BT or ING for foreigners

Hello,
I am going to move to Cluj in the upcoming month or two and I am not sure to which bank should I join.
What do you think , which one is better ?

I am going to have a bank account with euros and lei at the same time , withdraw euro and change it afterwards to lei if needed.
I need a debit card with low fees since I will pay the bills by card.

what are the normal fees like depositing money, withdrawing money, administrative fees and so on..?

two more questions non related to banks:
1. I ll rent an apartment how do I pay the bills ? ( electricity, water , gas and internet)  do the owner of the apartment show me the bill and then I pay for it or I ll need to have the bills on my name ?
2. What is the best way to pay for things? cash or debit card ? ( I dont need credit card)


thanks ,

Edited by highlander747, 29 July 2017 - 12:06.

Hi,

I don't know anything about ING, I have all my accounts at BT.
There are no fees for depositing, withdrawals or bill payments. All those things are free of charge.
They also have a lot of ATM's around the city, you can find one pretty much anywhere within a 5 minutes walking distance.
Anyone can pay a bill, it doesn't matter on whose name it is.
Regarding paying for things, it's pretty much the same thing. There are no fees regarding debit/credit card payments, so you can choose whatever method you like.

If you have any other questions you can private message me and I will do my best to help you.

Have a nice stay!

 highlander747, on 29 iulie 2017 - 11:54, said:

You will get the utility bills in the apartment's mail box. They will be in your landlord's name, but usually you must pay them. It depends on your agreement with the landlord.

 highlander747, on 29 iulie 2017 - 11:54, said:

Most utilities (electricity, gas, internet) can be paid online with a debit card.
Most big shops accept debit cards.
Only some small shops accept debit cards.

ING all the way. I was a BT client until 2 years ago, and moved to ING, heaven on earth. If you have 700 lei coming into your account every month, and use it for 1 online transaction a month, you have 0 commission for anything: withdraws from any ATM in Romania and anywhere in the world, of any bank, not just ING.

BT has (much) more offices and ATMs in Cluj, as it's their headquarters city. But ING has a better online interface/mobile app and some other interesting services. I use both banks (plus another one) as each has some advantages in some domains. I don't see any reason why not use them both, the annual fees are small anyway.

When renting the bills usually remain on the owner's name and from there it depends, you can pay him directly or you can pay the bills for yourself (online or at their offices/banks/ATMs). Electricity, gas, internet/tv can be paid online/ATM/banks, water/garbage/etc fees usually are paid cash to an administrator of the building (some bigger buildings might also use bank transfers, but that is rare). So it's more of an agreement between you and the owner if you give him cash the money and he pays the bills or if you pay them yourself.

There are no fees for any cards when paying online/POS and both banks have the option to withdraw funds without any fees (at least on some cards/in some conditions). ING has made some recent changes and you can withdraw money from anywhere in the world with no fees IF you make at least one payment a month using the card and receive a monthly salary/income (at least 700 LEI) on the card. If you can meet those conditions, considering the fact that ING is an international bank, owning an ING card might be the better option for a foreigner. If you can not meet those conditions, ING will charge you 3 LEI for any funds withdrawal and you will have probably much lower fees using a BT card (3 LEI/transaction is quite high by Romanian standards). Unlike ING (where checking the balance is free), BT will charge you 0.3 lei for checking the balance on an ATM, but with 1 LEI a month you can check that online anytime (or another 4 LEI for mobile banking - also free on ING). Also BT will charge you for withdrawing money from ATMs that are not theirs, but they have quite a lot of ATMs in Romania (in Cluj the majority of ATMs are theirs).

So IF you can meet those ING conditions (having a monthly salary/income and making a monthly payment using the card) you will have lower fees (and better services) on ING, if not, depending on how you use the services (internet, mobile, etc) and how many withdrawals from ATMs you make a month, BT can be a better solution. If you make just one ATM cash withdrawal a month, I would still recommend ING even if you do not meet those conditions for no fee withdrawal, as for that 3 LEI withdrawal fee mobile/internet banking are included.

Edited by utopium, 29 July 2017 - 13:04.

 highlander747, on 29 iulie 2017 - 11:54, said:

1. Everything but the homeowner's association fees will arrive by mail and can be paid online, at their offices, in gas stations etc. No worries there. Regarding the HOA, that is usually posted somewhere in the lobby and is usually due in cash (though some can accept wire transfers). If the apartment is still connected to district heating (some are, some arent), that will be part of the HOA fee during the winter.
If the apartment is powered by a separate gas combi boiler, you will get a separate gas bill in the mail and the HOA fee will mostly consist of cleaning, lobby power, elevator etc fees.
For comfort, i'd suggest picking one with an individual boiler, as it means you get to choose when you want heat (district can some times be supplied late in poorer neighborhoods), and also you are no longer connected to district hot water, which is usually served via uninsulated pipes and takes a while to heat up in off peak hours.

2. Expect to be able to pay via card at most major gas stations, drugstores, supermarkets, retail outlets, bars, coffee shops, restaurants (within common sense). Expect to never see a POS at the grocer's market, small corner shops, bus ticket boots, HOA and probably city fines and taxes (some cities are starting to put them in, but it's more of a hassle still).
Generally, everything with a decent website and storefront should carry a POS these days. Most taxis don't, however, so plan accordingly.

BT would be better considering the lower fees.
ING has the best mobile banking app and web interface.
On ING the interface in English looks friendlier than on BT.
ING branches have almost no queues.


1. You'll receive some of invoices on your postal box (electricity, internet), you could even pay them online. If you'll live on a block flat, the water and gas bills will be calculated together, you'll pay them to the building administrator.
2. Definetly, cash.

Edited by gumball3000, 29 July 2017 - 13:24.

 sebulbus, on 29 iulie 2017 - 13:13, said:

You can pay with card the city taxes/fines in Cluj (even online or at the cityhall offices), you can pay the bus ticket/car parking by SMS, as for the taxi you can use Uber in Cluj and payment will be made automatically (using card).

As far as I'm concerned, I make more then 90% of the payments using (credit) cards in Cluj.

Surely and without doubt I recommend you ING Bank. Sole advantage of BT in Cluj is having more ATM's than any other bank. By receiving at least RON 700 monthly in your  account and make just one payment you have 0 fees including withdrawn from any  ATM in the city. This is possible under umbrella of Complet Card service.

1. You could pay the bills using ING home bank site. You may want to take a look here.
2. Debit card is enough for most payments you have. Some petty cash for taxi cabs (not Uber), street market and perhaps, the fleurist, will be welcomed.

The bigger number of ATMs of BT in Cluj is only another advantage for ING, since you can withdraw money from any ATM without any fee.

Edited by lula_canci, 29 July 2017 - 23:29.

One more thing, I spoke a couple of weeks ago with the hotline of BT exactly for the same purpose and it seems they need a certificate of fiscal residency when you're a foreign citizen. It's the only romanian bank that asks for this. In my opininion this doesn't make sense at all for non-business people.
ING on the other hand didn't mention anything like that...

 lula_canci, on 29 iulie 2017 - 23:29, said:

If he receives 700RON(154 euro) in his ING account every month and use the card once he can widraw money without any fee so it doesn't matter the ATM.For and euro account at ING you have a fee for like 2 euro a month including a fee widrawing lei and euro from this account.

Libra internet bank is the best choice.
You could open your bank account & request your debit card online.

 Astute, on 30 iulie 2017 - 11:20, said:

I can confirm what our colleague wrote. I opened my Libra account online, from London, and received the card via post. They require you to transfer a small ammount from
another account in EU to activate yout new one though. Everything after the activation of the account can be done online, even ordering a credit card.

 kona, on 30 iulie 2017 - 09:33, said:

what does  it mean certificate of fisical residence?

It's a piece of paper from your original country of residence confirming where you pay your main taxes. In Germany for example you get this from the "Finanzamt".

 highlander747, on 30 iulie 2017 - 12:10, said:

Your username makes me think you are from the UK, so:

https://www.gov.uk/g...te-of-residence