Best neobanks and digital banks in Romania (2026)

Summary

On these facts:

• Day-to-day account under Romania’s own guarantee: Salt Bank, an FGDB member ¹; SALT package 0 RON a month (fee list of 21.08.2026) ².
• Travel and FX: Salt charges 1.8% on card payments in a currency other than that of the account used, and 0% on multicurrency payments ²; ING Go charges no ATM commission worldwide on withdrawals from its lei account when recurring income is paid in ³, but sits under the Dutch scheme, not FGDB ¹.
• A European app with a Romanian IBAN: Revolut, whose help centre says customers living in Romania have received an RO IBAN after it launched its Romanian branch ⁴, which FGDB lists ¹.
• Savings: this guide has no verified savings rates; stay within €100,000 per depositor per bank ⁵.

The shortlist

Salt Bank, Banca Transilvania and Banca Comercială Română (BCR) are Romanian legal-entity banks in FGDB, Romania’s deposit guarantee scheme ¹. ING and Revolut are Bucharest branches of banks from other EU countries, guaranteed by their home country’s scheme ¹.

Not stated: no verified source.

N26 does not offer accounts in Romania: the country is missing from N26’s own list of countries, on both its French-locale and EU-wide support pages (accessed 28 September 2026) ^{11, 12}.

bunq, Wise and Vivid Money appear only under protection: the sources do not confirm they serve Romanian residents.

Is your money protected?

FGDB: the Romanian scheme

“Banii fiecărui deponent la bancă sunt garantați până la 100.000 de Euro.” (“Each depositor’s money at the bank is guaranteed up to €100,000.”) ⁵ FGDB pays in lei at the BNR (National Bank of Romania) rate on the day deposits become unavailable, whatever the deposit’s currency ⁵. A further €100,000 applies for 12 months to money from events such as a sale of residential property, a retirement payout or an insurance indemnity ⁵.

Salt Bank S.A., Banca Transilvania S.A. and Banca Comercială Română S.A. are on FGDB’s list of Romanian legal-entity credit institutions that participate in FGDB ¹. Banca Transilvania’s fee document has a section of card and account transfer fees for BT Pay customers ⁷; George is BCR’s banking app (“With George, you can handle all your banking operations directly from your phone”) ⁸.

Branches of EU banks

FGDB lists “ING BANK N.V. AMSTERDAM – Sucursala București” ¹ and “REVOLUT BANK UAB Vilnius – Sucursala București” ¹ (Bucharest branches) among branches of EU banks, whose deposits are guaranteed in the home country ¹.

• Revolut: the Lithuanian State Company “Deposit and Investment Insurance” covers deposits up to €100,000, according to Revolut’s explainer dated 19 May 2023 ⁹; the same page says virtual currencies, commodities and investments are not covered ⁹.
• ING: the Dutch home-state scheme applies ¹; the sources do not state its limit for ING.

On these facts, Revolut’s €100,000 matches FGDB’s ^{5, 9}, and ING’s limit is not stated ¹; what differs is which country’s scheme is responsible, and whether it has a top-up like FGDB’s is not stated ¹.

Other EU providers

Wise states that “our payment services aren’t subject to the Belgian Deposit Guarantee Scheme” ¹⁴. bunq is not on FGDB’s list of EU-bank branches in Romania ¹.

Local IBAN, salary and IBAN discrimination

Who gives you an account held in Romania

Salt Bank, Banca Transilvania and BCR are Romanian banks ¹, ING operates through a Bucharest branch ¹, and in Romania an IBAN has 24 characters, starting with RO ⁶. Revolut’s notice of 25 September 2024 said its Romanian branch “will become officially active in December 2024”, and that Romanian accounts would move from partner-provided local IBANs to RO IBANs issued through the branch, in stages through Q4 2024 ¹⁶. The process began in 2022 with registration at the National Bank of Romania ¹⁶, FGDB’s list now includes the branch ¹, and Revolut’s help centre says customers living in Romania have received an RO IBAN ⁴.

The EU rule

Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No 260/2012, the SEPA end-date Regulation, binds both payers and payees, for accounts reachable under its Article 3 ¹⁷:

• Payers, such as an employer: “A payer making a credit transfer to a payee holding a payment account located within the Union shall not specify the Member State in which that payment account is to be located, provided that the payment account is reachable in accordance with Article 3.” ¹⁷
• Payees, such as a utility collecting by direct debit: “A payee accepting a credit transfer or using a direct debit … shall not specify the Member State …” ¹⁷

Open point: the sources do not establish which Romanian body enforces the rule (Article 10 leaves designation to each Member State) ¹⁷. The Regulation covers credit transfers and direct debits in euro ¹⁸, so it does not cover salary paid in lei.

If an employer or utility refuses your IBAN

1. Cite Article 9(1) to a payer or Article 9(2) to a payee ¹⁷.
2. With Revolut, give the RO IBAN that its help centre says customers living in Romania have received; Revolut says it works for salary and direct debits ⁴.
3. Otherwise, on these facts, use an account with an RO IBAN ⁶: Salt Bank, Banca Transilvania, BCR ¹ or ING’s Bucharest branch ¹.

Fees that matter

On these facts, occasional cash withdrawals are free at Salt within its allowance ², at ING Go with the lei card when its conditions are met ³, and at Revolut Standard within 5 withdrawals or 800 RON ¹⁰. ING Go suits a salary account: unless at least 700 RON of recurring income arrives and you make a card payment, in at least 2 of the last 3 completed months, it costs 15 RON a month from age 25 ³. Salt’s 1.8% conversion fee does not apply when the card pays from an account in the payment’s currency ². BCR is omitted: the sources hold no BCR prices.

Account freezes and complaints

What people report

A review on Expertul Banilor dated 21 May 2024 describes an ING customer with a refinancing loan whose card was blocked every salary day despite no garnishment (poprire) ¹⁹: “Luna de luna, la data la care îmi încasez salariul, ING bank îmi blocheaza cardul.” (“Month after month, on the day I receive my salary, ING Bank blocks my card.”) ¹⁹

This is a single report; the sources hold no data on how often any provider freezes accounts.

The formal complaint path

CSALB (Centrul de Soluționare Alternativă a Litigiilor în Domeniul Bancar, the Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution in Banking ²⁰) handles disputes between customers and banks or IFNs (non-bank financial institutions), with separate procedures for individuals and for legal entities; its site says it helps free of charge, following the SAL (alternative dispute resolution) procedures: “Rezolvă-ți prin noi litigiul cu banca și IFN-ul” (“Resolve your dispute with the bank or the IFN through us”) ²¹. The sources do not establish whether it takes account-freeze cases, disputes with Romanian branches of EU banks, or complaints about payment and e-money institutions.

On these facts, money in a second account at another provider stays usable if one account is blocked: in the ING review, the card block kept the customer from the rest of their salary ¹⁹.

Tax on interest and foreign accounts

Interest from Romanian accounts

Fiscal Code (Law 227/2015), art. 97(1), in ANAF’s consolidated text, last updated by Emergency Ordinance 38/2026 ²²: “Veniturile sub formă de dobânzi pentru depozitele la vedere/conturi curente, … se impun cu o cotă de 10% din suma acestora, impozitul fiind final” (“Interest on sight deposits/current accounts … is taxed at 10% of its amount, and the tax is final”) ²². Interest on term deposits is also taxed at 10%, as a final tax ²². The payer withholds it ²².

Income from abroad

ANAF’s guide on income from abroad (2021 edition): “Contribuabilii persoane fizice care realizează … venituri/pierderi din străinătate au obligaţia să declare veniturile şi să plătească impozit pe venit și contribuţii sociale obligatorii …” (“Individual taxpayers with income or losses from abroad must declare the income and pay income tax and mandatory social contributions …”) ²³. The form is the Declarația unică, and interest is on the guide’s list of foreign income; its deadlines refer to 2021, so check this year’s with ANAF ²³.

Whether interest from the Romanian branch of an EU bank, such as Revolut or ING ¹, counts as foreign income is not stated in the sources.

Context

• On 25 September 2024 Revolut reported “more than 4 million” customers in Romania and “over 34 million” in the EEA, and called Romania its second-largest market globally by retail customer base and the largest in the EU ¹⁶.
• Romania is outside the euro area ²⁴; fees in this guide are in lei (RON) unless shown in euro ^{2, 3}.
• The European Commission’s Convergence Report of 24 June 2026 assessed Romania and the four other non-euro states legally committed to the euro, and concluded: “Prin urmare, niciunul dintre aceste state membre nu îndeplinește în prezent toate criteriile pentru aderarea la zona euro.” (“Therefore, none of these member states currently meets all the criteria for joining the euro area.”) The Commission’s announcement sets no adoption date ²⁴.

What people in Romania ask

Can I get my salary on Revolut?

IT-Blog forum, January 2020: “Pot sa folosesc REVOLUT in Romania sa mi primesc salariul pe el de la angajator roman?” (“Can I use Revolut in Romania to receive my salary from a Romanian employer?”) A reply said no, because Revolut then issued a UK IBAN ²⁵.

That predates the branch: Revolut’s September 2024 notice said the branch would become active in December 2024 and that RO IBANs would be issued through it in stages through Q4 2024 ¹⁶.

Is it safe to keep euro savings on Revolut?

r/robursa, November 2021: “Este sigur sa-mi tin economiile in euro pe Revolut?” (“Is it safe to keep my savings in euro on Revolut?”) ²⁶

FGDB says Romanian branches of banks from other EU states participate in their home states’ schemes, and lists Revolut’s Bucharest branch ¹; Revolut put its Lithuanian cover at €100,000 in May 2023 ⁹; that cover does not extend to crypto, commodities or investments ⁹. The sources hold no data on how often Revolut blocks accounts.

Is Salt’s exchange rate as cheap as people say?

r/roFrugal, April 2024: “curs de schimb valutar foarte bun. Luni-vineri markup e doar 0.028%, pe cand la Revolut e de 10x mai mare” (“very good exchange rate. Monday to Friday the markup is only 0.028%, while at Revolut it is 10 times higher”) ²⁷

One user’s claim. Salt’s fee list of 21.08.2026 states 1.8% on card payments in a currency other than that of the account used, and 0% on multicurrency payments ². Revolut’s Standard terms charge no exchange fee on weekdays within 5,000 RON a month, then 1%, and 1% at weekends ¹⁰; neither source states a markup to compare with the 0.028% the user quotes ²⁷.

Did Revolut have RO IBANs before the branch?

r/Revolut, March 2024: “Within the EU, the RO IBANs continue working as usual.” ²⁸

Revolut’s September 2024 notice describes moving Romanian accounts from partner-provided local IBANs to RO IBANs from its own branch ¹⁶.

FAQ

Is money at Revolut covered by FGDB?

No. Deposits at Revolut’s Romanian branch fall under the Lithuanian scheme, which Revolut says covers deposits up to €100,000 (May 2023) ^{1, 9}; crypto, commodities and investments are not covered ⁹.

Can I open an N26 account in Romania?

No. Romania is missing from N26’s list of countries where it offers accounts, on both its French-locale and EU-wide support pages (accessed 28 September 2026) ^{11, 12}.

Can my employer insist on a Romanian IBAN?

Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 bars a payer from specifying the Member State of a reachable account ¹⁷. The sources do not settle enforcement in Romania, and the Regulation covers euro payments only ¹⁸; a Revolut RO IBAN ⁴ or an account at a Romanian bank ^{1, 6} avoids the dispute.

What if I briefly hold over €100,000 after a property sale?

At FGDB member banks, a further €100,000 applies for 12 months to money from a sale of residential property, a retirement payout or an insurance indemnity, among other events ^{1, 5}.

Is money in Wise protected like a bank deposit?

No. Wise Europe SA is a payment institution; balances are safeguarded, its payment services are not subject to the Belgian Deposit Guarantee Scheme, and for money invested through its Assets feature, Wise says each customer in Europe is eligible for Estonian Guarantee Fund protection up to €20,000 ¹⁴.

Do I have to declare interest from a foreign account?

Yes, if you are a Romanian resident: ANAF’s 2021 guide says residents declare income from abroad, including interest, in the Declarația unică; check the current deadline with ANAF ²³.