There are many banks, usually members of international corporations offering ordinary banking services such as current accounts and sub-accounts, domestic and foreign payments, electronic banking, debit and credit cards, cheques, deposit products, securities, private banking, unit trusts, mortgage financing, loans, exchange and even insurance services.

 

Banks are usually open from Monday to Friday (8:00 – 17:00/18:00). Some branches remain open for longer, and some are open on Saturdays and in some cases on Sundays (only in shopping centres). You should consult the website of the appropriate bank.

 

List of banks

·          Slovenská sporiteľňa www.slsp.sk

·          VÚB banka www.vub.sk

·          Tatra banka www.tatrabanka.sk

·          Ľudová banka www.luba.sk

·          Poštová banka www.pabk.sk (at every post office) (only in Slovak)

·          Unibanka www.unibanka.sk

·          Banka Slovakia www.basl.sk

·          OTP banka Slovensko www.otpbank.sk

·          ČSOB banka www.csob.sk (only in Slovak and Czech)

·          HVB Bank Slovakia www.hvb-bank.sk

·          Istrobanka www.istrobanka.sk

·          Dexia banka Slovensko www.dexia.sk

·          Komerční banka Bratislava www.koba.sk

·          Citibank Slovakia www.citibank.sk

·          Credit Lyonnais Bank Slovakia, a.s. www.creditlyonnais.sk

·          ING Bank N. V. www.ingfn.sk

 

List of foreign banks

·          Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft Aktiengesellschaft, Bratislava office www.bawag.com

·          BNP Paribas, Bratislava office www.bnpparibas.com

·          Commerzbank AG, Bratislava office www.commerzbank.com

·          Dresdner Bank, AG, Bratislava office www.dresdner-bank.com

·          J&T Banka, a. s, Bratislava office www.jtfg.com

·          Magyar Külkereskedelmi Bank, Rt, Bratislava office www.mkb.hu

·          Societe Generale, Bratislava office www.socgen.com

·          Živnostenská banka, a. s., Praha, Bratislava office www.ziba.cz

 

How to open an account

What you need:

·          ID or passport

·          The fee could vary depending on whether your current account will be in Sk or in foreign currency. Although the fee for opening the account could be zero, the bank could set a fixed amount account balance ranging from 0 SK to 500 Sk.

 

Note!

If you have a current account in Sk, a debit card is mostly issued within a service package. A credit card is issued independently of an account.

 

Procedure:

·          Signing contract

·          Filling in specimen signature form 

 

Fees

 

(Fees provided bellow are just approximate and they are subject to change).

 

·          To open account: 0 – 500 SK (0 – 13 €), could be set as an account balance

·          Account statement by mail: 10 Sk (0.27 €)  per month + costs for mail

·          Cash transaction: 8 Sk per transaction (0.21 €)

·          Electronic services: 9 Sk per month (0.24 €)

·          To close account: 0 - 300 Sk (7.9 €), according to services included in the package.

·          There are packages in the most of banks covering various services and transactions. Standard fee for a package varies from 45 Sk to 200 Sk (1.2 € - 5.3 €) per month.

 

The National Bank of Slovakia web site (“Národná banka Slovenka” www.nbs.sk) offers up-dated information on exchange and interest rates, and other financial data.

 

Credit & debit cards

Major credit cards (American Express, Diners’ Club, Visa, Eurocard/MasterCard) and debit cards (Maestro, Cirrus, Eurocheque cards and Visa Electron, Eurocard/MasterCard) may be used for cash withdrawal from automatic dispensers (ATM) as well as for payments in hotels, restaurants, shops and petrol stations. Credit cards can also be used to obtain currency. For further information on commercial acceptability and other services consult your card issuer.

 

Travellers’ cheques

Thomas Cook, American Express, Visa, Swiss Bankers, Citybank travellers’ cheques are accepted in banks and at exchange offices. Exchange rate charges are at least one per cent of the nominal cheque value. To avoid additional charges, travellers are recommended to take travellers’ cheques in Euros, US Dollars or Pounds Sterling.

You can also use the services of Western Union, operating in the Tatra Banka throughout the Slovak Republic.