Romania uses the leu, not the euro, and that single fact structures your banking life. Your salary, your rent, your electricity and your tax are in lei, while your savings at home are in euros or sterling. Opening an account in Romania is therefore less about the opening itself, which is usually straightforward, than about organising the flow between two currencies. This guide covers how to open a bank account in Romania, what documents to bring, what to do if a bank refuses, and the practical choices around euros and lei.
Can you open a bank account in Romania as a newcomer?
Yes. According to EURES, once your residence is registered, the certificate that carries your CNP makes the account easier to open. You can sometimes open one before, but it is more complicated, and the bank may itself ask ANAF for a provisional tax number if you do not have one; see the Romania CNP number guide. If you can, wait for the certificate. The registration steps are in residence in Romania for EU citizens.
What documents do you need?
Bring a valid identity document, your registration certificate with your CNP and proof of your address, such as the lease described in renting in Romania. For a loan, add proof of income. The exact list depends on the bank, which must verify your identity and the origin of your funds under anti-money-laundering rules, so ask before you travel. Identification is also required for every currency exchange operation.
What if the bank refuses?
If you are a legal resident in the EU, you have a right to a basic payment account (cont de plăți cu servicii de bază). It lets you pay in and out, receive direct debits and pay by card, without an obligatory overdraft. A bank cannot refuse it just because you are not Romanian, but it can refuse for reasons linked to the fight against money laundering, or if you already hold a basic account in Romania. The fees must be "reasonable" under the Romanian law 258/2017, and we have not found the amounts, so ask the bank. If you are told no, ask for the reason in writing.
Comparing offers is where a newcomer loses time: a package, a basic account, a card with currency fees, a mobile app in Romanian. Moovy can help you prepare a list of questions for each bank and make sure you bring the right papers. It does not open accounts and does not give investment advice.
Which costs should you compare for a bank account in Romania?
By law, a bank must give you a fee information document before opening and an annual statement of fees afterwards. Compare:
- Account and card fees, monthly or annual.
- Transfers in euros within the EU. According to Your Europe, they must cost no more from a Romanian account than a national transfer in lei.
- Cash withdrawals in the EU, where the conversion charge is displayed before you confirm.
- Currency conversion, which differs between your bank and a payment terminal.
Deposits are protected up to 100,000 euros per person and per bank, in the lei equivalent.
How do you manage lei and euros?
Keep your account at home if you want. In the SEPA area, an employer or supplier that accepts transfers from a national account must accept an account from another EU country. But Romanian landlords, utilities and taxes expect lei. When paying by card abroad or in a shop, accept the conversion by your bank rather than the terminal after comparing the two. Think about where your income arrives, so that you do not convert twice. For reference figures on rents and wages in lei, see cost of living in Romania.
What about credit, mortgages and cards?
Each bank sets its conditions for a foreign borrower, such as income in lei and years of residence. Ask several banks and compare. If you plan to buy, read buying property in Romania first, since the notary and the tax number come before the loan.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Opening an account before you have your CNP, which can lengthen the process.
- Changing money without ID. Banks and exchange offices require it.
- Paying in euros what is billed in lei, which usually costs more.
- Assuming you have a right to a basic account without EU residence. Without it, each bank decides.
- Ignoring the fee document. Ask for it and keep it.
What changes depending on where you come from?
Legal EU residents have the European right to a basic account. British citizens and other non-Europeans without EU residence do not, so each bank decides. People from euro-area countries keep easy euro transfers, but their daily life in Romania is paid in lei. Read moving to Romania from the UK for the British case.
How does opening a bank account in Romania work in practice?
The sequence is short once your papers are ready. First, register your residence, so you hold the certificate with your CNP. Second, ask two or three banks for their fee information document and compare the monthly cost of the account and the card, the cost of transfers in euros and the conversion charges. Third, go to a branch with your identity document, your certificate and your proof of address, and answer the questions the bank must ask about your identity and the origin of your funds. Fourth, once the account is open, give your IBAN to your employer, to your landlord if you pay by transfer, and to ANAF if you have a tax account.
Ask the branch whether it opens accounts for foreigners on the spot or by appointment, and whether it needs the original of a translated document. Practice differs from one bank and one city to another, and the official pages we read do not set a single procedure. If an employee tells you something that sounds different from what we describe, ask for the reference of the rule, and if it concerns the basic account, remember the right described above.
Which payments will you make from a bank account in Romania?
Your Romanian account will carry your daily life: the rent, preferably by transfer so that you hold proof, as EURES advises; the electricity, gas, water and telephone bills; your local taxes, which many municipalities accept through the Ghișeul.ro platform; and, if you are self-employed, your tax and contributions to ANAF, due in lei. If you buy a car, the registration certificate can be paid through the same platform. If your salary comes from a Romanian employer, it will arrive here in lei, after the employer has withheld the contributions and tax; the rules for employees are in working in Romania.
A practical habit: keep a small balance in lei for the month's fixed payments, and decide in advance how often you move money from your home account. Exchange-rate movements between the leu and the euro or sterling are part of the real cost of living, so avoid converting in a hurry at a counter.
What comes next?
With an account and a CNP, you can sign your lease, register with a family doctor and receive your salary. The order of steps is in the moving to Romania guide. Banks' conditions and fees change, so confirm them before you commit.