I recently opened a bank account at the National Bank of Greece because Revolut alone was not enough for my situation.
Interestingly, opening the account itself was actually the easiest part.
What surprised me was what happened afterwards:
• waiting almost two weeks for the debit card
• the strange PIN system where you receive numbers by SMS and have to reconstruct the PIN using a printed table
• activating internet banking took another week and required visiting the branch again
I’ve lived in a few other EU countries and never experienced something like this before.
Is this normal for Greek banks, or did I just have bad luck with the branch?
https://i.redd.it/r9ituj595fng1.jpeg
Posted by hollandlive1
22 Comments
Did you expect anything uncomplicated?
Yes
greek banks suck, it’s not surprising at all… unfortunately 🙁
The “strange PIN system” is used for security. First time I’m hearing that opening internet banking requires visiting the bank **again**. I’ve had accounts in 4 banks until now and not one of them had that
Not the same experience as you, got everything done same day. #Eurobank
>Is this normal for Greek banks
It is normal for Greek anything
If the bank account was opened for a company, it is normal.
It’s part of the experience. Embrace it.
You chose the worst bank in all of Greece.
Also you can open an account online nowdays you don’t need to visit the bank.
[https://youtube.com/shorts/KyFTcUgBweM?si=zJR6Qfd6aSVhzErh](https://youtube.com/shorts/KyFTcUgBweM?si=zJR6Qfd6aSVhzErh)
I recently had to open an account in a different bank due to my employer depositing my salary to this specific one. I managed to do it within half an hour by video call with a representative. I still received the debit card a few days later by mail, but overall it was a painless experience.
I guess it depends on the bank. Some of them have not caught up yet to the digitalisation of many businesses processes. Others have done so for several years.
Pretty standard procedure from what I’ve heard. Not going to try doing that until I see comments that it’s easy and fast, so I hope before pension 😅
The country isn’t known for its efficiency, in…most things.
Lucky bastard, you finished so quickly.
>I recently opened a bank account at the National Bank of Greece **because Revolut alone was not enough for my situation.**
Not related, but you’ve been played. Revolut was always enough for your situation. SEPA Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 and Payment Accounts Directive 2014/92/EU mandate that all businesses must accept payments between IBANS of EU origin. So, Revolut, with its Lithuanian IBAN was always enough for paying rent, receiving your salary, or anything of the sort. Businesses and individuals are allowed to request you make a new bank acount, and you have the right to refuse. IBAN discrimination is illegal in the EU.
And the sooner we all realize this and abandon these good for nothing Greek Banks, the better.
without a greek tax number I’m surprised they didn’t ask for a personal note from the OBGYN who delivered you
Also whatever you just experienced is the simplified version of the pro-covid hell. At least with the pandemic a lot of our digital services got actually really good
Welcome to Greece and have a nice stay 😁
Most if not all kind of paperwork in our country takes forever. We also have fees for all sorts of things too. For example if you want a simple Certificate of Bank Ownership you need to pay 20€ in some banks.
Thats the easy part believe me. Wait u til they ask you the same documents again in a year ir so to verify that you are still you otherwise they will block your account.
Greek banks are shit. I have one account and have, on many occasions, wanted to switch to another bank, but ultimately I’ve never bothered because they’re all horrible and the process is a pain.
I think you would have had a better experience with any of the other 3 serious banks.
Came the open a bank account. You need to book an appointment. Ok, when is the first available slot? 3 weeks from now. I thought he was joking.
I came back three weeks later and the clerk asks me: But why do you need a bank an account in the first place?
It’s an absolute joke.
And I still don’t have an account here.
I recently had go to open an account at a bank here in Greece and found out that doing it myself online was easiest, quicker and cheaper than going in person to the bank. Bankers are the most unhelpful professionals I’ve seen.