Bank

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Bank account

If you live in the Netherlands, it is highly recommended that you open a Dutch bank account since the cards you use in your home country might not be accepted in a lot of places. TU/e provides you with some help about how to open a bank account on their website. To summarize, the procedure for students moving from abroad goes as follows:

  1. Register as a resident at the City Hall of Eindhoven. TU/e can help you set this up, but you need to indicate this in the confirmation statement.
  2. Wait until you receive your BSN number (approx. 2 weeks).
  3. Visit a bank to open your account.

Regarding which bank to choose, it depends on your preferences.

You might find yourself in the situation that your card from your home country is not accepted and, at the same time, you can't open a bank account yet because your are waiting for your BSN. A temporary solution can be Bunq or Revolut, both of which are mobile-only banks that offer a service where you can open an account and provide your BSN up to 90 days later.

Please note that there are many banks to choose from in the Netherlands. Below is a small table with more details on popular banks students use:


Bank Notes
Revolut This is an online banking service where you do not require a BSN for the first 90 days!
bunq This is an online banking service where you do not require a BSN for the first 90 days!
ING English-friendly and easy to set up using their app once you obtain a BSN.
Rabobank Used to collaborate with TU/e, so they have experience with setting up accounts for international students.
ABN AMRO
RegioBank

Card and Cash Acceptance

In particular, Eindhoven rarely accepts cash. Signs that say “Hier Allen Pinnen” mean that only card is accepted, and are common nearly everywhere in the city. Even vending machines often only accept contactless payment!

Before arriving, be sure to have a compatible credit or debit card, even if your card is not from a Dutch bank! Maestro and V PAY are known to work well throughout all of the Netherlands, however these brands are no longer going to be issued to new cards as of 1 July, 2023. Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard should work at most locations as well due to the change in card brands. Additionally, debit cards are more likely to be accepted than credit cards. Credit cards do not work very well in the Netherlands! We highly recommend using debit before you get a Dutch debit card.

Places outside of Eindhoven do use cash, such as Maastricht, but it is less prevalent than using a card. In the case that you do need to use cash, note that most shops will not accept banknotes of €100 or more, due to fraud in the past.