The short answer: Open ING Bank Romania first — it is the fastest route to a working Romanian (RO) IBAN with a fully English app, and you do not need to speak Romanian to run it. Add Banca Transilvania if you live outside the big cities and want the country’s biggest branch and ATM network. Keep Revolut as a multi-currency sidekick for cheap transfers to Pakistan — its IBAN is Lithuanian, so pair it with a Romanian account for salary and rent.
Pakistanis are one of the fastest-growing expat communities in Romania — students at medical and technical universities, IT engineers in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, and workers arriving on long-stay visas. The first money task is the same for all of them: a Romanian bank account, because your employer must pay your wages into a bank account (Emergency Ordinance 32/2026) and your landlord and the tax office both expect a Romanian IBAN.
Below we compare the same four accounts every expat in Romania considers — ING Bank Romania, Banca Transilvania, BCR and Revolut — judged for Pakistanis specifically: English support, a Romanian IBAN for salary, and cheap transfers home. Fees and features change regularly, so always verify on the provider’s official site before applying.
ExpatMoneyEU answer: Romania’s national gross minimum wage is RON 4,325 a month from 1 July 2026 (Government Decision 146/2026), up from RON 4,050 in the first half of the year — and since April 2026, Emergency Ordinance 32/2026 requires employers of foreign workers to pay wages into the worker’s bank account. A Romanian account is therefore a first-week task, not a nice-to-have. Deposits at licensed Romanian banks are protected up to €100,000 per depositor under the EU deposit guarantee scheme (European Commission).
Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this page may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you — see our affiliate disclosure. Always verify current fees with the provider before applying.
Quick comparison: bank accounts for Pakistanis in Romania
| Account | Monthly fee | IBAN | Free ATM withdrawals | Branches | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ING Bank Romania | 0–15 RON | Romanian (RO) | Free at ING ATMs | Few | New arrivals, English speakers |
| Banca Transilvania | 0–10 RON | Romanian (RO) | Free at BT ATMs (largest network) | Yes, largest | Expats outside big cities |
| BCR | 0–15 RON | Romanian (RO) | Free at BCR ATMs | Yes | Traditional banking + strong app |
| Revolut (Standard) | €0 | Lithuanian (LT) | €200/month free, then 2% | No | Multi-currency complement |
→ Open a Bank Account in Romania as an Expat — documents, steps and 2026 rules
Expert Score: how the four accounts rate
We scored each account from 0 to 10 on the six criteria below, using only the facts stated on this page. A “—” means the attribute is not stated for that bank on this page, so it is excluded from that bank’s average. Scores are the editorial judgment of the ExpatMoneyEU Research Team — never ranked by commission.
| Account | Monthly fee | Romanian IBAN | Free ATM access | Branches & cash | Deposit protection | English support | Expert Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ING Bank Romania | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 9.0 |
| Banca Transilvania | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 9.5 |
| BCR | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 8.8 |
| Revolut (Standard) | 10 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 6.5 |
Scores by ExpatMoneyEU Research Team from the criteria above — not influenced by commissions.
ING Bank Romania
ING Bank Romania is the expat favourite for one simple reason: it is the easiest Romanian bank to run entirely in English. The Home’Bank app is fully in English, the staff at larger branches are used to foreign customers, and the account works exactly the way a modern digital bank should — instant notifications, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and multi-currency accounts (RON, EUR, USD, GBP) you can add from the app.
The monthly administration fee is typically 0–15 RON and is often waived when your salary is paid into the account. You get a real Romanian (RO) IBAN, which is what employers, landlords and the tax office expect. The trade-off is the branch network: ING has fewer branches than Banca Transilvania or BCR, so if you live in a smaller city, check the nearest branch before you commit.
Banca Transilvania
Banca Transilvania (BT) is Romania’s largest bank, and its size is its selling point: more branches and ATMs than any other bank, in practically every town. If you live outside Bucharest or Cluj, BT is often the only big bank with a branch on your street. The BT Pay app handles everyday banking in English, and standard packages cost roughly 0–10 RON a month.
Online opening through BT Pay is built for Romanian citizens with a Romanian ID card or passport — as a foreigner without one, expect a branch visit for identity checks. Once the account is open, it is a full-service Romanian account with a RO IBAN, debit cards, and easy cash deposit at BT’s own ATMs.
BCR (Banca Comercială Română)
BCR is Romania’s second-largest bank and part of Austria’s Erste Group, which makes it a comfortable choice if you already bank with Erste elsewhere in Europe. Its George app is fully in English and covers almost everything — payments, savings, cards and currency accounts — and the bank has a large branch network for the days you need a person.
Standard package fees run about 0–15 RON a month and are often waived when your salary lands in the account or you keep a minimum monthly cash flow. English support in branches is good in Bucharest and the big university cities and patchier elsewhere, so non-Romanian speakers should favour the app or a big-city branch.
Revolut
Revolut is the account most expats in Romania open alongside a Romanian bank, not instead of one. It issues a Lithuanian (LT) IBAN, not a Romanian one — and while SEPA rules say that IBAN must be accepted everywhere in the eurozone, some Romanian employers and landlords still ask for a RO IBAN for salary and rent. Treat Revolut as your multi-currency sidekick: free currency exchange up to €1,000 a month on the Standard plan, instant transfers between Revolut users, and RON balances you can hold and spend.
For sending money home it is genuinely useful — exchange at the interbank rate inside the free allowance, then send onward. Just remember the limits: free ATM withdrawals stop at €200 a month (then 2%), and weekend FX carries roughly a 1% markup. Revolut Bank UAB (Lithuania) holds the deposits under the EU deposit guarantee scheme.
Send money home from Romania without the bank markup:
How to choose: a 3-question shortcut
- Do you need a Romanian IBAN for your salary this month? → Open ING Bank Romania first — the fastest route to a Romanian IBAN for your salary.
- Do you send money home every month? → Keep Revolut alongside and send with Wise — both beat Romanian bank transfer fees for most corridors.
- Do you want branches and cash deposit, or is an app enough? → Choose Banca Transilvania for branches and cash; an app-only setup is fine if you live in Bucharest or Cluj.
→ Free Romania Net Salary Calculator — check your take-home pay in RON before you sign a contract
Sending money home from Romania
Most Pakistanis in Romania send money home every month, and the EUR→PKR corridor is where a bad choice costs real money: Romanian banks charge high international transfer fees plus a poor exchange rate, so the standard advice is to receive your salary in your Romanian account and send it onward with a specialist. Wise shows the fee and the real exchange rate before you send, and pays out to Pakistani bank accounts — check the live fee in the app before every transfer, because the rupee rate moves daily and all figures here are illustrative.
Send on payday, not at month-end: convert what you need and send it the same day, and keep the receipts — they double as proof of income if you renew a residence permit or sponsor a family visit. Never use informal cash couriers: they are unregulated and uninsured, and a failed delivery leaves you with no receipt and no recourse. If your family banks with a Pakistani bank, a direct bank payout is usually cheaper than a cash-pickup option.
→ Free Money Transfer Cost Calculator — compare the true cost of a transfer before you send
Documents you will need
Pakistanis arrive in Romania mainly as students, IT engineers and workers on long-stay visas, and as a non-EU nationality you will go through the full document checklist at the branch. Since April 2026, Emergency Ordinance 32/2026 lets banks open an account on a long-stay work visa, a residence permit or other proof of the right to reside — you do not have to wait for the plastic permit card before you can be paid. Bring the documents below, plus your work contract if the bank asks for proof of income:
- Passport or EU national ID — the bank verifies your identity in person at the branch.
- Romanian residence permit (Permis de Ședere) or long-stay visa — for non-EU citizens; since April 2026, Emergency Ordinance 32/2026 lets banks open an account on a long-stay work visa, a residence permit or other proof of the right to reside.
- Personal numeric code (CNP) or tax identification number (NIF) — issued when you register your residence; the NIF comes from ANAF, the Romanian tax authority.
- Proof of address — usually a rental contract or a utility bill in your name.
- Proof of income or employment — some banks ask for your work contract, especially for accounts with an overdraft or a credit card.
→ Free Romania Expat Budget Calculator — plan your monthly budget in Bucharest, Cluj or Timișoara
Practical tips for expats opening a Romanian account
- Expect a branch visit. Online opening in Romania is still largely built for Romanian citizens with a Romanian ID card; as a foreigner, plan one in-person appointment for ID verification, even if you start the application online.
- Ask for the basic payment account if money is tight. Anyone legally resident in the EU has a right to a basic payment account at a Romanian bank if they hold no other account in Romania; the bank must answer within 10 working days and can refuse only on anti-money-laundering grounds.
- Your salary must land in a bank account. Emergency Ordinance 32/2026 requires employers of foreign workers to pay wages into the worker’s bank account — cash salary is not the norm, so open the account in your first week.
- Keep a second account for transfers. A Romanian account pays your salary and rent; a multi-currency account handles cheap transfers home. That two-account setup is what most long-term expats in Romania actually use.
- Fees change. Monthly administration fees (comision de administrare) typically run 0–30 RON and are often waived when your salary lands in the account — always check the bank’s current price list before you apply.
What changes in 2027
Re-check every figure on this page each January: Romanian banks revise their price lists at least once a year, and the government reviews the minimum wage annually — the RON 4,325 floor from July 2026 will move again. Romania still uses the leu (RON) in 2026 and there is no confirmed date for euro adoption, so your RO IBAN and RON salary are not changing overnight. For Pakistanis, the 2027 watch item is the residence-permit renewal cycle: keep your salary slips and transfer receipts, because they are the cleanest proof of legal employment at renewal time.
How we compared: the methodology
How we compared
Fees and features checked: the providers’ official websites and published price lists, as referenced throughout this guide, plus Romania’s 2026 account-opening rules (Emergency Ordinance 32/2026) and the National Bank of Romania’s register of licensed credit institutions. Criteria: monthly fees, ATM access, IBAN type and expat-friendliness — including opening requirements such as the residence permit, CNP/NIF, English support and deposit protection. Verdicts are the editorial judgment of the ExpatMoneyEU Research Team — not financial advice. Figures are illustrative; always verify the current terms with the provider before opening an account.