Opening bank account on Malta

Your first goal should be to get an ID card, which you will need anyways to live here as a non-EU national. No bank will look at you until you have that ID card. Any interim card/paper you get will NOT suffice. You will then need a apartment rental contract, and a work contract.

Do not proceed until you have at least the above 3 documents.

Once you have all 3, you basically have 3 options:

1) HSBC - To get an APPOINTMENT to open a bank account with them will take months (it took me 3 months). Once you have an appointment, you won't need referrals from your Serbian account, but it's quite an extensive interview about your financial history.

2) Bank of Valetta (BOV) - As a non-eu national, they will need direct contact with your Serbian banks for referrals via the swift system.  Your employer may tell you they have a good relationship with a certain BOV branch which will streamline the process. That relationship only really helps EU nationals.

3) Banif/BNF - If you have the 3 documents mentioned above, opening an account with BNF is relatively easy and quick. They will likely force you to have a 500 euro term deposit with 50 euros going into it every month to open an account with them, which you will get back along with a tiny amount of interest after 12 months. They will also question nearly ever dollar coming in and out of your account, so be prepared for that. BNF aren't great long term, and as much as I hate their policies and their customer service, they are the best option to get setup quickly.

Good luck!

One last thing, you said you had other EU accounts. If those accounts are SEPA, see if your employer here will pay your salary into that account. Some do, some don't. If they do, that's probably the easiest way to get paid.

Hi, what about EU nationals?
I have a job contract, undetermined period, a recomendation letter from my employer and that's it... are those the only 3 options in Malta? I mean the banks..

matog wrote:

Hi, what about EU nationals?
I have a job contract, undetermined period, a recomendation letter from my employer and that's it... are those the only 3 options in Malta? I mean the banks..

On 7th December, 2016, the Maltese authorities transposed Directive 2014/92/EU, regulating the access to and opening of bank accounts with basic features for non-Maltese citizens, into national law.

As regards Directive 2014/92/EU, please see Article 15, entitled, 'Non-discrimination'.

AND

Article 16, entitled, ‘Right of access to a payment account with basic features’.

Source: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ … 32014L0092

Grazzie mile ragazo

matog wrote:

Grazzie mile ragazo

dont think these links he provides has any value, its just for entertainment value, no-one in malta cares at all

volcane wrote:

matog wrote:

Grazzie mile ragazo

dont think these links he provides has any value, its just for entertainment value, no-one in malta cares at all

On the contrary, this link is of value to those who are aware its contents, assert their lawful rights and achieve their goals - most especially given that Maltese banking practices in respect of non-Maltese EU citizens are, at present, under European Commission scrutiny.

In this regard, please see: Maltese banking practices under European Commission scrutiny - EU citizens in Malta face “long and frustrating” process to open bank accounts, European Commission does not exclude taking enforcement measures:

Source: http://theshiftnews.com/2017/12/19/malt … -scrutiny/

Fionn wrote:

volcane wrote:

matog wrote:

Grazzie mile ragazo

dont think these links he provides has any value, its just for entertainment value, no-one in malta cares at all

On the contrary, this link is of value to those who are aware its contents, assert their lawful rights and achieve their goals - most especially given that Maltese banking practices in respect of non-Maltese EU citizens are, at present, under European Commission scrutiny.

In this regard, please see: Maltese banking practices under European Commission scrutiny - EU citizens in Malta face “long and frustrating” process to open bank accounts, European Commission does not exclude taking enforcement measures:

Source: http://theshiftnews.com/2017/12/19/malt … -scrutiny/

The reality is different. I decided to keep my foreign account and cards because it's ridiculous how banks behave here.

Quoting EU laws and rules (or articles from little known papers) will not help to get a bank account in Malta!

F0xgl0ve wrote:

Quoting EU laws and rules (or articles from little known papers) will not help to get a bank account in Malta!

On the contrary, well-informed, assertive applicants manage to swiftly open bank accounts.

Fionn wrote:

F0xgl0ve wrote:

Quoting EU laws and rules (or articles from little known papers) will not help to get a bank account in Malta!

On the contrary, well-informed, assertive applicants manage to swiftly open bank accounts.

Not if you go by 99% of the posts on here!

Ray

Hi all,
What are the best banks to get accepted for EU personnel, and how long do you have to have the account before they  will grant a loan?

Thanks

Sam

The complete nightmare that is the absolute incompetence of banking in Malta can be avoided by using a revolut card.

https://www.revolut.com/

I strongly recommend avoiding Maltese banks.

tonotwant wrote:

The complete nightmare that is the absolute incompetence of banking in Malta can be avoided by using a revolut card.

https://www.revolut.com/

I strongly recommend avoiding Maltese banks.

Or even the Transferwise  "Hello World"  card.

tonotwant wrote:

The complete nightmare that is the absolute incompetence of banking in Malta can be avoided by using a revolut card.

https://www.revolut.com/

I strongly recommend avoiding Maltese banks.

Reading your previous posts you are just anti Malta.

Ray is quite right, the Transferwise Debit Card linked to their 'Borderless Bank Account' can be used like any major bank debit card. Plus you can have accounts in almost any currency topped up from your main UK bank.
My Euro account is actually in Munich and whilst it is a digital account it has all the usual IBAN and Swift code numbers.
It allows ATM use, online payments and even contact less payments.

Add to that one of the best currency exchange rates and transfer of funds to the account in seconds and I find it very useful. (And, no I don't work for them!)

Ray

all right, I was the one asking before and here it is a little update on my adventures.
Finally after 3 month I have my ID card and with that I went to BOV, which is the bank of choice  for expats apparently.

They write down in a piece of paper your name and phone # and they say they will call you for an appointment. I week went by and nothing...
In that appointment you need to bring:
Maltese ID and your national passport
Job contract
Lease agreement ¡?
And then they will send your employer a letter, which your employer has to reply back stating same things as the job contract.

The whole process takes up to a month, for a f**kin savings account... I took mortgages with less hassle  than that...

I went to every other bank and requirements and processing time all in line with BOV if not worse.. so I finally gave up
I wish I knew this before deciding to come to this island. Banking is just an example

matog wrote:

all right, I was the one asking before and here it is a little update on my adventures.
Finally after 3 month I have my ID card and with that I went to BOV, which is the bank of choice  for expats apparently.

They write down in a piece of paper your name and phone # and they say they will call you for an appointment. I week went by and nothing...
In that appointment you need to bring:
Maltese ID and your national passport
Job contract
Lease agreement ¡?
And then they will send your employer a letter, which your employer has to reply back stating same things as the job contract.

The whole process takes up to a month, for a f**kin savings account... I took mortgages with less hassle  than that...

I went to every other bank and requirements and processing time all in line with BOV if not worse.. so I finally gave up
I wish I knew this before deciding to come to this island. Banking is just an example

You may address your complaint to: The European Commission - E-mail:  sg-plaintes@ec.europa.eu

matog wrote:

clipped a bit...

The whole process takes up to a month, for a f**kin savings account... I took mortgages with less hassle  than that...

I went to every other bank and requirements and processing time all in line with BOV if not worse.. so I finally gave up
I wish I knew this before deciding to come to this island. Banking is just an example

Welcome to Malta,

It's just as well you didn't go to HSBC.   for the best example of how not be treated by a business that, in other countries, wants your custom. It took many weeks to get a phone call to offer an appointment, in fact, so long I had completely forgotten about it. When they rang I just gave them a piece of my mind and hung up.

Go to BNF,  still rubbish but I did get a joint salary account in one visit. I am retired so only had to show pension statements, Residency cards, passports and tax refs. and initial deposit of  €750
and they want me to deposit €800 every month.
It'll do for now.

You could address your complaint to the EU, as suggested, but it wont get you a bank account....

Got my HSBC account in one single sitting. Got my mortgage in one single other sitting less than a year since moving to Malta.

As always it is entirely up to what the individual thinks there is no consistency or rules. Including anything the EU has to say.