Banking

Steps

1. Get your henkilötunnus first from the DVV (see FI-NIF-TOUS-001): without it, the bank can open an account for you but cannot give you full bank codes.
2. Book an appointment at a branch (this is often necessary for a new customer) and expressly ask to open an account and to get bank codes.
3. Answer the bank's questions. The law requires it to know its customers: life situation (employee, retiree, student), source of funds, amounts and countries of the planned transfers, status as a politically exposed person.
4. If the bank refuses the basic account, ask for the reason in writing: it must give it to you without delay and free of charge (unless this would harm national security, public order or the fight against money laundering), and tell you how to appeal and which authority or dispute resolution body to contact (for example the FINE banking complaints board or the FIN-FSA).
5. Activate your bank codes, then a mobile certificate (see FI-ADMINISTRATIONS-TOUS-002).
6. Give your Finnish IBAN to your employer, Kela and Vero. Finland is in the euro area: SEPA transfers in euros from France, Belgium or another euro-area country work like domestic transfers.

Documents

• Passport, valid national identity card or identity card for foreigners issued by the Finnish police. A foreign driving licence is not accepted (InfoFinland; for foreign documents, the FIN-FSA cites a passport and an identity card valid as a travel document). Each bank decides, according to its risk management, which foreign documents it accepts.
• Henkilötunnus and address in Finland (or abroad).
• Tax address abroad if you still pay taxes there.
• Proof of your situation: employment contract, pension certificate, enrolment in studies.

Costs and timelines

• Reply time: the bank accepts or refuses a basic account application without undue delay and at the latest within 10 banking days (law 610/2014).
• Fees: those of the basic account must be reasonable and correspond to actual costs; closing the account is free. The bank must make information on the basic account, the fees and the terms of use available to you free of charge.
• Termination by the bank: only after 24 months without any transaction or if you are no longer legally resident in the EEA, with at least 2 months' written notice. It can also terminate the contract if you have deliberately used the account for illegal purposes, or if you gave false information (or left out information) that would have led to your application being refused.
• Mortgage: the loan cannot exceed 90% of the value of the collateral (95% for a first home); since the FIN-FSA decision of 29/06/2026, 95% for all borrowers, on a temporary basis (see FI-LOGEMENT-TOUS-002). Guarantees from a State, shortfall guarantees from an insurer or another credit institution are in principle not taken into account in this calculation, and personal guarantees are not accepted as collateral (FIN-FSA).

Common pitfalls

• Having an account but no codes. The conditions for getting bank codes are stricter than for opening an account. The law provides that the bank can refuse the codes only if you have no henkilötunnus or are not registered in the population register; it must then offer you a means of identification limited to use of the account.
• Coming without an identity code. Plan the order: DVV (henkilötunnus), then bank.
• Relying on a foreign online bank for everything. An account in another EU country is enough to be paid in euros, but it does not give you Finnish identification for OmaVero, OmaKela or your municipality.
• Lending your codes. Bank codes are personal and serve as an electronic signature: do not entrust them to anyone, even a close relative.
• Mortgage with no local history. The bank freely decides whether to grant a loan (income, collateral, credit history); a newcomer with no Finnish income may be asked for a larger down payment. No official rule specific to foreigners was found: check with the bank.

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA citizens legally resident: right to a basic account; the bank cannot refuse you because you come from another EU country.
• Swiss citizens: the Finnish right to a basic account applies to people legally resident in an EEA country: if you live in Finland, you benefit from it.
• British citizens (Scots included): same right as soon as you are legally resident in Finland with your residence permit.
• For online banking and identification: the Finnish State's new digital identity (DVV application) is not yet available (the government expects it in 2027; law 812/2026, in force on 01/10/2026, gives the authorities until 24/12/2026 to comply). It will be open to foreigners living in Finland, but only with a passport or an identity card issued by the Finnish police (law 812/2026, art. 5 and art. 2 point 9): it will therefore not help a newcomer who only has papers from their country of origin.
• Åland Islands: the archipelago is in the euro area and the Act on the Autonomy of Åland (1144/1991, art. 29 point 5) places "banking and credit services" among the matters on which the Finnish State legislates; the Finnish credit institutions act therefore applies there, unless delegated to Åland.