Opening a bank account in Italy

Newcomers are often told they are stuck in a loop: no residency without an address, no account without residency. For one specific product that loop does not exist in law. Italy must offer a conto di base to any consumer staying legally in the EU, expressly "regardless of place of residence" (art. 126-noviesdecies TUB). Facts verified 4 August 2026; orientation, not legal or financial advice.

Your legal right: the conto di base

Every bank, Poste Italiane and payment institution offering consumer accounts must offer this euro account. The entitlement covers anyone with a right to stay under EU or Italian law — the statute names people with no fixed abode and asylum seekers explicitly. It carries a single all-inclusive annual fee, and for the included operations no other charge may be added beyond taxes.

• Included: incoming and outgoing bonifici, salary or pension crediting, a debit card for payments and ATM withdrawals, online banking at no extra cost.
• Excluded by design: overdrafts and credit lines (legally prohibited on this account), a cheque book, a linked securities account.
• One per person: it is for consumers only, and not available if you already hold another payment account in Italy.

When it is free

Two tiers cost nothing (DM 70/2018): if your ISEE is below €11,600 the account is free and exempt from stamp duty; if you draw a pension of up to €18,000 gross a year the account is free but stamp duty still applies. Both need written self-certification at opening, and both require an annual re-communication to the bank by 31 May — your current ISEE (art. 4, c. 4) or your pension amount (art. 5, c. 3).

Miss that deadline and the decree is blunter than it first reads: the bank charges the fees, and the stamp duty where applicable, with effect from 1 January — not from June. A missed May deadline costs you the whole year, so treat it as a recurring reminder rather than a formality. Operations beyond the included package can still be charged in either tier.

What you need to bring

A valid identity document (anti-money-laundering rules; remote identification via SPID or CIE is also allowed) and your codice fiscale, which banks are required to record for anyone opening any relationship. If you are not yet resident and have no codice fiscale, the law lets the bank record your details with your foreign address instead — but get the codice fiscale first if you are actually moving: every bank will ask.

No fetched official source makes a permesso di soggiorno a statutory precondition — the legal test is lawful stay. What individual banks accept as evidence of that varies, so ask before you queue.

If the bank says no

For the conto di base the grounds for refusal are a closed list: failing the legal requirements, already holding an Italian payment account, or anti-money-laundering concerns. A refusal must be given in writing, free of charge, within 10 working days, with the specific reasons and the routes to complain — a formal reclamo, an esposto to Banca d'Italia, or the banking ombudsman (ABF). Opening also cannot be made conditional on buying other products.

What accounts really cost