More options for Ukrainians in the Netherlands to apply for payment account

Starting Monday, October 3rd, Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands will have more options to apply for a payment account, with documents that previously could not be handled by payment service providers.

In the Netherlands, over 87% of all adult Ukrainian refugees registered with a Dutch municipality already have a payment account. This was mainly based on internationally recognized and valid English-language identity documents. For the remaining small group of refugees in the Netherlands who could not yet open a payment account, there are additional options to apply for an account as of October 3rd. The new options are the result of intensive cooperation between the Ukrainian embassy, banks and other payment account providers, The Dutch Payments Association, the Dutch Banking Association (NVB), regulators and government agencies.

Maksym Kononenko, acting ambassador of Ukraine to the Netherlands, says, “Financial inclusion is socially and emotionally very important. Anyone from Ukraine who is a temporary refugee and wants to work in the Netherlands can contribute to his or her own livelihood thanks to a personal payment account. We are grateful for the fruitful cooperation with Dutch banks, payment institutions, regulators and government agencies.”

Opportunities remain available as long as needed

All existing and new options for Ukrainian refugees to apply for a Dutch payment account will remain available as long as they receive special protection within the EU. Each bank or other payment account provider will state on its own website the specific conditions and guidelines they apply for issuing a payment account and exactly how to submit the application. For example, some banks require an application to be submitted physically at a branch office, while other providers can only handle online applications.

Four additional types of identity documents

The following additional types of identity documents can be submitted by adult Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands to apply for a payment account, starting October 3rd:

1. A Cyrillic Ukrainian passport combined with a so-called ‘certificate of identity validation‘ issued by the Ukrainian embassy. The Cyrillic passport must be valid or must be renewed by the Ukrainian embassy with a renewal stamp that is still valid at the time of the account application.
2. A valid English-language Ukrainian identity card for domestic use.
3. A Ukrainian permanent residence permit that was valid on 24 February 2022 (the first day Ukraine was invaded by Russia) in combination with a valid passport from another country outside the EU.
4. A valid so-called O-document, that may be issued by the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Department (IND) since June 2022 to Ukrainian refugees without acknowledged identity documents.

With almost all banks, the applicant must be registered in the Dutch Basisregistratie Personen (BRP) and have a Burgerservicenummer (BSN or Dutch social services number). Payment service providers that do not enforce this requirement or enforce it differently, will explain this in more detail on their own websites.

More details on applying for a payment account by Ukrainian refugees are on a special web page of the NVB and the Dutch Payments Association: https://archief.betaalvereniging.nl/en/ukraine/
That webpage contains an overview of all providers, with references to their own information pages.