How to Open a Bank Account in Slovenia

 If you are a foreigner who lives in Slovenia and wants to open an account, you need to go to the bank in person and provide the following documents:

• Your EMŠO

• Your ID or passport

• Your temporary residence permit or whatever other kind of permit you have. If you’re staying less than 6 months in Slovenia then you're not a resident of the country, and therefore you have no right to open a bank account.

• Your Slovenian VAT number and the VAT number from the country you come from, if you receieve money from that country .

Bank cards produced as part of the Janez Janša art project (website)

You can find the following banks in Slovenia, in alphabetical order. I would advise you to choose the same bank that you already have in your home country, if possible, as this should make things easier for you.

1. ABANKA d.d. They are the only providers of the MoneyGram money transport service in Slovenia. 

2. ADDIKO BANK d.d.

3. BANKA INTESA SANPAOLO D.D.

4. BANKA SPARKASSE d.d.

5. DEŽELNA BANKA SLOVENIJE d.d.

6. NOVA KREDITNA BANKA MARIBOR d.d.

7. NOVA LJUBLJANSKA BANKA d.d., LJUBLJANA, NLB bank, the biggest and probably the most well-known Slovenian bank. Forgetting all the money laundering and other scandals, I find NLB bank very open to foreign citizens and very cooperative when it comes to availability and solving urgent issues, and their customer service is very helpful. They are also connected to NLB banks in other countries, such as mine, Macedonia, and I can withdraw money from the ATM machine from my home NLB account without commission. There are also NLB ATMs all over Slovenia.

Another important feature of NLB Bank, if you have a business account there, is the NLB Innovative Entrepreneurship Centre with its own space in the center of Ljubljana, as shown in the video below, and many events connected to entrepreneurship which you can attend for free, and you can even book the space for your own business meetings.

8. SBERBANK BANKA d.d.

9. SKB BANKA d.d. LJUBLJANA

10. SID - SLOVENSKA IZVOZNA IN RAZVOJNA BANKA, d.d., LJUBLJANA

11. UNICREDIT BANKA SLOVENIJA D.D. Foreigners seem really happy with their online banking services, which are in English, and there’s also an app so you can make payments wherever you are.

There are also three savings banks in Slovenia. Delavska Hranilnica is the biggest and most well-known, and very popular among Slovenians due to their low fees for services. However, they are often not very willing to work with foreigners.  This, of course, is not their official statement, only my experience.

1. Delavska hranilnica d.d. Ljubljana

2. Hranilnica LON d.d., Kranj

3. Primorska Hranilnica Vipava d.d.

If you’re interested in loans, investments etc, you should ask each bank separately, as they all have many different offers, rules and obligations. Be prepared to learn that it's difficult, but not impossible.