also wars.
the top arrive when the Bank worker tell u :
U are in Poland and u must speak in polish and same another things,is not strange that this people lavat u bcs u are foreigner.
For me the best bank is deutsch bank,i opened account only from few years but never problem and mistake.

POLAND . The Unofficial Guide	Unanswered \| Archives
POLAND . The Unofficial Guide	Meet Polish People at PF!	Witamy, Guest \| PF Members \| Gold Members

Home \| Unanswered \| Archives \| Random \| Statistics	Time in Poland: 03:36 / Feb 10
About Us \| Contact Us \| Rules, Privacy \| Poland Advertising	© 2005-12 PolishForums.com