Bank, Money & iDEAL

Financial Setup

4 Steps to Complete

Follow along for success! ✨

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Open a Bank Account

📌 What

Choose a Dutch bank. A NL IBAN is mandatory for receiving salary!

💡 Why

Your employer will deposit your salary into a Dutch account. You need a NL account for rent, bills, groceries and everything. Credit cards are rare here, everyone uses debit cards and iDEAL.

🎯 How

ING: Easiest for expats, has an English app. ABN AMRO, Rabobank: Traditional, reliable. bunq: Fully digital, opens very fast, allows you to open an account even without BSN (as long as you add it later). Most banks charge a monthly fee of €2-5. N26/Revolut exists but some NL services only accept NL IBANs.

Learn iDEAL

📌 What

Use the Dutch online payment system iDEAL.

💡 Why

90% of online payments are via iDEAL. Credit cards are almost never accepted. E-commerce, bills, tickets, all iDEAL.

🎯 How

iDEAL comes automatically when you set up your bank app. You choose your bank on the payment screen, it sends you to the app and you confirm. It's very fast and secure.

Download Tikkie

How Dutch friends split the bill

📌 What

Download the Dutch national app Tikkie. Essential for social life!

💡 Why

Dutch people love splitting bills, they use Tikkie for this. You went out to dinner, one person paid, sends a Tikkie to everyone, this is called 'Going Dutch' :)

🎯 How

Download from App Store/Google Play, link to your NL bank account. When asking for money, create a Tikkie, share the link via WhatsApp, the other person pays via iDEAL. Very practical!

Set Up Money Transfer

Avoid hidden bank transfer fees

📌 What

Find the most suitable way to transfer money from abroad.

💡 Why

In the first months, costs like deposit, rent and insurance will arise. You may need to bring money from abroad before your salary arrives.

🎯 How

Wise (formerly TransferWise) is the best option: Real exchange rate, low commission, arrives in 1-2 days. Revolut is also good. DON'T DO BANK TRANSFER: Takes 3-5 days, 3-5% commission + bad exchange rate. Transferring via Wise is much cheaper.