The short answer
The short answer
ExpatMoneyEU verdict: open bunq first, add ING later. bunq gives you a real Dutch NL IBAN, iDEAL and a fully English app in about 5 minutes — with no BSN needed up front and a free €0 plan. ING wins on the physical side: branches, cash deposits and the Geldmaat ATM network — but it generally requires your BSN and a registered Dutch address, and its current accounts carry monthly packages. Most expats end up with both: bunq for week one, ING for the long term.
This is not really a fight between two apps — it is a sequencing question. bunq (Amsterdam, licensed directly by De Nederlandsche Bank since 2014) is the speed champion for a new arrival: a Dutch bank that behaves like a fintech. ING is the largest Dutch retail bank, with the branch network, cash infrastructure and relationship products (savings, investments, mortgages) that only a high-street bank offers. This guide compares them on the criteria that actually decide for expats in the Netherlands: fees, the Dutch IBAN, onboarding without a BSN, English support, iDEAL, cash handling, branches and transfers.
→ Best Bank Account for Indians in the Netherlands — October 2026 Guide
Head-to-head: bunq vs ING at a glance
| Criterion | bunq | ING Netherlands | Winner for expats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | €0 (Free plan) | No free plan — monthly packages | bunq |
| Cheapest paid plan | €3.99/mo (Core) | Monthly current-account packages — fee schedule on ing.nl | bunq (cheaper entry) |
| IBAN | Dutch (NL) | Dutch (NL) | Tie |
| Opens without BSN | Yes — 90-day grace period | Generally requires BSN + registered Dutch address | bunq |
| Signup | ~5 minutes, ID scan in app | Online/app, ~10 minutes; debit card by post | bunq |
| English | Full app & support in English | App and online banking available in English | Tie |
| iDEAL | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Branches | None (app-only) | 170+ locations nationwide (reported) | ING |
| Cash deposits | Not available | Yes, at branches / service points | ING |
| ATM withdrawals | None free on Free plan | Geldmaat network, free in NL | ING |
| FX fee | 0.5% on conversions | Own FX margin — check ing.nl | bunq (published rate) |
| Incoming SWIFT | €5 per transfer | Own tariff — check ing.nl | Check both |
| Savings interest | Weekly interest payouts (rate advertised up to ~3.11%*) | Variable — check ing.nl | bunq |
| Deposit protection | €100,000 (Dutch DGS) | €100,000 (Dutch DGS) | Tie |
| Overall for new expats | 9.0/10 | 7.8/10 | bunq |
bunq figures checked against bunq.com plan pages in October 2026. ING does not publish a single headline fee in this comparison: monthly fees, card fees and transfer tariffs differ by package — always verify the current fee schedule on ing.nl before applying.
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The winning Netherlands setup
Open bunq Free today for your Dutch IBAN and iDEAL, keep N26 as a free English backup app, and use Wise whenever money crosses a border.
→ ING vs ABN AMRO for Expats — the traditional-bank showdown
bunq — the Dutch account for week one
bunq Free / Core
bunq is the Amsterdam-born bank built for exactly the expat situation: a licensed Dutch bank regulated directly by De Nederlandsche Bank, with a genuine Dutch IBAN, a fully English app, and — the decisive detail for newcomers — no BSN required to open. You get a 90-day grace period, so you can open the account in your first week and sort out municipal registration afterwards. Because the IBAN is Dutch, iDEAL works out of the box and employers, landlords and Dutch billers never question it.
The Free plan costs €0 a month and includes a bank account with its own IBAN, a virtual card and savings with weekly interest payouts. Core (€3.99/month) adds a physical card and more sub-accounts. What bunq cannot do is physical: there are no branches, no cash deposits and no free ATM withdrawals on the Free plan. Currency conversion carries a published 0.5% FX fee and incoming SWIFT transfers cost €5 — so use a transfer specialist like Wise whenever money crosses a border, rather than sending foreign currency directly through bunq.
→ Best bank accounts in the Netherlands for expats — the full country guide
ING Netherlands — the high-street bank for the long term
ING current account
ING is the largest Dutch retail bank and the traditional counterweight to bunq's digital-first model. What you get for the monthly package fee is physical infrastructure: a branch network of 170+ reported locations, cash deposits at branches and service points, and free cash withdrawals across the shared Geldmaat ATM network. For expats who receive or handle cash — hospitality workers, market traders, anyone tipping-heavy or cash-paid — that infrastructure is the whole argument.
Onboarding is fully online in about 10 minutes, and the app and online banking are available in English, which softens the language barrier considerably. The friction is administrative: ING generally expects your BSN and a registered Dutch address before you can open a current account, which makes it a month-two bank rather than a week-one bank. Its current accounts run on monthly packages rather than a free tier, and international transfers carry the bank's own FX margin — verify the exact figures in the current fee schedule on ing.nl, and keep a transfer specialist alongside for money leaving the eurozone.
→ Best money transfer services in Europe — send money home cheaply
Round by round: where each one actually wins
Cost. bunq Free costs €0 a month — ING has no free tier and runs on monthly current-account packages. If you want banking with no fixed monthly cost while you settle in, bunq wins. Just check the current ing.nl fee schedule so the package price doesn't surprise you.
Onboarding as a newcomer. bunq's 90-day BSN grace period against ING's general BSN-plus-address requirement settles this round before it starts: open bunq in your first days, open ING after municipal registration.
Everyday digital life. Both give you a Dutch IBAN and both support iDEAL, and both apps run in English. Digitally it is a tie — which is exactly why the decision moves to the physical world.
Cash and branches. ING, decisively. bunq is app-only with no cash deposits; ING gives you branches, service points and free Geldmaat withdrawals. Cash earners and anyone who wants a human to talk to should hold an ING account.
International transfers. Neither bank is the tool for this job: bunq charges a 0.5% FX fee and €5 per incoming SWIFT, and ING applies its own FX margin. Both lose to a specialist — run international transfers through Wise at the mid-market rate and compare the total received, not the headline fee.
→ bunq vs N26 for Expats — the neobank showdown
The verdict by persona
- Just landed, no BSN yet: bunq Free — Dutch IBAN, iDEAL and full English today, BSN within 90 days.
- Settled, registered, want branches: ING — add it as your second account for cash, service points and relationship products.
- Paid partly in cash: ING — cash deposits and free Geldmaat withdrawals make it non-negotiable.
- Planning a mortgage or investments later: ING — a traditional bank relationship helps when you need advice or credit products.
- Best combined setup: bunq (week one) + ING (month two) + Wise (for anything crossing a border). Total monthly cost from €0 if you stay on bunq Free and pick ING's cheapest package.
→ Best Bank Account for Pakistanis in the Netherlands — October 2026 Guide
How we compared: the methodology
How we compared
Fees and features checked: bunq.com plan pages and ing.nl fee schedules as published in October 2026, plus 2026 Netherlands banking comparisons for expats. Criteria: monthly cost, Dutch IBAN access, no-BSN onboarding, English support, iDEAL, cash handling, branch network and transfer costs. Scores are the illustrative editorial judgment of the ExpatMoneyEU Research Team — not financial advice. Worked examples on this page are illustrative figures showing our comparison method: bunq's figures come from its published plan pages; ING's fees vary by package, so always verify the current fee schedule on ing.nl before opening an account.
→ ING vs ABN AMRO for Expats — the traditional-bank showdown
What to watch in 2027
Dutch banks typically revise price lists each January — re-check both your bunq plan and your ING package at the new year. SEPA Instant transfers becoming free-by-default across the eurozone erodes some of the speed premium neobanks used to charge for. We update our scores whenever a provider changes pricing.
→ Best Bank Account for Indians in the Netherlands — October 2026 Guide
Open the winning setup today
Start with bunq for your Dutch IBAN, add N26 as your free English backup, and keep Wise ready for international transfers.
→ Best bank accounts in the Netherlands for expats — the full country guide