The grantee can decide whether to open a bank account in Finland or not. The Foundation can pay the grant to a Finnish, U.S., or any other account which doesn’t cause extra expenses for the Foundation to make a payment. Paying the grant to a Finnish or U.S. bank account doesn’t cause extra expenses for the Foundation. However, the grantee may need to pay international transaction fees from the grant payment, if they choose to use their U.S. bank. Please note that there are several benefits of opening a bank account in Finland. You can find a list of the benefits below.
Please note that the Fulbright-EDUFI Fellows receive their grant from their host institution and should consult the host whether a Finnish bank account is a must to receive the grant.
It is always the grantee’s responsibility to pay any extra costs (e.g. international transfer fees) if those are born from receiving the grant payment.
If you open an account in Finland, you are free to select which bank you wish to use. Ask from your Finnish host university's International Office which local bank they recommend for international visitors. Usually, the International Office staff and the international student tutors have experience regarding which bank in your host town is most familiar with handling international customers’ banking matters.
U.S. Fulbright grantees in the past have used several Finnish banks (e.g. Nordea and Osuuspankki/OP). Some grantees have also used their U.S. account for grant payment purposes and have not opened an account in Finland. Few grantees have also used the following service instead of a regular Finnish or U.S. bank:
The grantee is responsible for opening the bank account on their own. The Fulbright Finland Foundation does NOT open bank accounts for the grantees.
If you are a short-term grantee, please note that according to the information that Fulbright Finland Foundation has received from Nordea Bank, international guests staying in Finland less than 90 days and who thus do not have a Finnish residence permit card are no longer able to open a bank account in Finland. If your grant period is 90 days or less and you do not have a residence permit, please contact your program coordinator at the Fulbright Finland Foundation to discuss the options.
The process takes time. Depending on the Finnish bank you choose and the location of the bank, the time it takes to open a bank account varies. Previous grantees have reported that the opening process can take up to a few weeks to three months. Thus, we recommend that you speed up the process by making sure you have all the required documents with you when visiting the bank (please see the list below). Nowadays, banks are required to be well aware of the source of the customer’s money transferred/deposited on the bank’s account, which is also a factor that has lengthened the bank account opening process in recent years.
If your stay in Finland is short, for example, 3 months and you don’t need to pay bills in Finland, you can often manage without opening a bank account in Finland. In this case, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to open an account in Finland since opening a bank account can take weeks or months.
If you wish to open an account in Finland, you need to make an appointment with them by calling their customer service. Banks can have a separate phone number for services in English. When you book an appointment with the bank, will be given the address of the local bank where you need to go for the appointment.
When calling the bank to book an account opening appointment, remember to ask what documents you are required to bring along for the visit.
The procedures for opening an account may vary between banks and even between different branches of the same bank. Every individual situation can also be a little different with each grantee which is why it is difficult to give fail-safe banking instructions that would apply in all cases.
The best approach is
Usually, the following documents are needed at the first banking appointment:
If you already have a Finnish ID card, do also take that with you to the bank in order to receive banking codes applicable for strong identification.
If you are not eligible for a Finnish ID card (in Finland less than a year), you can receive the strong identification codes from the bank by first filling in an application for so-called todistus ensitunnistuksesta (an identity verification certificate) with the bank clerk and then submitting the form to the Police. Remember to ask for the form at the bank during your appointment.
Please find further information on strong identification as well as instructions on applying for the Finnish ID card and todistus ensitunnistuksesta (an identity verification certificate) here.
After opening a bank account in Finland, the customer is usually offered a Visa Electron debit card. Online banking services are usually offered for clients staying in Finland for a longer period of time, for example, a minimum of 6 months.
You will not need a Finnish credit card. Visa Electron is sufficient for most purposes.
Ask someone to run through how to make online payments with your account. This is the way business is done in Finland, other than store purchases. If you have not received online banking codes, you can use your Visa Electron debit card to pay bills by using the banking machines (ATMs). Bank agents can provide guidance on this.
NOTE: Checks are not used in Finland.
All grantees must bring enough funds to cover room and board for at least the first 4 weeks in Finland. It is also wise to be prepared for other settling-in costs, such as bus passes, mobile phone deposit, and student housing deposits. Many of these expenses may have to be dealt with before your first grant payment and can easily add up to USD 2 000 or more.
The grant allowance is intended to assist with living costs in Finland. It bears no relation to the grantee’s salary in the United States nor is it meant to pay for the travel expenses or tuition of dependents. It is not intended to cover extraordinary project costs, such as film, art materials, extensive photocopying, and so on.
Grantees should be prepared to make some adjustments if need be. For example, apartments are usually smaller than those in the United States. The prices of most things do not vary remarkably from their counterparts in the United States, but some items can be much more expensive. The maintenance allowance will not suffice to cover major purchases of winter wear or sports equipment. Furthermore, the allowance has not been designed to cover travel in Europe during or after the grant period.
It is important to note that internationally the funding for Fulbright grants comes from a number of sources and it very much depends on the country as well as the particular grant program. In approximately 50 countries around the world, there is a bi-national commission that administers the Fulbright program and each of the commissions is unique (and different from each other) in many ways. The Fulbright Finland Foundation is an independent binational commission. Approximately 80% of the funding of the Finnish Commission comes from Finland.
The maintenance allowances in the majority of grant categories are paid by the Fulbright Finland Foundation from a Finnish account. Please note, there are three exceptions: the Specialist program, the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research Program, and the Fulbright-EDUFI Fellowships program.
The maintenance allowance paid by the Foundation is normally for 9 months (one academic year) or 4-6 months (one semester). Grantees will receive their allowances from the Foundation in equal monthly installments, paid directly into their bank accounts on the first day of the month. The first monthly payment will be made during the first week of September/January if the grantee has delivered their bank details to the Foundation by that time.
The Foundation will deposit the travel and residence permit allowance to each grantee after the grantee has completed all the required pre-departure paperwork.
Please use the forms found here to submit your bank account information to the Foundation.
The grantee is required to notify the Foundation if they are offered an honorarium, lecture fee, or other salaries during the grant period. Student grantees may not undertake remunerative employment during the grant period without prior written approval by the Commission. Grantees are reminded that Finnish legislation on taxes and work permits regulates accepting payments while in Finland.
The grantee will not be entitled to any maintenance allowance until they take up the assignment in Finland. The initial maintenance payment will be made shortly after the grantee’s arrival in Finland to take up the project.
If for any reason the grantee, during the term of this grant, ceases to carry out their project or activity, the maintenance allowance and other grant benefits may be suspended until the grantee resumes their project or activity.
