Banking in the Netherlands: opening a Dutch account, keeping your UK one and moving money

The Dutch barely use cash and pay for nearly everything by debit card or bank app. Until you have a Dutch account, life in Amsterdam is a bit of a faff, so it's worth sorting in your first week.

The short version

• You'll want a Dutch current account for your salary, rent, health insurance and direct debits. Most banks want a BSN, but some, including ABN AMRO, let you open one first and add the BSN within 120 days [2].
• Accounts cost a few euros a month: ABN AMRO's basic package is EUR 4.30 (about £3.60) a month [2].
• Dutch deposits are protected up to EUR 100,000 (about £83,300) per person per bank, with extra cover for up to six months on temporary high balances such as a house sale [3].
• iDEAL, the Dutch online payment button, is being replaced by Wero from January 2026 [2].
• Keep at least one UK account open if you can. UK deposits are covered by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person per bank since 1 December 2025 [4], but some UK banks restrict accounts for people living abroad.

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = EUR 1.2002).

How Dutch banking differs from home

Your account number is an IBAN starting with NL, and you'll be asked for it for everything from your salary to your gym membership. Direct debits (automatische incasso) are how rent, insurance, energy and phone bills are usually paid, and you can reverse most of them within eight weeks if something goes wrong.

Which bank?

The big three high-street banks are ING, ABN AMRO and Rabobank. There's also de Volksbank (with brands such as SNS and ASN) and the app-only bank bunq, which is popular with new arrivals because everything happens on your phone and in English. All of them are Dutch-licensed and inside the Dutch deposit guarantee. Things to compare:

• English-language service and app. ABN AMRO says it has served internationals for more than 25 years and offers English support [2]; most banks now have English apps.
• Opening without a BSN. Useful in your first weeks while you wait for the gemeente appointment.
• Monthly fee and what's included (a credit card often costs extra).
• Mortgages. If you plan to buy later, having your salary at a bank that also lends can help, though you're free to shop around.

We don't recommend any one bank; read the fees pages and pick what suits you.

Opening an account step by step

1. Register at the gemeente and book your appointment for a BSN as soon as you arrive. The FCDO's guide reminds you to book within five days of arrival if you're staying more than four months, and says you need a BSN for things like health insurance [1]. See BSN, DigiD and registering at the gemeente.
2. Gather your documents: passport, Dutch address (a rental contract or registration), and your residence document or IND decision if you have one. Your passport is the safest ID to use.
3. Open in the app. Most banks now verify you by scanning your passport and a selfie video. ABN AMRO lets you open an account without a BSN, but you must give them the BSN within 120 days of opening [2].
4. Pick up or wait for your debit card, then set up Apple Pay or Google Pay.
5. Give your IBAN to your employer and landlord, and set up direct debits for health insurance and utilities.

At ABN AMRO a single account with a debit card costs EUR 4.30 a month, a joint account with two cards EUR 5.80 (about £4.80), and adding a credit card to a single account takes it to EUR 6.85 (about £5.70) [2].

Expect questions

Dutch banks have a legal duty to know their customers, and they take it seriously. You may be asked where your money comes from, why you're moving large sums from the UK, and for your tax residence and tax number. Answer promptly: accounts can be frozen if you ignore a request. If you're a US citizen too, expect extra forms.

Is your money safe?

The Dutch deposit guarantee, run by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), covers EUR 100,000 per person, per bank [3]. Brands that belong to the same bank count together. A joint account is split per person, so a couple is covered up to EUR 200,000 between them. On top of that, there's extra cover of up to EUR 500,000 (about £416,600) for temporary high balances, such as proceeds from a house sale, for up to six months after the money lands [3]. If a bank fails, the aim is to pay out within seven working days [3].

The UK's FSCS now covers £120,000 per person per bank, building society or credit union, after the limit rose on 1 December 2025. Temporary high balances are covered up to £1.4 million for six months [4]. Banks in the same group that share a licence count as one [4].

Keeping your UK account

There's a lot to be said for keeping a UK current account: it receives UK rent or a pension, pays a UK credit card, and keeps your UK credit file ticking over for when you come home. But:

• some UK banks don't let you open a new account from abroad, and some restrict or close accounts when you tell them you've moved;
• you should tell your bank your new address and tax residence, rather than leave a parent's address on file indefinitely;
• you can keep an ISA open but you can't pay in while you're not UK resident [5].

Our guides to keeping a UK bank account when you live abroad and keeping a UK mobile number and address cover the practical side.

Tax on UK accounts

Once you're Dutch resident, the Netherlands taxes your worldwide savings through Box 3, which includes your UK accounts and ISAs at their value on 1 January. Under the UK–Netherlands double taxation convention, interest is taxable only where you live [6]. Banks in both countries report accounts of foreign tax residents to their tax offices under international data-sharing rules, so leaving a UK savings account off your Dutch return isn't a plan. See Box 3: how the Dutch tax savings and investments.

Moving money between the UK and the Netherlands

Sending pounds to euros costs you twice if you're not careful: once in fees and once in a poor exchange rate. Some general rules:

• Compare the rate you get with the mid-market rate, not just the fee. The gap is the real cost.
• High-street bank transfers in pounds are simple but often the most expensive way to convert.
• Specialist money transfer providers and app banks usually offer rates closer to mid-market. Check that any provider is authorised by the FCA in the UK or by DNB in the Netherlands, and ask whether your money is held in safeguarded accounts, since e-money isn't covered by deposit guarantees in the same way.
• For big sums, such as a house deposit, ask about fixing a rate in advance and plan for the bank's source-of-funds questions.
• For a regular UK income, consider whether it's cheaper to convert monthly or in larger chunks.

We never name currency firms; our guide to sending money between the UK and abroad explains what to look for.

If you're still hunting for a bank that's friendly to new arrivals, ask what others chose in our community group for Brits in the Netherlands.

Sources

1. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in the Netherlands (last updated 23 December 2025)
2. ABN AMRO: Open a bank account in the Netherlands and Payments
3. De Nederlandsche Bank: Tot welk bedrag is mijn geld beschermd?
4. FSCS: Banks, building societies and credit unions
5. GOV.UK: Individual Savings Accounts, if you move abroad
6. GOV.UK (HMRC): 2008 UK–Netherlands Double Taxation Convention as amended by the 2013 Protocol

Keep reading

• BSN, DigiD and registering at the gemeente
• Box 3: how the Dutch tax savings and investments
• Keeping a UK bank account when you live abroad
• Sending money between the UK and abroad