Banking

Steps

1. Register your residence first at the General Inspectorate for Immigration (sheet RO-SEJOUR-TOUS-001): the registration certificate showing your CNP is very useful for the bank.
2. Go to a bank with your ID, your registration certificate and your address; the exact list depends on the bank, which must verify your identity and the origin of your funds (anti-money-laundering checks): ask for it before you go.
3. Compare fees: before you open the account, the bank must give you a fee information document and, every year, a statement of fees.
4. If you are refused an account, ask for the basic payment account (cont de plăți cu servicii de bază): deposits, withdrawals, direct debits, card payments, without a mandatory overdraft; the account must come with a payment card. Annual fees are possible in some EU countries, but they must remain "reasonable" (amounts set by Romanian law: to be confirmed).
5. Keep your account from your home country if you wish: to pay bills, buy online, pay taxes or receive refunds and benefits by SEPA transfer or direct debit, your account cannot be refused because it is in another EU country, provided that the other party accepts such transactions from domestic accounts. But Romanian rents and bills are paid in lei.
6. For a mortgage, each bank sets its own conditions for a foreigner (income in lei, length of residence): ask several banks and compare.

Documents

• Valid ID (and for every currency exchange: EURES reminds you that you must show an ID).
• Residence registration certificate showing your CNP.
• Proof of address, and proof of income for a loan.

Costs and timelines

• Euro transfers within the EU from a Romanian account: no more expensive than a domestic transfer in lei (Your Europe).
• Withdrawals in the EU: conversion fees displayed before the withdrawal.
• Deposit protection: €100,000 per person and per bank (equivalent in lei).
• Basic account: fees to be confirmed.

Common pitfalls

• Opening an account before you have your CNP: possible depending on the bank, but more complicated; for a non-resident person without a Romanian tax number, the bank itself requests a NIF from ANAF (Tax Procedure Code, art. 83 al. 4). If you can, wait for your registration certificate.
• Changing money without ID: it is required in banks and exchange offices.
• Paying in euros for something invoiced in lei: let your bank do the conversion rather than the terminal, after comparing.

What changes by country of origin

• Legal EU residents: European right to a basic account.
• British citizens and other non-Europeans without EU residence: no right to a basic account; each bank decides.
• Eurozone countries: your euro transfers remain simple, but your life in Romania is paid for in lei.