Managing finances and banking in Hungary
Opening a bank account in Hungary is an easy and fast process. Because of the large amount of expats living in the country, Hungarian banks have processes in place that facilitate and simplify the opening of a bank account if youre an expat. Heres what you need to know.
Procedures for opening a bank account
The procedure to open a Hungarian bank account may vary depending on whether you are an EU/EFTA national or not: EU/EFTA nationals and Hungarian citizens require the least paperwork at the bank ' you can open an account with just your identification documents, in most cases. If you're a third-country national though, the length of the process and the documents needed will differ based on your reason for staying in the country, just as the type of residence permit differs from case to case.
Good to know:
If the bank account you're opening is a business one for your company, you'll also need to bring with you the company registration documents. Consult our section on Starting a Business in Hungary.
Although of course, you should check with your bank of choice beforehand to find out what applies specifically to your case, in general, the documents you will be needing are:
- Valid residence permit, or registration certificate (for EU/EFTA nationals)
- Proof of address in Hungary (lease/utility bill)
- Proof of employment and earnings (like a salary slip)
- Valid passport/ID
There are quite a few fees connected to opening a bank account in Hungary. You will have to pay a fee to the bank for opening the actual account, as well as a fee to get an ATM card and for management services for your bank account. Fees vary from bank to bank, so it's important to get quotes from several banks to compare before making your choice.
Bank services in Hungary
The bank services in Hungary are of a high standard and offer many solutions to expat problems. For example, if you are unable to be in the country for the opening of your account, there are some banks that will give you the option to open your bank account online just by providing them with some additional paperwork. Another issue many expats face is currency conversion, especially with the big difference in value between euros and HUF. That's why most banks offer you the possibility to keep your currency accounts segregated: maintain your money both in HUF and/or in euros, USD, or your preferred currency.
Good to know:
In terms of services, online banking is a given ' but you need to check which language their online interface is available in, as many of them are just in Hungarian.
When choosing a bank, you need to consider where you will be staying, and whether there will be branches of that particular bank nearby. That won't be a problem if you choose a larger bank, however, small banks sometimes often will offer more competitive packages when it comes to financial consulting, debit cards and multiple-currency deposit options, so you may have to decide on value for money versus convenience.
Some of the banks with the most developed network in Hungary are OTP Bank (which also permits expats to open their bank account from abroad), K&H, CIB and Erste Bank.
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