Poštanska Štedionica: A Complete Guide to Accounts in Serbia

Key Operations and Fees

Before starting to work with Poštanska Štedionica bank, it's useful to familiarize yourself with the main service conditions and fees. This will help you avoid surprises when performing standard banking operations such as cash withdrawals, account deposits, and making payments.

The monthly account maintenance fee depends on the account type. For individuals, it is 50 dinars per month, but it is only charged if there are transactions on the account. For business accounts, a fixed fee of 300 dinars per month is established.

When paying with a card within Serbia, funds are debited from the euro account with conversion to dinars at the bank's rate, which is approximately 117 dinars per euro. If the payment is made abroad or online in a currency other than dinar, funds from a business account will be debited from the dinar (RSD) account with conversion to the local currency at the bank's rate. For personal accounts, the conversion is made from the euro account.

Opening a Personal Account

The procedure for opening a personal account at Poštanska Štedionica is quite standardized and requires a specific set of documents. It is important to prepare everything necessary in advance to speed up the process.

• International passport.
• Internal passport with registration (propiska). Some branches may request a notarized translation of it.
• A local Serbian phone number.
• "Beli karton" (confirmation of registration of stay), certified by the police. If you have a residence permit (VNJ), a printout from the ID card is provided instead of the "beli karton".

A personal account can be opened simultaneously with a business account or separately. The application review and account opening period for an individual usually does not exceed one week. After approval, you will be invited to a branch to sign the agreement.

Opening a Business Account for a Sole Proprietor

Opening an account for a sole proprietor (preduzetnik) requires a more extensive set of documents. The cost of opening and annual card maintenance is 3800 RSD (3600 for maintenance and 200 for issuance). It is important to note that a business plan, contracts, or invoices are not required for this.

• Completed application and questionnaire (provided at the branch).
• Proof of sole proprietorship registration (e.g., for the "Paušal" form).
• International and internal passports.
• "Beli karton" (certified by the police) or a printout from the ID card (if you have a residence permit).
• A local phone number.

When submitting the application, several nuances should be considered. If employees require a residence permit (boravak) and you don't have one, it's worth trying another branch. In the application, you must specify the full name of your sole proprietorship: "First Name Last Name PR business activity name". It is recommended to request the issuance of a bank card immediately, as this is not always done by default. The period for opening a business account is usually from 2 to 4 weeks.

Digital Services: Mobile Banking and NFC Payments

Poštanska Štedionica provides clients with access to mobile and online services, but their functionality and connection process have their own specifics. It is recommended to request online banking activation right when signing the agreement at the branch.

• App for individuals: has limited functionality. It only allows you to see the balance of the euro account; transactions and balances in other currencies (e.g., dollars) are not displayed.
• App for business: more functional. It shows balances for all accounts, as well as all transactions, including card payments.

• Google Pay: works with Mastercard and Visa cards.
• Apple Pay: only Mastercard cards are supported.

Sometimes, adding a card to Apple Pay requires additional verification. To do this, you need to write to a special bank email address, specifying the card number and iPhone model. Confirmation usually arrives within 1-2 business days. It is also important to remember that to enable online card payments, this service must be activated separately at the bank branch for both personal and business accounts.

International SWIFT Transfers

Receiving funds from abroad via the SWIFT system is an important function for many clients, especially entrepreneurs. Poštanska Bank officially accepts transfers in RSD, EUR, and RUB to business accounts. Individuals can also receive USD into their accounts.

• IBAN: your account number, starts with RS and is specified in the account opening agreement. Example: RS352001234567890.
• SWIFT/BIC: SBPORSBG.

You can get the full details through the online bank for business (in the Account Info section, by clicking the "Account Info Card" button) or by requesting them via email, attaching a completed application.

After funds arrive at the bank's transit account, you will receive a notification and the form "OBAVEŠTENJE O DEVIZNOM PRILIVU" by email. This form must be completed by specifying the basis for the payment (a special code), the invoice number and year, and a description of the transaction. After signing and sending the form back, the money will be credited to your foreign currency account, usually within one business day.

Nuances of Receiving USD to a Business Account

Although the bank may officially state that it does not accept US dollars to business accounts, in practice, it is possible. The success of the transaction often depends on the sending bank and the correspondent banks involved in the transfer.

1. Accounts in Serbia are multi-currency, so the details for receiving USD are the same as for EUR. A separate USD account will appear in the online bank only after the first successful deposit.
2. If in doubt, it is recommended to make a test payment for a small amount (e.g., $100). If the transfer fails, the money will be returned to the sender.
3. There are confirmed cases of successfully receiving USD from the American bank Choice without specifying a correspondent bank.

If a direct transfer in dollars is not possible, you can use alternative methods. Almost any foreign bank can send a payment in EUR. Additionally, you can use intermediary services that officially operate in Serbia, such as Payoneer, Deel, Wise, or EasyStaff. They can accept USD and transfer it to your account in EUR.

Managing Funds in a Sole Proprietor's Account

Entrepreneurs can manage currency and transfer funds from their business account in several ways. Selling currency (e.g., converting euros to dinars) is done either through the online portal or via email.

• Via the personal portal: this is the fastest way. You need to create a payment (General foreign currency payment) from your foreign currency account to your own dinar account. The operation is usually completed within a few hours during business hours.
• Via email: if you don't have access to online banking, you can send a completed and signed application to the appropriate bank email address. The conversion will take place within one business day.

For resident entrepreneurs (who have lived in Serbia for more than 12 months with a residence permit), it is possible to transfer funds from a business account to their personal account. It's important to remember that you cannot transfer money to third parties this way. The transfer is possible to your own personal account at Poštanska or another Serbian bank. When making such a payment in the online bank, payment code 41 is used.

Additional Services and Procedures

In addition to standard operations, bank clients may require other services, such as card reissuance or setting up notifications.

Card reissuance upon expiration is automatic. Around the middle of the card's last month of validity, the client receives an SMS or email notification that the new card is ready. It must be collected from the same branch where the account was opened.

To activate SMS notifications (card alarm) for transactions on a personal card, you need to send an SMS message to the number 4640. The message text must be in the format: PCA <13-digit JMBG>. The card type code depends on the card type (e.g., it will be one code for a foreign currency Visa and another for a Mastercard).

Another important procedure is changing status from non-resident to resident. At Poštanska Štedionica bank, this is only possible after obtaining a permanent residence permit (PMŽ). To change the status, you need to visit a branch with the permanent residence ID card and your international passport.