How to open a bank account in Slovenia {Complete guide}

How to open a bank account in Slovenia

Despite being young independent nation, Slovenia enjoys a strong economy and thriving social environment with its main metropolitan regions such as its capital Ljubljana experiencing a steady influx of expats looking for modern city living as students, workers, investors and retirees.

If you are looking at Slovenia as a destination or if you just landed, it is likely that opening a bank account is one of your top priorities. Here is our guide on how to open a bank account in Slovenia:

Documents to open a bank account in Slovenia

It is easy to open a bank account in Slovenia as a non-resident and here is a list of required documentation for most banks

Passport
Confirmation of Slovenian tax number (Davcna Tajnost)
Foreign tax number

In order to get your Slovenian tax number you will need to fill out a form called the DR-02 which must include your country’s tax number and you can visit a tax administration office and get the number right away. You will need your passport and it will take about 30 minutes.

Can I open a bank account in Slovenia as a non-resident

Yes, Slovenian law allows non-residents to open bank accounts and the process is straight forward with accounts generally having similar features. Even tourists can open bank accounts in Slovenia. It is best to consult with your bank so you can find about about specific limitations that your non-resident account may have such as withdrawal and deposit limits.

Best banks in Slovenia

Despite being only about 2 million people in total, Slovenia has many national and international banks present within its borders offering a full range of banking services and financial products. The top four largest banks in the country are the Nova Ljubljanska banka (NLB), SKB Banka, Abanka and Nova KBM all of them with a rich tradition and conveniently located branches and ATMs.

Nova Ljubljanska banka: this is the largest bank in the country and an excellent option for expats. You can open an account online with NLB which is handy. Accounts come with free debit cards with high daily withdrawal limits, overdraft, access to phone services, SMS messaging and the ability to transfer money between accounts. Not in English.
SKB Banka: this is the second largest bank in Slovenia with a large ATM and branch network. Its account for non-residents come with a free debit card, free mobile banking and phone services and you can top up your mobile phone account in any of its ATMs. Not in English.
Abanka is the largest private bank in Slovenia and one of the top 3 largest overall. Unfortunately they do not have an English language website. Yet, there is a full set of services available with special offers for SMEs. Additionally, their fees structure is good as well as their ATM partner network.
Nova KBM: NOVA KBM is one of Slovenia’s most traditional banking and financial institutions with a full set of services available to you as a non-resident. You get free debit cards, online banking (check if the English version is available), SMS messaging and a large network of partner ATMs. It is possible to open a bank account online too, but not in English.

There will usually be English speaking agents available and opening your account should be fairly straight forward. Your debit card will arrive in the address provided in a few weeks depending on the bank it could be as quick as one week. All large banks have phone service centres with some English speaking agents, pretty good online banking including mobile apps and fees lists available online.

The virtual bank account alternative

Sending money outside of Slovenia can be experience with a bank

If you need to regularly send money outside Slovenia you are likely to use your bank. You will reach out to your bank agent which will tell you that the only cost involved is the SWIFT fee of 20-50 euros which can even be waived depending on circumstance. This is not entirely true. Your bank will send money via the SWIFT network to a partner bank where your foreign account is using what is called the mid market rate. This is the base exchange rate used between two banks. In order to turn a profit and to pay for their costs, they need to charge often excessively above this rate. For example, if you transfer 10 thousand euros to India, you will receive the equivalent in rupees of only about 9000 euros depending on the deal you get.

There is an alternative which is the virtual bank account with B2B Pay. First, you get your own European IBAN that you can send and receive money with selecting from a large list of countries and currencies. Secondly, it is 80% cheaper and twice as fast. So instead of getting 9000 euros worth of euros back in India, you get 9900 because we only charge a 1% flat fee.

Page content

1. How to open a bank account in Slovenia
2. Documents to open a bank account in Slovenia
3. Can I open a bank account in Slovenia as a non-resident
4. Best banks in Slovenia
5. The virtual bank account alternative
6. Sending money outside of Slovenia can be experience with a bank

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