Banking

Steps

1. Check your tax number: it arrives automatically after you declare your address in Slovenia. Without a Slovenian address, the FURS provides the DR-02 form for people who have taxable income or property in Slovenia, with a certificate within 8 days (see SI-NIF-TOUS-001); ask your bank what it requires before you move.
2. Compare banks: each must give you a fee information document before opening.
3. Open your account with your identity document and your tax number. The bank applies the anti-money-laundering rules: it may refuse an account if you do not comply with them.
4. If you are refused a standard account, ask for a basic account: deposits, cash withdrawals, payments (direct debits, card purchases), a payment card and, where it exists, online banking. An overdraft or a loan is not mandatory.
5. Give your IBAN to your employer, your landlord and your suppliers. For SEPA transfers and direct debits (bills, purchases, taxes, tax refunds, benefits), your IBAN from another EU country cannot be refused if the other party accepts these operations from national accounts; in case of refusal, a complaint can be made to the competent authority of the other party's country.

Documents

• Valid passport or identity card.
• Slovenian tax number.
• Depending on the bank: proof of address, residence registration certificate, proof of income (the list varies from one bank to another).

Costs and timelines

• Basic account: annual fees possible but reasonable; statement of fees at least once a year.
• Euro payments within the EU: same price as a national payment; a withdrawal in another EU country cannot cost more than a national withdrawal.
• Currency conversion: these rules do not cover conversion fees (withdrawal or card payment in a currency other than the euro); the ATM operator must tell you the fees and the conversion cost before the withdrawal.
• Mortgage: European standardised information sheet (ESIS) with the total cost and the annual percentage rate of charge; at least 7 days to study the offer. The conditions for a foreign national (deposit, term, income required) vary from one bank to another.

Common pitfalls

• Arriving without a tax number. According to EURES, the bank requires it in principle, with an identity document: have it assigned as soon as your address is declared (see SI-NIF-TOUS-001).
• Believing that the basic account is automatic. The bank may refuse for failure to comply with the anti-money-laundering rules; in some EU countries, also if you already have a similar account in the same country. This right does not cover other accounts, such as a savings account.
• Closing your home-country account too quickly. It is not necessary for your euro payments, and it can be useful for your pension or your taxes in your country.
• Choosing a loan in a currency other than your income. The exchange-rate risk can push up your repayments.
• Comparing loans on the rate alone. Compare the total cost shown in the ESIS, fees and insurance included.

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA citizens: right to a basic account as soon as you legally reside in the EU.
• Swiss and British citizens (Scots included): the right to a basic account depends on your legal residence in the EU, not on your nationality (Your Europe). If you do not yet legally reside in the EU, this right is not guaranteed by the rules cited: ask the bank.