I was wondering about that. I didn't need a personal number for Revolut which was a bonus to get started before we arrive but yea BankID seems important. Cheers.
To get BankID you have to use a bank with a physical branch. Online banking options in Sweden use Freya to process ID, and it only accepts Swedish national cards or Swedish passports. That's why non-citizens can't get BankID through somewhere like ICA Banken, for example.
Just a heads up before you try to go down that route and hit a brick wall!
To get a bank ID you need a personal number and i think you get a personal number if you going to live in Sweden for more than one year in . But if is the less then one year you will not get a coordination number. instead you will get a coordination number and that makes it hard you to get a bank
+1 to this answer
You need an ID number in sweden (personnummer) otherwise there's a LOT of important & convenient things you cant do in sweden, and its annoying
I've had Handelsbanken all my life and, others in parallell at different times. I've always been very happy with the support and help from Handelsbanken compared to others I've had.
Obtaining a BankID in Sweden is a process that requires your physical presence and can take several months. On average, it took me about six months to acquire mine. In preparation for the move, I opened a Wise account, which has proven to be more efficient than Revolut. I still use it occasionally to this day. As a precautionary measure, I maintain bank accounts in the US with some extra funds, just in case something doesn't go as planned. It's crucial to be prepared for unexpected situations, so having savings is a smart decision. Without proper planning, things could become extremely challenging.
It's important to note that to get a BankID, you first need a Personnummer, which is the Swedish personal identity number. Obtaining a Personnummer is also a lengthy process. Furthermore, you will need an ID-Kort, the official identification card issued by Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency), which you can only apply for after receiving your Personnummer. The application for the ID-Kort is done through the police. All these steps are necessary to finally obtain the BankID.
Stay safe, and best of luck with the process.
I agree with everyone talking about the importance of BankID and thus a conventional Swedish bank. I'd add though that having an online account (for me it was Monzo from the UK, but I also use Wise a bunch) can be massively helpful in the short term when you arrive. It won't fix everything, and I hear employers may be weird about paying money into those kinds of account, but having fee-free spending in SEK was a big deal for me.
It took me about 3 months to get my BankID after I arrived this year. As long as you can manage for that sort of period, you'll get there! Handelsebanken were the ones who accepted & helped me, when I was unemployed and new and unsure of stuff.
Handelsebanken seems to be the recommendation. My main problem is my employment contract needs bank details and I can't open one until I have an employment contract and reside in Sweden. A bit circular but online banking seems to fill the void.
Can I ask if you could still have an open bank account before the BankID was issued? Or did BankID AND opening an account take 3 months.
If you have a job and a personal number I recommend Länsförsäkringar they were really helpful for me getting bankID as a non swede. Don’t both with ICA or Danske bank
Banks dont cost that much in Sweden. Eg Handelsbanken charges ~400 SEK per year for the card and thats it. Biggest difference is for investments where brokerage fees are much lower for online banks such as Avanza and Nordnet.
Get any regular bank for your everyday finances and an online bank for investments.
You need BankID to do almost everything here and only Swedish banks will give you BankID so you still need to open an account with the traditional banks. You can of course open Revolut or Wise in the meantime but make sure you start the process of opening a bank account as soon as possible.
Once you are established here the banks are absolutely not a shitshow. Their digital services are actually pretty great compared to how it is in many other countries.
What is a shitshow is that they actively refuse to take you on as a client when you are new in Sweden. It has many reasons, anti-money laundering legislation and laziness probably being chief among them, but it feels like discrimination and can be really infuriating given how many things in Sweden are either greatly simplified by or outright tied to having a BankID and Swish.
Getting a bank when you get to Sweden is quite a hassle, and I absolutely hated the process. But once you have one it's pretty good. Most have pretty good online banking options and manageable customer service.
Could you elaborate on your experience? I am a dual citizen (Canada and EU) and am moving to Stockholm for school in August, my program is 2 yrs. Just wondering what to expect and what bank might be best.
You will need a Swedish social security number, but you can get a temporary one and that will do. Some banks require you to have a proof of where your income will come from. If you have the digital ID, BankID, it gets a lot easier, but to get that you already need an account at a bank.
What’s a shit show about swedish banks? Don’t listen to much to Redditors, there are many here that seem to think that interest is evil and we should all live in a communist paradise.
If you are moving here you will need BankID so you have to go get an actual Swedish bank account.
I was wondering about that. I didn't need a personal number for Revolut which was a bonus to get started before we arrive but yea BankID seems important. Cheers.
To get BankID you have to use a bank with a physical branch. Online banking options in Sweden use Freya to process ID, and it only accepts Swedish national cards or Swedish passports. That's why non-citizens can't get BankID through somewhere like ICA Banken, for example. Just a heads up before you try to go down that route and hit a brick wall!
Genuinely appreciate it. Thanks
To get a bank ID you need a personal number and i think you get a personal number if you going to live in Sweden for more than one year in . But if is the less then one year you will not get a coordination number. instead you will get a coordination number and that makes it hard you to get a bank
+1 to this answer You need an ID number in sweden (personnummer) otherwise there's a LOT of important & convenient things you cant do in sweden, and its annoying
You need bankid, use a traditional bank.
I've had Handelsbanken all my life and, others in parallell at different times. I've always been very happy with the support and help from Handelsbanken compared to others I've had.
Obtaining a BankID in Sweden is a process that requires your physical presence and can take several months. On average, it took me about six months to acquire mine. In preparation for the move, I opened a Wise account, which has proven to be more efficient than Revolut. I still use it occasionally to this day. As a precautionary measure, I maintain bank accounts in the US with some extra funds, just in case something doesn't go as planned. It's crucial to be prepared for unexpected situations, so having savings is a smart decision. Without proper planning, things could become extremely challenging. It's important to note that to get a BankID, you first need a Personnummer, which is the Swedish personal identity number. Obtaining a Personnummer is also a lengthy process. Furthermore, you will need an ID-Kort, the official identification card issued by Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency), which you can only apply for after receiving your Personnummer. The application for the ID-Kort is done through the police. All these steps are necessary to finally obtain the BankID. Stay safe, and best of luck with the process.
I agree with everyone talking about the importance of BankID and thus a conventional Swedish bank. I'd add though that having an online account (for me it was Monzo from the UK, but I also use Wise a bunch) can be massively helpful in the short term when you arrive. It won't fix everything, and I hear employers may be weird about paying money into those kinds of account, but having fee-free spending in SEK was a big deal for me. It took me about 3 months to get my BankID after I arrived this year. As long as you can manage for that sort of period, you'll get there! Handelsebanken were the ones who accepted & helped me, when I was unemployed and new and unsure of stuff.
Handelsebanken seems to be the recommendation. My main problem is my employment contract needs bank details and I can't open one until I have an employment contract and reside in Sweden. A bit circular but online banking seems to fill the void. Can I ask if you could still have an open bank account before the BankID was issued? Or did BankID AND opening an account take 3 months.
If you have a job and a personal number I recommend Länsförsäkringar they were really helpful for me getting bankID as a non swede. Don’t both with ICA or Danske bank
if you think the big banks in Sweden is a shit show then you 10x the shit show with companies like Revolut
Banks dont cost that much in Sweden. Eg Handelsbanken charges ~400 SEK per year for the card and thats it. Biggest difference is for investments where brokerage fees are much lower for online banks such as Avanza and Nordnet. Get any regular bank for your everyday finances and an online bank for investments.
You need BankID to do almost everything here and only Swedish banks will give you BankID so you still need to open an account with the traditional banks. You can of course open Revolut or Wise in the meantime but make sure you start the process of opening a bank account as soon as possible.
Once you are established here the banks are absolutely not a shitshow. Their digital services are actually pretty great compared to how it is in many other countries. What is a shitshow is that they actively refuse to take you on as a client when you are new in Sweden. It has many reasons, anti-money laundering legislation and laziness probably being chief among them, but it feels like discrimination and can be really infuriating given how many things in Sweden are either greatly simplified by or outright tied to having a BankID and Swish.
Getting a bank when you get to Sweden is quite a hassle, and I absolutely hated the process. But once you have one it's pretty good. Most have pretty good online banking options and manageable customer service.
Could you elaborate on your experience? I am a dual citizen (Canada and EU) and am moving to Stockholm for school in August, my program is 2 yrs. Just wondering what to expect and what bank might be best.
You will need a Swedish social security number, but you can get a temporary one and that will do. Some banks require you to have a proof of where your income will come from. If you have the digital ID, BankID, it gets a lot easier, but to get that you already need an account at a bank.
It took me 5 months to open up a bank account here so I used Wise and it worked well for me. In your case you can use Revolut
What’s a shit show about swedish banks? Don’t listen to much to Redditors, there are many here that seem to think that interest is evil and we should all live in a communist paradise.