Portuguese banking has one gate and two habits. The gate is the NIF, without which nothing at all can happen. The habits are Multibanco and MB WAY, a domestic payments layer so deeply embedded in daily life that not having it is a genuine friction point rather than a minor inconvenience.
The NIF is the master key
The Numero de Identificacao Fiscal is the Portuguese tax number. Without it you cannot open a bank account, sign a lease, buy property, take a phone contract, register with the SNS, or file anything with the state. Get it first, before anything else, including before you start a visa application.
- It is free. Anyone charging you for a NIF is charging for convenience, not for the number.
- Residents apply in person at a Servico de Financas or an Espaco Cidadao with civil ID or passport and a residence title.
- Non-residents from outside the EU or EEA must appoint a fiscal representative resident in Portugal — normally a lawyer or accountant, at an annual fee. This is the single reason remote NIF services exist, and why they charge roughly 15 to 120 euros. The requirement falls away once you establish residence.
- Portuguese consulates abroad can also issue NIFs, which is often the cheapest route if there is one near you.
Two other numbers are separate and are frequently confused with it. The NISS is your social security number, free, applied for through the Seguranca Social Direta portal; third-country nationals need a passport, work visa and residence authorisation plus proof of work status. The numero de utente is your health service number, issued at your local health center. A limited number of Espacos Cidadao run a combined service for foreigners that issues all three together — worth seeking out.
Opening an account
You will need a passport or national ID, your NIF, proof of address, and proof of income or employment. Most banks also want a Portuguese mobile number, and for residents the residence permit or CRUE certificate.
Non-residents can open accounts, but the process varies sharply by institution: some offer video identification or fully online onboarding, others insist on a branch appointment in person. Non-residents face a narrower product range and stricter verification. The common pattern is to open a non-resident account before arrival — you need one anyway for the visa’s proof-of-funds requirement — then convert it to a resident account once your residence document issues.
The main banks are Caixa Geral de Depositos (state-owned, largest branch network, useful in small towns), Millennium bcp, Banco BPI (CaixaBank group), Santander Totta, Novo Banco, and ActivoBank, Millennium’s digital arm, which is popular with foreign residents for its low fees. Revolut, Wise and N26 are widely used alongside a domestic account, but not instead of one: mortgages, some utilities, some landlords and occasional IBAN-discrimination edge cases still favor a Portuguese IBAN.
Fees. Account maintenance of 4 to 8 euros a month is common on standard accounts, often waived if a salary is deposited. Portugal also has a regulated conta de servicos minimos bancarios — a minimum banking services account that caps annual charges at 1 percent of the IAS, which is 5.37 euros for the whole of 2026, for eligible customers. It is a genuine entitlement and badly under-used; ask for it by name, because it will not be offered.
One thing US citizens should factor in: Portuguese banks report US-person accounts under FATCA, and some smaller institutions decline US clients outright rather than carry the compliance burden. Approach a larger bank first.
Multibanco and MB WAY
Multibanco is Portugal’s domestic interbank network, and it is unusually capable. A single Multibanco ATM does far more than dispense cash: it pays utility bills, taxes and social security, tops up mobile phones, buys transport passes and event tickets, and processes state fees using a referencia — an entity number, a reference number and an amount. A great many Portuguese payments are made this way, and a great many Portuguese systems will hand you a reference and expect you to know what to do with it rather than offering a card field.
MB WAY is the mobile layer on top of it: person-to-person transfer by phone number, virtual cards for online purchases, cardless ATM withdrawal, and in-store QR payment. It is closer to a utility than an app in Portuguese daily life — splitting a restaurant bill, paying a tradesman, buying from a market stall. It requires a Portuguese bank account and a Portuguese mobile number, which is one more reason not to run purely on a foreign fintech account.
Contactless card acceptance is near universal. Cash use is falling, but small tascas, markets and rural businesses may still be cash-only or impose a card minimum — carry twenty euros for exactly this.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a NIF if I do not live in Portugal yet?
Either at a Portuguese consulate in your country, or through a fiscal representative in Portugal. Non-residents from outside the EU or EEA are legally required to appoint a representative, which is why remote services charge between 15 and 120 euros. The number itself is free. The representation requirement ends once you establish residence.
Can I open a Portuguese bank account before I move?
Yes, as a non-resident, and you will generally need to — proof of funds in a Portuguese account is part of most residence visa applications. Some banks handle it by video identification, others require a branch visit. Once your residence document issues, convert the account to a resident one to access the full product range.
Can I just use Revolut or Wise in Portugal?
For day-to-day spending, largely yes. But you will still want a Portuguese IBAN: mortgages require one, some landlords and utilities refuse foreign IBANs in practice, and MB WAY — which is close to essential socially — needs a domestic account and a Portuguese mobile number. Most residents run both.
What is a Multibanco reference?
A three-part payment instruction — entity number, reference number and amount — that you enter at any Multibanco ATM or in your bank’s app to pay a bill, a tax, a fine or a state fee. Portuguese organizations issue them constantly, often in place of offering a card payment. Learning to use one is the first practical step into the system.
Sources
- gov.pt — obtaining the NIF and NISS for foreign nationals, and the combined service
- Autoridade Tributaria e Aduaneira — NIF attribution to non-resident foreign citizens and fiscal representation
- Banco de Portugal — minimum banking services account and the annual charge cap
- idealista — opening a current account in Portugal, August 2026
- Internal Revenue Service — FATCA reporting by foreign financial institutions
