General information

These days everyone has many reasons to use bank and financial services. In Poland, there are many financial institutions and banks offering a variety of services for specific groups of clients. Banks may be divided into those catering to big companies and individual clients, individual clients and small companies, as well as those taking care of companies only.
We are interested in banks, which cater to natural persons. Do all banks provide the same services? Probably not, that is why it is worth checking up on the offer, asking about prices and meticulously following changes. Opening a bank account is relatively easy – after comparing the offers of the biggest banks, choose the one which is the most convenient for you. While making the decision which bank to open an account in, you should consider, among other things:

• if the bank you want to open an account in is trustworthy?
• If it is a big bank?
• If it has many branches and cash machines?
• If it has a cash deposit machine?
• If it has a guarantee of a bank fund (see if there is a BGF (Bank Guarantee Fund) certificate hanging on the wall of the branch or verify it on the website)?

You should not use the services of a bank which does not have these guarantees, because if it goes bankrupt or has financial problems, your money will be lost. In this case, you will have to sue the bank which means waiting for a long time. The BGF guarantees depositors a refund up to the value of 100 thousand euros (the things considered are, among others, term deposits, current accounts, personal accounts of one person in a given bank). Although we are talking about opening a bank account, you should remember that very often banks offer savings accounts and deposits as a package.

Sometimes, people keep large amounts in a savings account and that is why only the services of renowned banks should be used.

Currently, many financial institutions offer their products on the Internet, but opening an account online is not a good way to start cooperation with a bank. It is wiser to choose a branch which is near to your home or workplace, a specific advisor (if you declare a monthly income on an adequate level, you might be offered more personalised services, meaning a personal bank advisor), and to ask about everything that you are interested in.

Opening a bank account in a good bank, on good terms, with good internet banking is important for everyday convenience. You will give your bank account number of in many places and if you change banks often, you might have problems - it might so happen that an employer will not update your bank account or that you will not pay current bills. It is better to think before you leap so that you can use your banking account in a convenient and worry-free way.