Czech Bank Comparisons

It´s fitting to start with the only bank in Prague that has a special division designed exclusively for expats – Ceska Sporitelna. The Expat Centre is located at the main CS branch on Rytirska, inside of a gorgeous 16th Century building. Clearly labeled signs by the entrance point you towards the Expat Centre upstairs, where the staff is extremely friendly, competent, and of course, fully fluent in English (German and French support also being offered) – they really want to help, and were able to quickly answer any questions I had. A trip to the bank probably couldn´t be more pleasant.

Unfortunately, you will have to pay for it – their WorldClass package weighs in at 390,-/month, which includes a debit card, credit card, foreign currency accounts, foreign cash exchange with no commission, internet banking, phone banking, and most notably, no hidden charges – free money transfers and free ATM withdrawals (from CS ATMs). For a hefty 550,- per month, the WorldClass Elite package gives you all the aforementioned, along with a gold credit card and access to other additional benefits – including membership to the exclusive Money Club, ‘the only banking club in Prague´. If you can afford either package – and need the comfort they can provide – I´d highly recommend the Expat Centre. But average expats would be right to balk at paying such high rates for a place to store their money.

At first, I wasn´t expecting much support from HVB – I waited for 3-4 minutes while the secretary at one of the larger branches on the corner of Na Porici and V Celnice scrambled around the office in search of someone to assist me in English. After she did locate someone, however, it was smooth sailing; the teller who assisted me was extremely friendly, helpful and competent. If you want to take a trip to the same HVB branch, I´ll save you the only trouble I went through – ask for Roman Bily.

Their rates also appear to be some of the best – the basic plan (Konto Pohoda) is available for 64,-/month, which includes: an international debit card, internet, telephone, or mobile GSM banking (2 out of the 3), monthly account statements, 9,- ATM withdrawals from any ATM in the Czech Republic, and the possibility of a credit line on the account. Two other plans are offered: Konto Rodina, which offers the possibility of having sub-accounts off of a main account for families (price dependant on the number of sub-accounts, but basically 64,- per sub-account/month), and Konto Komfort, which offers a gold credit card and other prestige (172,-/month). Transaction fees are present, but kept to a minimum, 3,- per transaction through internet banking. The Komfort package offers no transaction fees.

As with HVB, the rates seemed very competitive. Four plans at 55,-, 99,-, 159,-, and 349,- monthly. The first two plans include internet and phone banking, with no transaction fees; the first plan gives you 2 free ATM withdrawals from ZB ATMs, and the second unlimited free withdrawals from ZB ATMs. The catch is they only come with a Visa Electron card. If you can live with the Electron card, which can be used most places but not everywhere, ZB has some of the best rates. The 159,- plan offers a standard Visa or MasterCard, and still isn´t a bad deal. One warning – withdrawals from non-ZB ATMs are an excessive 40,-.

At first glance, Komercni Banka would seem to be expat friendly – the branch next to the PowderTower on Na Prikope has a special, clearly labeled desk for Foreign Customers. However, after waiting five minutes for the only teller behind the desk to finish with a customer, I was inexplicably told to ‘see another cashier´ as she walked away. The problem, however, was that the other cashiers weren´t able to provide much support in English; the two I tried to speak with glanced blankly at the empty Foreign Customer desk before attempting to help me as best they could. I was given some leaflets (in Czech) and pointed towards their website.

The website, surprisingly, is easy to navigate and contains all the information you need. And their rates seemed good at first – a basic plan for 19,- per month (39,- if you want any support in English) – but I began to grow suspicious as I ran down the list of charges. Monthly ‘maintenance´ fees for an account (40,-), internet banking (44,-), and phone banking (55,-); fees for every type of money transfer (10,- at a branch, 3,- via internet banking); a yearly fee for lost/stolen card insurance (276,-); and of course, ATM fees (6,- at a KB ATM, which is fine, but 35,- at any other ATM, which is excessive). Plus a spate other charges, including a hefty cancellation fee; I have no idea what a typical monthly statement would look like, nor do I have much of a desire to find out. Unless you´re very careful, you´re likely to be nickel-and-dimed to death.

I was the lone customer in the main Bawag branch on Wenceslas Square one afternoon, and apparently that was one too many for the Bawag staff. Not that they were particularly rude, but they clearly didn´t want my business; I was greeted by three cashiers who spoke English, and handed a list of services in English (surprisingly, they were the only bank besides CS with any English documents on hand – though it was just a few pages from their website printed out). But any specific question was responded to with ‘it´s all in the documentation´, along with some cold smiles and nods. After a minute or two, I got the idea and left.

I take it not many individual customers use Bawag, and with good reason. At first glance, the rates for an account seemed quite good. No charges for opening an account, maintaining the account (no flat monthly fee), or closing the account, with free monthly statements. But things became clearer after I read through the 10-page laundry list of fees. A 700,- yearly fee for a debit card was just the tip of the iceberg. Bawag charges a flat rate of 30,- for any withdrawal, plus a 20,- flat rate for an ATM withdrawal, plus a .45% commission on ATM transactions. You could easily pay more in a single transaction here than the monthly rate at another bank. ‘Nuff said. You probably couldn´t do better if you just want a place to store your money, but I´d be hard pressed not to recommend the convenience of a mattress or floorboard instead – that way you wouldn´t have to deal with the Bawag staff, either.

The fees and charges at eBanka seemed quite high to me. Monthly fees of 67,- for personal account ‘maintenance´ and 75,- for direct banking. A yearly fee of 490,- for a standard Visa or MasterCard. ATM fees of 7,- for an eBanka ATM, 30,- elsewhere. And quite a few more. However, all of this changes if the income to your account is above 15,000,- monthly. Maintenance and direct banking fees vanish, and all ATM fees are lowered to 7,-. If you can guarantee that you´ll be receiving 15,000,- into your account each month, then eBanka is worth a shot. Otherwise, I´d stay clear – the fees and charges are likely to drown you if you´re not careful.

Raiffeisen does have some very competitive rates. Three plans at monthly rates of 45,-, 80,-, and 125,-. The first plan gives you a Visa Electron card and a choice of one direct banking service (internet/phone/gsm). The other plans give you all three direct banking services as well as a standard Visa or MasterCard. Transaction rates range from 3,- to 6,- for direct banking transactions. ATM rates: 5,- for the first two withdrawals at a Raiffeisen ATM, 9,- after that; 19,- for the first two withdrawals from a non-Raiffeisen ATM, 25,- after that.

A few notes on some constants with the banks – to open an account, you´ll usually need a passport and one other form of identification. At CS, only a passport is required, and at Citibank, a mailing address is required in addition to the passport and I.D. Foreign transfer rates seemed to be fairly constant at most of the banks – around 1% commission. Foreign ATM rates were also somewhat constant, ranging from 80,- to 100,- per transaction. Savings accounts are offered at most banks, but the APR is usually extremely low.

The scores for Expat Friendliness should give you a good idea of how well you´ll be able to find an English speaker in any given bank. Customer Service is somewhat random, and can change based on the branch and time I visited. Personally, though, there are a couple banks I have no desire to ever set foot in again. You´ll also note that I haven´t given any bank the highest score for rates – personally, I think they´re all too high. Overall, though, it´s going to come down to the customer – how frequent you use the account, what you use it for, how much support you need, etc.

So does that make it all a crapshoot? Not at all. There are some clear winners and losers here, and though I can´t really vouch for those I haven´t banked with, I can suggest some fits for particular customers. If money is no object, then the Expat Centre at Ceska Sporitelna is for you. If money is the only object, Raiffeisen, Zivnostenska Banka, CSOB, and Volksbank are all worth looking at, with Raiffeisen, perhaps, leading the pack. If you can maintain a monthly income of over 15,000,-, then eBanka is a solid option. But overall, I think HVB might be the best bet – competitive rates, a basic plan with a standard Visa card instead of a Visa Electron, and a solid flat rate for withdrawals at any ATM.