Opening a bank account in Finland

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Julien Founder

Member since 11 March 2005

17 years of happy life abroad

JulienFounder28 September 2011 07:43:18

52763

Hi all,

is it difficult for expats to open a bank account in Finland ?

Which documents are required to open a bank account in Finland ?

How long does it take to open it ?

Is there any restriction for expats regarding the services (loans for instance) ?

Which bank would you recommend ?

Thanks in advance for your participation,

Julien

GuestPoster5555 Guest

GuestPoster5555Guest15 November 2011 05:42:15

214245

Hi

It is very simple to open a bank account. You take with you your passport and work contract. It depends on the bank if they are requesting Finnish ID number. They'll open the account immediately. Visa electron card will take about 2 weeks, netbank a bit more.

Regards
Marja

Armand ViP

Member since 23 February 2011

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ArmandViP15 November 2011 08:46:32

24785

Hello Marja!

Thanks a lot for your help

Armand

indrek Member

Member since 18 November 2011

indrekMember18 November 2011 14:32:02

Marja wrote:
Hi

It is very simple to open a bank account. You take with you your passport and work contract. It depends on the bank if they are requesting Finnish ID number. They'll open the account immediately. Visa electron card will take about 2 weeks, netbank a bit more.

Regards
Marja

But what if I don't have a job in Finland? Is it still possible to make an account? I want to register account in Finland in order to receive payments from company which does not support my home country yet (Estonia).

Thank you very much for your replay!

marcool Member

Member since 05 December 2011

marcoolMember05 December 2011 10:48:47

The best is to contact a bank directly.
Nordea has an office for international customers in the center of Helsinki. They are very competent and knowledgeable. Clearly the preferred bank for foreigners. It may not be the best one but they provide very good service to foreigners.
Osuspankki is good as well but their netbank is not available in English for example.

Harmonie ViP

Member since 13 June 2011

HarmonieViP05 December 2011 10:57:13

19273

Thanks for your help marcool!

Harmonie.

citizen1 ViP

Member since 06 December 2009

citizen1ViP14 December 2011 07:46:25

131

S Bank was founded by the Finnish retail duopoly S Group. They only ask to see your passport. They have an office e.g. in the Sokos department store in the center of Helsinki. They charge no fee for just having a bank account, not like the other banks. Splendid online banking, albeit only in Finnish and Swedish.

bijucyborg Member

Member since 18 December 2010

bijucyborgMember17 December 2011 10:18:40

marcool wrote:
The best is to contact a bank directly.
Nordea has an office for international customers in the center of Helsinki. They are very competent and knowledgeable. Clearly the preferred bank for foreigners. It may not be the best one but they provide very good service to foreigners.
Osuspankki is good as well but their netbank is not available in English for example.

Osuspankki has a text version in English. It serves the purpose, the only problem is if you want to export statements, you have to use the finnish website. Again you can use the Google Chrome browser which offers automatic translation.

marcool Member

Member since 05 December 2011

marcoolMember17 December 2011 11:33:54

bijucyborg wrote:
Osuspankki has a text version in English. It serves the purpose, the only problem is if you want to export statements, you have to use the finnish website. Again you can use the Google Chrome browser which offers automatic translation.

On Nordea I can take care of investments, shares, funds, and loans also but I don't use that feature. Can you do that on OP (Osuspankki)?

bijucyborg Member

Member since 18 December 2010

bijucyborgMember17 December 2011 11:47:35

#10

marcool wrote:
On Nordea I can take care of investments, shares, funds, and loans also but I don't use that feature. Can you do that on OP (Osuspankki)?

OP has only a basic text version in English, no trading etc. One can transfer money though and pay bills.

masoomAhmad Member

Member since 22 August 2013

masoomAhmadMember22 August 2013 20:35:12

#11

Avoid Nordea if you have plan to stay in Finland for longer period of time. You need to recruit official translator if you want to take house loan or some other kind of loan. Though it does not mention anywhere in their webpage and they ask for translator on random basis. I am an account holder of Nordea from 2009.

karen ViP

Member since 21 June 2013

karenViP23 August 2013 04:48:51

#12

4030

@ masoomAhmad --> Please note that this thread is from 2011. You may start a new one on the Finland Forum. Thanks. Karen

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