Most of what is written about bank accounts in Montenegro describes banks refusing people. That is true for business accounts and for people with no presence in the country. For an individual who lives in Montenegro lawfully it is incomplete. A Montenegrin statute gives every consumer who lawfully stays in Montenegro, foreigners included, the right to open and use a "payment account with basic services" at a bank (Law on Comparability of Fees Related to Consumer Payment Accounts, Switching of Consumer Payment Accounts and Payment Accounts with Basic Services, Article 26). Since the amendment published on 20 May 2026 every bank with its seat in Montenegro must offer that account (Article 25). The bank must open it or refuse within ten working days, has two refusal grounds written into the law, and must give you the reasons in writing (Article 27). If you live abroad, that right does not reach you yet. The same law extends it to consumers lawfully resident in the European Union (Article 39), but that article applies only from the day Montenegro joins the EU (Article 45). Until then, opening an account from abroad remains the bank's decision.
Sources, checked on 17 September 2026: Zakon o uporedivosti naknada povezanih sa računom za plaćanje potrošača, prebacivanju računa za plaćanje potrošača i računu za plaćanje sa osnovnim uslugama, Official Gazette of Montenegro 145/2021 and 70/2026, unofficial consolidated text published by the Central Bank of Montenegro, Articles 1, 2, 3, 6, 25 to 32, 34, 39, 41, 45, 46 and 46a. Central Bank of Montenegro, explanatory page "Račun za plaćanje sa osnovnim uslugama". This page is general information about Montenegrin law, not advice on your file.
Who has the right today
| Your situation | Right to a basic account? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Foreigner with a temporary or permanent residence permit | Yes | Lawful stay under the Aliens Act (Arts. 6(8), 26) |
| Montenegrin citizen with residence in Montenegro | Yes | Art. 6(8), 26 |
| Person with no fixed address, asylum seeker, or person without a permit who cannot be removed for legal or factual reasons | Yes, expressly | Art. 26 |
| Foreigner in Montenegro on a visa-free or short stay | Not answered expressly | The definition covers stay "in accordance with the law governing the rights of foreigners"; the law does not say whether a short stay is enough |
| Foreigner living in Germany, the UK or the US with no stay in Montenegro | No, not yet | The EU-resident right in Art. 39 applies only from EU accession (Art. 45) |
| A company, including your Montenegrin d.o.o. | Outside this law | The law governs consumer payment accounts (Arts. 1, 2) |
The definition that decides the first rows is in Article 6, point 8: lawful stay in Montenegro means the stay of a natural person under the rules on residence of citizens, or the stay of foreigners in accordance with the law governing the rights of foreigners, including foreigners under international or temporary protection or under an international treaty. The Central Bank's own explanation puts it the same way: the basic account is "intended for all consumers who lawfully stay in Montenegro".
Article 3 adds a non-discrimination rule for anyone lawfully staying in Montenegro, naming among other grounds national origin, place of stay and language.
The EU clause that is printed but not in force
Chapter VI of the law is headed "Rights and obligations after Montenegro's accession to the European Union". Article 39 in that chapter gives a consumer lawfully resident anywhere in the EU the right to open a basic account with a bank seated in Montenegro, regardless of where in the EU they live. Article 45 then says that Articles 35 to 40 will apply from the day Montenegro accedes to the European Union.
So a German, French or Irish resident reading Article 39 in the consolidated text is reading a future rule. It is the same drafting pattern as in the Aliens Act, where the whole chapter on EU citizens waits for accession. Today, a person who lives in the EU and not in Montenegro has no statutory right to a Montenegrin account, and a bank that declines them is exercising its own discretion.
What the bank must do when you apply
Article 27 sets out the procedure:
- Ten working days. The bank must open the account or refuse the request without delay and no later than ten working days after receiving a complete request.
- One mandatory refusal ground. The bank must refuse if opening the account would breach the anti-money-laundering rules. In that case it also reports to the authority responsible for preventing money laundering.
- One optional refusal ground. The bank may refuse if you already hold a payment account in Montenegro that gives you the basic services. It may check this with other banks, which must cooperate, or accept your written statement that you have no such account or will close it.
- Written reasons, free of charge. A refusal must be sent to you in writing, without a fee, with the reasons, unless disclosing them would be contrary to national security, the public interest or the anti-money-laundering rules. The notice must also tell you about out-of-court dispute resolution.
- No bundling. The bank may not make the account conditional on your taking any additional service.
The law does not list your nationality, your tax residence or the size of your deposit as grounds for refusal. The anti-money-laundering ground is real, though: the bank still verifies your identity and the source of your funds under those rules, and a file it cannot complete can be refused on that basis.
What the account includes
Under Article 28 a basic account covers:
- opening, maintaining and closing the account;
- cash deposits;
- cash withdrawals at the counter or at an ATM, during or outside business hours;
- direct debits, card payments including online payments, and credit transfers including standing orders, at terminals, at the counter and online where the bank offers online banking.
The bank may not offer these services in a narrower scope than on its ordinary accounts. The number of transactions is unlimited. The account must be in the currency that is legal tender in Montenegro, which is the euro. No overdraft is allowed, agreed or tacit.
What it may cost
Article 29 caps the fees at what the bank charges under its usual pricing policy and never more than it charges holders of its other payment accounts. The listed services are provided free or for a "reasonable fee", which the bank sets by reference to the average net wage in Montenegro and the average fee banks charge for the same service; card payments by credit card may be priced normally. The bank must publish its tariff for the basic account in its branches and on its website, and it may not charge you for refusing a payment because your balance was insufficient.
A lower fee regime applies to listed vulnerable groups, such as recipients of the minimum wage, the lowest pensions or certain social benefits under Montenegrin law.
When the bank can close it
Article 30 allows the bank to terminate the basic account unilaterally if at least one of five conditions is met:
- you deliberately used the account for unlawful purposes;
- there has been no transaction for more than 24 consecutive months;
- you obtained the account on the basis of incorrect information;
- you no longer stay lawfully in Montenegro;
- you later opened another account that gives you the basic services.
For grounds 2, 4 and 5 the bank must give you free written notice with the reasons at least two months before the termination takes effect. For grounds 1 and 3 termination takes effect when the notice is delivered.
Ground 4 is the one foreign residents should plan around. A temporary residence permit in Montenegro generally lapses if you spend more than thirty days outside the country during its validity, subject to narrow exceptions, a rule we explain in what studying or working abroad does to a Montenegrin permit. Once the permit has lapsed and you have no other lawful stay, the bank may rely on ground 4.
If the bank refuses or does not answer
Article 34 gives you a complaint to the bank first. If that fails, you may complain to the Central Bank of Montenegro and use alternative dispute resolution. The Central Bank supervises compliance with this law (Article 32).
Article 41 fines a bank 5,000 to 30,000 euros, and the responsible officer 1,000 to 2,000 euros, among other things for:
- not opening or refusing a request within ten working days;
- making the account conditional on additional services;
- allowing an overdraft on the account;
- charging fees above the limits in Article 29 or not publishing the tariff;
- terminating on grounds 2, 4 or 5 without the two months' written notice.
A refusal on a ground other than the two in Article 27 is not itself among the offences in Article 41. It is still measured against Article 27 and the non-discrimination rule in Article 3 when the Central Bank supervises, and the written reasons you are entitled to are what you take to the complaint.
What this law does not decide
- Business accounts. The law governs consumer accounts. Accounts for a Montenegrin d.o.o. or a foreign company remain a matter of the bank's risk assessment; we describe that landscape in opening bank accounts in Montenegro and, for crypto businesses, in why a crypto company cannot get a bank account.
- Short stays. Whether a visa-free stay counts as lawful stay for this law is not stated. If you apply without a residence permit, ask the bank to give its answer in writing.
- The documents a bank may ask for. The anti-money-laundering rules decide those, not this law.
- Paying for property. An account is not required for every step of a purchase; see bank transfers, AML checks and cash limits in Montenegrin purchases.
Whose side we are on
We act for the account holder. We take no commission from banks and have no referral arrangements with them. We do not tell you which bank to choose; we tell you what the bank owes you under Articles 26 to 30 and how to hold it to that.
Before you apply
Send us your residence status in Montenegro (permit type and expiry, or none), the purpose of the account, and any refusal you have already received. We tell you in writing whether you have a statutory right to a basic account, prepare an application that cites Articles 26 and 27, and, if a bank refuses or lets the ten working days pass, draft the complaint to the bank and to the Central Bank of Montenegro.
