Opening a Dutch bank account: BSN rules, fees and cards

Most Dutch banks need your citizen service number (BSN) sooner or later, but you do not always need it on day one. Several banks let you open an account first and hand in the BSN within 90 days, and bunq lets you sign up before you have moved. What each bank asks, and what it costs, is set out below, every cell taken from the bank's own website in October 2026.

Opening an account before you have a BSN

ING, ABN AMRO and bunq each say you can start without a BSN and provide it within 90 days. ABN AMRO is not consistent here: its general account page gives 120 days, its expat page 90, so plan for the shorter one. With bunq you can sign up even before moving to the Netherlands.

The address rules differ. ABN AMRO says you need to be registered at a Dutch address, while ING asks holders of a non-EEA passport to provide the BSN and a Dutch address within 90 days. Knab asks for a BSN up front and that you live in the Netherlands, and Triodos says you cannot open an account while you live abroad.

Fees and debit cards at six banks

The table lists the monthly fee of each bank's basic personal account and the debit card that comes with it. Where a bank's page does not say something, the cell says so; we did not fill gaps from other sources.

Fees run from €3.99 to €6 a month for an account with a physical card. bunq also has a free plan, but its physical card only comes from the Core plan. Language support differs too: ING's app is fully available in English, as are ABN AMRO's app and bunq's support, while ASN Bank, Triodos and Knab do not mention English on the pages we checked.

Rabobank is not in the table because its website could not be checked automatically for this guide. Its English expat page, as archived in April 2026, said it helps once your BSN is in place, so expect to need the number first there.

SNS and RegioBank now send new customers to ASN Bank

Both SNS and RegioBank now tell people who are not yet customers to go to ASN Bank. Older guides still list them as separate options. An SNS product sheet from January 2026 describes an EU payment account for people without a BSN or Dutch address, but it is not clear whether new customers can still open it.

Revolut is a different case: it has a Dutch branch and gives a Dutch IBAN to customers whose country of residence is the Netherlands. Its Standard plan is free, but its pages do not say whether a BSN is required.

The right to a basic payment account

If no bank will give you an ordinary account, you are entitled to a basic payment account (in Dutch), which you can request from ABN AMRO, ING or Rabobank. A bank may refuse if you cannot show a genuine interest, meaning a clear link with the Netherlands, for example because you live, study or work here.

The Dutch payments association adds that every EU resident is in principle entitled to one, and that someone with an EU passport who lives outside the EU is not. For which card to expect and where it works, see our guide to Dutch bank cards, and for the cities themselves, our city pages.