No fee bank account
Are there any banks in PL that have no fees for ATM card?
I go to Europe pretty frequently and get murdered by ATMs for using my US bank card. Would like to try and get a bank account in PL.
Posted Jul 17, 2023, 4:55 AM UTC
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do you have a PESEL?
If no just get revolut.
if you have a PESEL and plan to stay longer - get revolut and a millennium account. Make sure to transfer enough each month to get it for free.
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I do have pesel. My stays are usually 1-2 weeks in Europe a few times a year and sometimes need to do card to card payments
Is there an advantage of one over the other?
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Don't know about Millienium bank but opening a Revolut account is dead easy. You can do it on you phone in 10 minutes. The biggest advantage for you might be cheap and easy foreign currency conversions - I opened my account specifically to pay for Kindle ebooks on the US Amazon. I believe ATMs withdrawals are also free of charge but I'm not sure. The also issue virtual cards or single-use cards - super comfy if you're paying an unknown supplier and you're afraid to get scammed.
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Can confirm. I got a millenium account, zero fees.
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If no fees, maybe I'll open with them. I had my mortgage and small business loan through Millenium Bank in the US
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If you are below certain age (26 i think?) most banks will give you fee free account, but idk if there is huge diffrence between banks, i use mBank and can recommend. Huge advantege of Poland is BLIK , system that allows you to transfere money between accounts, even in diffrent banks, knowing only phone number of recipant, instantly.
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AFAIK millennium is free only if you deposit 5000 of new money per month and pay with the card at least few times a month.
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Oh, then this is not for me.
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Sounds like Revolut to me.
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It drives me crazy that people have internet access, can read newspapers, even buy flight tickets but still don't know about things like Revolut or Wise.
People just love to be fucked and overcharged, lol.
Sorry for rant
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Get a Schwab investment account (it can be zero dollars), that will allow you to open Schwab checking account which comes with an ATM card. That card refunds ALL ATM fees worldwide has no foreign transaction fees and uses interbank exchange rate when withdrawing foreign currency ( just make sure you refuse conversation offered by the ATM machine). It's a lot simpler than opening a Polish bank account. By the way if you do open a Polish bank account you have to report it to IRS and if you ever have more than 10k$ in it it requires even more paperwork. If you insist on a Polish account every bank per EU regulation has to provide you with a free payment account with a free ATM card, provided that you do not have any other Polish account already open. They do not advertise it and you have to ask for it but they have to give it to you. Search for Payment Accounts Directive (2014/92/EU)
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Oh great thank you!
The Schwab account allows for the card to card transfers? If not I can just let my PL account sit at like 6k
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Schwab checking is just a regular US Bank account. No easy way to transfer money to a Polish bank. Not sure what you mean card to card. I just go to ATM machine in Poland put my Schwab ATM card in and get Polish złoty. No foreign transaction fees, exchange is the interbank one (whatever Google says current rate is} and the machine fee is refunded to me at the end of the month for all transactions that month If you want to use a card for point of sale transactions get a credit card instead. There are many options for no foreign transaction fee card in the US. You get all the perks of the card like points and extra warranties and you are not responsible for unauthorized transactions if stolen.
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Got it, thanks. I dunno people keep wanting card to card transfer. Blik maybe? I'm not sure
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I don't use blick. Between credit card and cash (from ATM with Schwab card) I was able to buy everything I wanted. As far as I am concerned blick is useless.
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I believe there is no fees when you take 100+ złoty
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Revolute ? Its free if You use a virtual card. phone/watch. https://revolut.com/referral/?referral-code=piotr47o9!JUL2-23-AR-L1
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Yeah most banks will give you a free account - but - you need to do one transaction per month at least. Or something like that. You can’t leave the account like dead and unused. That’s the catch in free accounts in Poland.
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It depends on the bank and the type of account, you should read the terms. I have an Mbank account and I pay nothing.
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Try WISE
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If You travel why not revolut? It is great option for multicurrency. If you focus on atms, You can upgrade Your plan to withdraw more. Or if not revolut, You can use zen. Or something like curve.
You have many options, don't know why You want a polish bank account. If You travel a lot go for multucurrency. If You really want a polish bank account to use just in Poland, check nest bank.
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mBank actually recommended I go with revolut.
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Get a credit union account that has cirus partner ship, and you will not have to pay hefty fees
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You mean no need to pay monthly for having card? In Santander i have free card but i have to pay with it at last once in month but i haven't used it in long time because i have it connected to google wallet as i have both my id, driver licences etc. in my phone and paying contactless with phone still apply as transaction with card so they don't charge me for it.
I want to avoid the US bank fee + currency conversion fees. The actual ATM fee is ok , those are unavoidable.
For Santander BLIK ATMs are free.
How have you added your id or driver license to Google Wallet?
Not to the google wallet. in Poland we have government App mObywatel that holds most of your Personal Documents and is respected as real document in most cases like in police control when they stop you on the road etc. But in some places you will still need to show your physical plastic card id.