What you need to open a bank account
First you need to have a personal number – personnummer to open a bank account in Sweden. This is pretty much non-negotiable. Any Swedish bank will ask you for that. Then you will need a Swedish ID card. Some banks might settle with a valid passport. However, this depends on the bank and to some extent on the good will of the bank official.
Important information: Have you been denied a bank account or bank card? If this has happened to you, here is what you do.
Choosing a bank account: online banks or physical banks
There are many banks in Sweden of course. Some have been around for a very long time and tend to have physical offices in many locations all over Sweden. If you want an actual person to talk to when opening a bank account, those could be an option for you. Just do an internet search for the name of your town + for instance – Swedbank, Handelsbanken, Nordea and SEB. They have of course a lot of services online as well.
The other options are online banks. They usually offer the same type of services as the physical location banks except that you can only call, chat or email them for support. Some options are:
- Marginalen Bank* has the usual services in loans, cards and accounts but they also have a credit card where a percentage of what you buy becomes points for which you can buy trips, hotel stays etc.
- OKQ8* You probably know OKQ8 better as one of the many petrol stations you see around the country. However, OKQ8 also has a bank section with focus on credit cards and loans. The credit cards can be of interest to those who own a car, as they usually offer discounts on petrol for their bank customers.
- Multitude bank* is an interesting option if you just want to put your savings somewhere where they earn interest. The last few years have not been too great on savings accounts but Multitude bank offers fee-free savings accounts with attractive interest rates. Savings accounts have a 4.0% interest rate and fixed interest accounts have up to 4.35%.
Now if you haven’t paid your bills on time, you may get something called a “betalningsanmärkning” which can make it quite difficult to get loans, buy anything at all on credit or even get a mobile phone plan.
Making comparisons
If you are looking to take a loan, make sure to compare the offers on the market before making a decision.
- Compriser* – allows you to compare private loans and insurance online.
Internet banking
Make sure to get your Internet banking set up when you open your bank account. This will facilitate your life in Sweden even more. The Internet banking will make it possible for you to do all your banking online. You will be able to pay bills, make money transactions and check your account from anywhere, at any time.
This service is generally included in the whole bank account “package” but you mostly need to activate it. Your bank official will explain how to do that, but remember to ask him or her about it.
Mobile Bank ID
Another service that will facilitate your life in Sweden is a BankID or a Mobile BankID. This service makes it possible for you to sign transactions, documents, and more online. Instead of printing, signing and sending documents with the post, you sign the document online with your BankID.
The BankID generally comes in two versions: a stationary one (that you download on your computer) and a mobile one (that you can use on almost any computer or phone). The first version is free of charge. The second one generally costs around 500 SEK. Your bank will help you acquire a BankID, just ask them about it.
Missing important documents?
If you are missing any legal documents required t open a bank account, you should not give up. Usually you can get a copy sent over from your home country and then you can contact a notary public to get the document verified, notarised or provided with an apostille stamp. Notary publics can help by for instance verifying signatures, copies, translations etc. Apostille 24 offers drop-in services every weekday from 9:00-16:00 for those who live in Stockholm.
