How to manage bank accounts in multiple European countries
Moving within Europe often means keeping your old bank, opening a new one, and juggling both. Here is how to keep it simple, and cheap.
Do you even need a local account?
Often not. Under the EU's SEPA Regulation, a company or employer in the euro area paying by SEPA must accept any SEPA-area euro IBAN, not only domestic ones. Refusing an account because it is from another country is known as IBAN discrimination, and you can report it to your national authority.
In practice, some landlords, utilities and employers still prefer a local account, and a local bank can make mortgages and credit easier. Many people end up with two: one from home, one where they live.
Moving money between your accounts
- SEPA Credit Transfer: euro transfers across the SEPA area, usually arriving within one business day. Banks may not charge more for a cross-border SEPA transfer than a domestic one.
- SEPA Instant: arrives in seconds, at any time of day. Under the EU Instant Payments Regulation, euro-area banks must offer it and may not charge more for it than for a standard transfer.
- Payee check: euro-area banks now check that the name you enter matches the account holder before an instant or standard transfer is sent, which helps catch mistakes and scams.
Outside the euro (for example, Swedish krona, Polish zloty or Swiss francs), compare the exchange rate as well as the fee. The margin hidden in the rate is often larger than the fee.
Keep an eye on fees
- Monthly account fees on an account you rarely use
- Card fees for spending in another currency
- Inactivity fees, and dormant-account rules at some banks
Review each account once a year. If an old account only holds a small balance, closing it can save fees and paperwork.
Don't forget tax reporting
Under the international Common Reporting Standard, banks report accounts held by foreign tax residents to the tax authority of the country where the holder is resident. Some countries also require you to declare foreign accounts yourself, for example France (form 3916), Belgium (to the National Bank's Central Point of Contact) and Spain (Modelo 720, above certain thresholds). Rules differ by country and change, so check with your tax office or an adviser.
See everything in one place
The hardest part is often simply knowing your total. Logging into three banking apps to add up balances is how bills get missed. Open banking lets one app show all your accounts together, with your permission and without your bank passwords. (Here's how open banking works, and why it's safe.)
A simple setup that works
- Keep one main account where you live for salary, rent and bills.
- Keep your home-country account only if you need it, such as for a mortgage, pension or family payments.
- Use SEPA Instant to move money between them when needed.
- Set a monthly budget across all accounts, not per bank.
- Do a yearly review of fees and tax declarations.
Built for exactly this
Sapthan Pay brings all your European bank accounts into one app: every balance and transaction together, SEPA payments approved at your own bank, and spending insights across all of them. It is in pre-release testing now. Join the waitlist.