Setting up a bank account
You are here in the Netherlands, but your money is in the United States. How to reconcile the two? Once your residency paperwork is underway (literally, right away, even the same day), you can embark on your new Europe-based banking relationship. It’s quite important to get your account set up ASAP because many, many places do not accept cash, and all official financial business (taxes, rent, paying back your friends for drinks at the wine bar) are done via banking app.
We did not get a choice in our bank – the immigration consultant hired by Tom’s company selected a bank for us. As far as I can tell, they picked the Dutch equivalent of Bank of America, and we have no complaints. I have friends who use online-only banks – no brick-and-mortar locations – and I can’t imagine it’s much different, considering how much banking is managed via phone app here.
Tom landed first, so he had his initial immigration and banking appointments before I arrived in the Netherlands. I had my own immigration and banking appointments a couple of days after I landed. If I could do it over again, I would have tried to align our banking set-up, though given the scheduling, that might not have been possible anyway.
Set-up: At the initial appointment, they’ll need all your identification and immigration appointments, and they’ll set up a checking account for you. This is where we got upside down. The bank set up an account for Tom first, and an account for me when I landed. But jobless me needed access to Tom’s moolah. We ended up having to set up another appointment, with both of us in attendance, to turn Tom’s account into a joint account. It was a production, and I think we confused the banker, because it took a while for me to receive the right bank card attached to the right account.
Insurance: This one was a surprise, but once we learned about it, it made so much sense. Your bank can sell you insurances for common mishaps. If you drop your laptop down the stairs or hit a pedestrian while cycling or your dog bites someone – this insurance covers that. It’s a hint that this is a far less litigious society. These things happen, and insurance can make people whole. The premiums are silly low, too. The banker was clear that he receives no commission on this and was merely advising us about the availability of these insurances, but that most people take them. We signed on for all of them.
Credit cards: Soooo there is this weird thing here where people only buy stuff they can afford. The standard form of payment is PIN, aka the bank card, aka the debit/ATM card. Banks in the Netherlands don’t issue credit cards the way we’re used to in the States. There is no Capital One Visa here, no Chase Sapphire. I have yet to find a place in the Netherlands that doesn’t accept PIN. Some places prefer cash (for example, market vendors), but everyone accepts bank cards. The primary Dutch grocery store, Albert Heijn, only accepts PIN and cash. However, if you still have an American credit card (or you get an Amex here), it’s entirely possible a restaurant or retailer won’t accept those. I have about a 50% success rate with my Amex. This is why it’s important to get your bank account set up as soon as possible. You need that PIN card!
Fees: You can try comparison-shopping, but for us, the checking account is not free – we pay a small monthly fee, even though our paychecks are direct-deposited. There are no transaction charges to use your money – no ATM fees, no transfer fees – but they do charge you if you try to deposit cash. This is not a joke. And you LITERALLY CANNOT DEPOSIT A CHECK. I received a check for someone from the States, and when I called to ask my bank how to deposit it, the customer service agent put me on hold, then came back to say, “Checks are an outdated form of payment. They have not been accepted in the Netherlands since 2020. You cannot do this.”
Transfers: You will get used to this. People share their IBAN (their bank account number) with you, and you can transfer money directly to them, no matter what bank they use. It’s near instantaneous and super easy. This is how we pay rent. I’ve also used it to pay taxes and pay for a manicure, among other things.
Tikkie: The Dutch culture of splitting the check deserves its own post, but once you have a bank account, you can set up your Tikkie account. This is the Dutch version of Venmo, except you must send a request to someone – they can’t pay you without a request. This is how everyone pays back for dinner and drinks.