Your options
You can bank with a traditional Dutch bank (ING, ABN AMRO, Rabobank), with bunq, which is a Dutch bank run entirely from an app, or with an account from Wise or Revolut. All of them give you a euro IBAN that works for SEPA transfers and direct debits. The difference is where the account is held and what it costs.
- ING, ABN AMRO, Rabobank: Dutch banks with branches, an NL IBAN and a Dutch debit card.
- bunq: a licensed Dutch bank supervised by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), with an NL IBAN, run from an app.
- Wise: not a bank. Wise Europe SA is a payment institution authorised in Belgium, and its euro account details use a Belgian BIC.
- Revolut: Revolut Bank UAB is licensed in Lithuania and has a Dutch branch. Customers who live here are moved to it and get an NL IBAN once they meet its document checks.
What you need to open an account
Every bank wants you to be 18 or older and to verify a valid ID in its app. The BSN (burgerservicenummer, citizen service number) and address rules differ, as each bank states them today:
| Bank | Without a BSN? | Address and ID |
|---|---|---|
| ING | Yes, hand it in at an ING Service Point within 90 days | Non-EEA passport: passport plus MVV visa if your country needs one, and a Dutch address within 90 days |
| ABN AMRO | Yes, within 90 days | An official Dutch home address and Dutch tax liability; with a non-Dutch ID you upload proof of residence before you can use the account |
| Rabobank | No, not online | BSN and a Dutch home address |
| bunq | Yes, within 90 days | Original passport, national ID card, residence permit card or plastic EU driving licence |
One ABN AMRO page gives 120 days for the BSN instead of 90; plan on 90. To get the number, register at your gemeente (municipality): see our BSN guide and the full moving checklist.
Monthly fees as of 9 October 2026
| Account | Per month |
|---|---|
| Rabo Standard | €3.60 |
| ING Go | €4.00 |
| ABN AMRO Basic Payment Package | €4.30 |
| bunq Free / Core / Pro | €0 / €3.99 / €9.99 |
| Rabo Free (ages 18-28 only) | €0 |
ING's other plans cost €7.00, €15.99 and €44.99 and add perks such as insurance and a credit card. bunq Free includes a digital card only. Wise and Revolut publish their own fees in their apps. To see what lands in your account each month, try the salary calculator.
Your salary can go to a Wise or Revolut IBAN
Article 9 of the SEPA Regulation (EU) 260/2012 says a payer may not specify the Member State of the account it pays into, and a payee collecting by direct debit may not either, as long as the account is reachable by SEPA. So an employer, landlord, insurer or energy company in the Netherlands must accept a euro IBAN from any EU or EEA country, including a Belgian Wise account or a Lithuanian Revolut one. Refusing it is IBAN discrimination.
If you want euro account details while you sort out a Dutch bank, a Wise account can receive SEPA transfers in euros, salary included. We earn a fee if you open a Wise account through our link.
If someone refuses your IBAN
- Complain in writing to the company and keep the reply.
- If it does not fix it, report it to the Meldpunt IBAN-discriminatie at DNB, the Dutch central bank, with that evidence. DNB tells you within three weeks whether it takes the case up, and it can fine companies.
- If the company is based in another EU country, complain to that country's authority. The European Commission lists them on its IBAN discrimination page.
The rule covers transfers and direct debits only. Savings accounts, payment requests and card payments are outside it.
Your right to a basic account
Under the EU Payment Accounts Directive, written into Dutch law in article 4:71f of the Wft (Financial Supervision Act), every consumer living lawfully in the EU can open a basisbetaalrekening (basic payment account) in euros at a Dutch bank, whatever their nationality or address. The bank must open it within 10 working days of a complete application, for free or a reasonable fee, and cannot offer it online only. It can refuse if it cannot complete its anti-money-laundering checks or if you already hold a payment account at another Dutch bank. A refusal must be in writing with reasons, and the bank must tell you that you can complain to the AFM and to Kifid.
Paying in the Netherlands: iDEAL, Wero, Tikkie and cards
iDEAL is how Dutch shops and bills are paid online: you choose your bank and approve in its app. It now appears as iDEAL | Wero. All Dutch banks were due to be connected to Wero by October 2026, and the banks aim to complete the switch by 31 December 2027. The steps stay the same.
Tikkie, from ABN AMRO, sends payment requests by link. You can pay one from a non-Dutch account only if your bank supports iDEAL | Wero, so check before you rely on it.
Debit cards: Dutch banks issued Maestro and V PAY cards for years, which could not be used everywhere outside Europe. Since 2023 they issue Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard instead, and every Dutch payment terminal now accepts them, so a foreign debit card works at most tills too.