Banking

Steps

1. Choose your account. A standard current account, or a Basiskonto if a bank refuses you or if you want a simple account. The Basiskonto includes at least: opening, running and closing the account, cash deposits and withdrawals, direct debits, card payments and transfers within the EEA, in euros.
2. Prepare your identification. The bank must verify your identity under the anti-money-laundering law (FM-GwG): an official photo ID (passport or identity card) is the basis. Many banks also ask for your Meldebestätigung (certificate of residence, see AT-SEJOUR-TOUS-001): this is common practice, not a legal condition of the Basiskonto.
3. Submit your application at a branch or online (depending on the bank). For a Basiskonto, the bank cannot force you to buy other products.
4. Wait for the answer. For a Basiskonto, the bank opens the account or refuses within 10 working days at the latest after a complete application. It can only refuse in the cases provided for by law (§ 24 VZKG): you already have a payment account in Austria that offers these basic services (unless you declare that its closure has been notified to you), or criminal proceedings (indictment) or an unspent conviction for an intentional offence against the bank or its staff; the bank may also refuse if the anti-money-laundering checks are not satisfied. Any refusal must be explained to you in writing and free of charge, with the reasons and the possibility of complaining to the FMA or to the FIN-NET conciliation scheme.
5. Give your IBAN to your employer, your social security fund and your landlord.
6. To change banks in Austria, the new bank arranges the transfer of standing orders and direct debits with the old one.

Documents

• Valid passport or identity card.
• Meldebestätigung (often requested by banks).
• Proof of income for an authorised overdraft or a loan (employment contract, payslips, pension notice).
• A self-declaration of tax residence (Selbstauskunft), mandatory under the law on automatic exchange of information (GMSG, § 30): without it, the bank cannot open the account. If you remain tax resident in another participating country, you also state your tax number from that country and your date of birth (§ 31 GMSG, subject to the exceptions in § 6 para. 2).

Costs and timelines

• Basiskonto: cap of €80 a year, €40 for vulnerable consumer groups designated by regulation (social assistance recipients, small pensions, low incomes). The law (§ 26 VZKG) provides that these amounts change every two years from 2019 with the price index, with the minister publishing the new amounts in the Official Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt); the Ministry of Consumer Protection states €83.45 and €41.73 (2020 brochure). No more recent publication was found (RIS search of 23/10/2026): the current cap may therefore be a little higher, to be confirmed with the bank. No surcharge depending on the number of transactions (except for credit card payments).
• Timeline: 10 working days at most for the Basiskonto.
• Transfers in euros within the EU: same price as a domestic transfer in your bank's country.
• Overdraft: often 2 to 4 net monthly salaries depending on the bank, at a high interest rate (oesterreich.gv.at); a loan is better for a lasting need.
• Mortgage: the mandatory lending rules (KIM-Verordnung: deposit, monthly payments, term) are no longer in force since 30/06/2025. The bank is still required to assess your creditworthiness. Since then, the supervisory authority (FMA) recommends, in a circular of 26/06/2025 that is not binding: a loan of at most 90% of the property's value (so a 10% deposit), repayments of at most 40% of your annual net income (including the 13th and 14th month salaries) and a term of at most 35 years, for at least 80% of each bank's new loans. Any exceptions for small loans could not be confirmed in the text of the circular: ask your bank. A bank may set its own criteria.

Common pitfalls

• Thinking an Austrian account is mandatory. Your salary and benefits can arrive in a SEPA-area account in another EU country: it cannot be refused because it is located in another country, if the payer accepts domestic SEPA transfers.
• Accepting a "package" for a basic account. The bank cannot make the Basiskonto conditional on buying other services, or shares in the bank (unless it requires this of all its customers).
• Ignoring closing fees. Closing an account may cost money: compare before switching.
• Mortgage as a newcomer. Without an income history in Austria, banks often ask for more guarantees or a bigger deposit (banking practice, with no public rule): prepare your proof of foreign income.
• Check your statements. Objections to an account statement have a deadline set by the bank, shown on the statement.

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA citizens: right to the Basiskonto as soon as you are legally resident in the EU, even without a fixed address; SEPA and equal fees for payments in euros.
• Swiss nationals: Switzerland is part of the SEPA area. The right to the Basiskonto applies to any consumer legally resident in the EU, whatever their nationality (§ 23 VZKG; the ministry also cites third-country nationals who have a right of residence in an EU country): a Swiss national who lives legally in Austria therefore has the right.
• British nationals (including Scots): as legal residents in Austria (permit under "Artikel 50 EUV" or a NAG permit), they have the right to the Basiskonto. A British account in pounds sterling is not a euro account: allow for currency exchange fees.