BANK ACCOUNTS … Advice on best and cheapest ( charges) bank accounts

BANK ACCOUNTS … Advice on best and cheapest ( charges) bank accounts for Italy.  Had a BPER account they were charging me €17 every couple of months just to have a debit card 😳.    Also about about saving accounts any thoughts.   Many thanks for any advice 😊👍🏻

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Bank Account: I have my account with Poste italiane, I have had it for 20 years it was the cheapest at the time and it still is.  I pay  1.08 euro a month of commission and something like 40 euro once a year, but this is probably because it is still an old account (they tried to make me upgrade a few years back and I refused).  I have  debit card only.

Saving accounts in Italy, I find it a disaster. I recently opened a life insurance with Generali because that was simply the best I could find.

 

I use Wise - Its free to have, free to load, incredibly cheap to exchange currencies beating all the high street banks, can pay bills remotely if you have their band details and a ref number. I pay IMU, comune charges and bills this way.

I am moving to Abruzzo in a year (current US citizen, jus sanguinis-eligible, will be applying through the Comune for residency then citizenship). Can I set up a bank account with Intesa San Paolo or PosteItaliane as a non-citizen? I have a codice fiscale and residence.

Yes no problem , however, two important notes -

1 >From 2023 there is a new rule for AIRE who buy in Italy, they can take the first home benefits, only in the municipality where they are registered - If your registration for Jure sanguinis is in Foggia in Puglia - you can buy as a first home ONLY in Foggia,

here is the link to the law

> https://www.lifeinitaly.it/documenti/AIRE_LIMITAZIONI_AGEVOLAZIONI_PRIM…

2>  a bank account for foreign citizens has higher costs, even if only slightly, than one for Italian citizens by Jure sanguinis - Open the account, with your Italian passport

Benvenuto in Italia !