In 2010 the US enacted FATCA (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) to combat tax evasion by US taxpayers holding financial assets outside the United States. This act requires, among other things, that foreign financial institutions report information about financial accounts held by US taxpayers. Banks outside the US must identify and report US account holders. There is a 30% withholding penalty on US-sourced income for non-compliance. Some foreign banks refuse to take US clients given the compliance burden. As you can envision, this act is controversial! In any case, in order to set up a bank account here in Czechia I needed to verify which banks even accept US customers. Additionally, in my research I looked at which banks offer the most English resources and have the lowest fees. I chose Česká Spořitelna, one of the largest banks in the country, but because it’s actually controlled by Erste, an Austrian bank conglomerate, it’s got an international bent.
I just showed up without an appointment at a bank branch office in Vinohrady, an area of the city with perhaps the largest percentage of expats, thinking that would be my best chance to get an English speaker. The receptionist who greeted me with a smile was very friendly, but didn’t speak much English, and she had me wait for the next agent who spoke English well enough (there were but two as far as I could tell that day). The gent who eventually beckoned me over was kind enough at first, but he quickly became confused and seemingly even frustrated by my particular situation. He just couldn’t grasp the concept of the digital nomad program to get a long-term visa. He kept asking me who I worked for in Czechia, and he didn’t like my repeated reply of “no one.” And he particularly disliked me saying that I was just going to be moving money as needed from my US bank accounts to this Czech account. I could picture “money laundering” on a marquee across his brain. I had to fill out an IRS W-9 form for FATCA compliance, of course.
He told me that the decision wasn’t his, but that he was very doubtful that I would be able to get a bank account there. At that point I began sweating because even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, and was in fact acting in a manner that the Czech government itself was encouraging, it was looking like I couldn’t get a bank account, which would be a huge hit, making life in Czechia trickier, as detailed further below. The bank guy said that it would be at least several hours before some unseen person behind the scenes reviewed my application and provided a decision, but then just two minutes later as we were finishing up, he announced with surprise that the account application was approved! His tone quickly changed. I don’t know why he had to be that way to begin with — he had seemed more critical and suspicious than empathetic and supportive. Anyhow, we downloaded the bank’s mobile app (called “George”, strangely, perhaps meant to evoke the feeling of having a British butler) to my phone, and I leveraged my newly-acquired Czech phone number to receive the setup verification code via SMS. The app is straightforward and functional, and everything inside is available in English, thank goodness.
I just have the free standard account with no minimum balance (and I presume no interest). But with a bank account here, many things become simpler. For one, many events, especially running races (things I keep signing up for), don’t take credit card or debit card payments. In fact, the normal process is to sign up for the race, and then later separately send a bank transfer to a bank account number associated with the race, with a “variable number” indicating a race registration identifier for one’s entry. Entities and private individuals have a long series of digits for their bank account numbers, and these are made to be given out freely to provide indication of how to receive payments. So if I want someone else in Czechia, or indeed from anywhere, to pay me, I provide this number or its international (IBAN) equivalent. One can pay pretty much anyone in Czechia using this simple bank transfer solution, including governmental entities, electricity and gas providers, telephone operators, insurance companies, e-shops, etc.
The health insurance company (I’ll post in the future about how health insurance works in Czechia), the social security administration, and our landlord all provide their Czech bank account numbers for receiving monthly payments. And the George app (and other banks’ equivalent online services) allows for easily setting up recurring periodic payments. So I’ve set all this up in George to set it and forget it (sort of, though I need to always make sure I’ve got enough funds in my account 😆).
I’ve been using Wise, an international money transfer app, for making payments, but some Czech entities don’t interact well with Wise, and Wise’s bank that is used for the Czech currency is actually based in the UK, which causes things to go awry at times and which can incur an extra fee. So Wise was not a good long-term solution.
An additional reason to keep a Czech bank account in Czechia is the ability to sign into government services and into many third-party services using one’s Bank ID, meaning that these entities have an agreement with the banks here such that one doesn’t need separate login credentials for each entity. I can request to log into a government website, and then select to do so with verification through my bank Česká Spořitelna. I enter my Česká Spořitelna user ID, and then I must approve the login through accepting a prompt on the George app and entering my PIN code in the app. That’s it! Granted, there are alternative methods, and use of Bank ID isn’t required, but it is certainly simple!
What’s not so simple is reading the Czech text on the government websites or in emails sent to me by the bank or the government entities. But thank the Mountain View crew for Google Translate!!! Without it I don’t think I could function in this country. The Google Chrome browser automatically translates webpages, and Gmail automatically translates received emails. It’s a true panacea. I can still read the social security notices in Swedish we receive annually from Sweden for our future retirement payouts from there, and without Google Translate, but it’ll be a very long time before I could do that with an official statement in Czech.
Monetary side note:
The term “dollar” originated from here in Bohemia! It was called a “thaler“. I learned this fact in the Czech National Bank’s wonderful museum. This museum is to me one of the coolest attractions in the city! And it’s free!
Wildlife in Asheville:
Folks in Prague listen intently when I tell them about all the black bears around western NC, and particularly when I tell the story of the bear charge in 2023. This summer in Asheville the tall turkey pictured below made a charge on Colleen and me when we walked a Montford street. With remarkable speed and fluidity Colleen placed me between the turkey and herself, haha.
Difficulty of Czech:
Duolingo normally provides an answer key of options for translation of each given word, but with Czech I guess no one can easily figure it out without having grown up with it, haha. Not even Duolingo always knows what the heck is going on.
Today’s Czech word:
Stárneš – “You are getting older.” That’s a concisely packaged word. And not one to say to someone you wish to remain close to.
Today’s dad joke:
I tried opening a bank account in Prague, and the banker took forever to triple-Czech my application.
Today’s music video:
Yes, it’s Epica again! I can’t help myself. As one YouTube commenter put it, “Men, look what EPICA has become. Top 1 live band.” Just listen carefully to how Simone Simons keeps perfect pitch throughout the song, and how she builds up to the chorus and exploits her range and full emotion. You hear the audience cheer as the kids’ choir members enter the stage, and you see how everyone from the background singers, the chorus, the symphony members, to the Epica band members themselves are all giving their very best, while thoroughly enjoying every moment. It never fails to give me the chills each time I listen to this live performance. The Symphonic Symphony show must have been the greatest concert of all time. And I hear that now my mother is on board too!
Today’s Epictetus:
Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.
After this post, no more Epic____ for now, like Epica or Epictetus! They’ve each had their time, and I hope you’ve enjoyed them both.
Major Meander 
I would have given up long ago trying to open a bank account! One more successful quest for you. And,yes, I do really like Epica. Are you planning to go to a concert?
I did see Epica in Pilsen in June, but they only put on a regular show without an orchestra or choir, and it’s just not the same. But they are coming to Prague next year with another band I like, so I’ll probably go to that show!
I’ve been missing you, and got a bit of your personality from reading the post. Made me think of when we hosted exchange students, and they had to learn some of the intricacies of money and banking in the US. Of course, the biggest challenge was related to visas and immigration. That was a high energy performance. Thanks for the post. Hope you’re well. Joe
I’m missing you too, Joe! Logistics in unfamiliar lands are a learning experience, for sure. 🤓
I’m having to comment this way, since I am too tardy in catching up with your blog posts and the comments feature is closed in the older ones.
The challenges of banking which you describe make my head hurt!
Mine too, but it’s been quite okay and easy since the original setup. And making payments and automated payments is super-simple, as is providing a QR code to receive payments.