Before you start

National register number, issued after the wijkagent check
Belgian eID, or Bijlage 15 plus passport depending on the bank
Proof of address
A Belgian mobile number for two-factor authentication

Step-by-step

1
Wait for the national register number
Most banks will not complete onboarding without it. Some will open a limited account on a Bijlage 15 and passport, but policy differs by bank and even by branch — ask before booking an appointment.
In personWho: YouAfter city registration
2
Ask for the student or under-26 package explicitly
KBC, Argenta, BNP Paribas Fortis, ING Belgium and Belfius all compete hard for Leuven's student population, and the free packages are genuine products rather than teaser rates. They frequently extend to anyone enrolled — including a doctoral researcher on a payroll contract — and to under-26s generally. The branch will otherwise sell you the standard fee-bearing account.
In personWho: You
3
Read the standardised fee document either way
Banks are obliged to give you a standardised document setting out the annual account fee and every card charge. The amounts are small individually but vary by multiples between packages, and switching later means moving every direct debit — salary, rent, utilities and the ziekenfonds contribution.
OnlineWho: You
4
Activate itsme as soon as the eID arrives
itsme is the key to MyMinfin, ziekenfonds portals, city e-services and most bank logins. Activation normally needs a Belgian eID with its PIN, or a Belgian bank card and reader. Until then you will be doing in person what residents do on a phone.
Mobile appWho: You
5
Get a Bancontact debit card and expect it to be the default
Bancontact is the domestic debit scheme and is accepted almost everywhere, including small shops, market stalls and surgeries that may refuse a foreign Visa or Mastercard. Payconiq QR payment runs alongside it and is near-universal on the Oude Markt.
Mobile appWho: You
6
Invoke the basic banking service if you are refused
Belgian law gives residents a right to a basic banking service with essential payment functions. Newly-arrived foreign residents are exactly the group most often refused on internal risk criteria, and most simply try elsewhere rather than knowing the entitlement exists.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

eID, or Bijlage 15 with passport
National register number
Proof of address
Employment contract or enrolment certificate — the latter unlocks the student package
Tax residence declaration (FATCA/CRS), always requested

Things most newcomers don’t know

itsme gates Belgian digital life and obtaining it is circular.

Tax filing, health fund portals, city e-services, pension records and most bank logins run through itsme. Activating it normally requires a Belgian eID and PIN, or a Belgian bank card and reader — and the eID requires city registration, which requires the police check. Arrivals hit this loop in week three and conclude the country is obstructive. It is simply sequential: city, register number, eID, itsme, then everything opens at once.

Source: community-reported; FPS Home Affairs

The free account exists here and the branch will not offer it unprompted.

Belgian current accounts normally carry an annual fee plus card charges. But Leuven's banks compete for tens of thousands of students, so free student and under-26 packages are standing products — and they generally apply to anyone with an enrolment certificate, which includes doctoral researchers on payroll contracts and many visiting academics. The default sold at the counter is the fee-bearing account. Ask by name.

Source: community-reported

Plan the closing of the account at the same time as the opening.

A great many arrivals here are on one-, two- or three-year contracts, and closing a Belgian account from abroad is genuinely awkward — it usually needs identification the bank will only accept in person, and a residual balance can sit there for years. Note what the bank requires to close an account while you are still in the branch opening it, and keep the account open until your final tax return and any ziekenfonds reimbursements have settled.

Source: community-reported

There is a legal right to a basic banking service if a bank turns you away.

Belgian law obliges the sector to provide residents with a basic account offering essential payment functions. Refusals of foreign residents in their first months are common and usually generic rather than personal. Naming the entitlement converts many soft refusals on the spot, and there is a formal route when it does not.

Source: FPS Economy

Common mistakes to avoid

Trying to open an account before the city issues your national register number.
Paying for a current account you were entitled to have free.
Trying to open an account in the second week of September, along with everyone else.
Accepting a refusal rather than asking for the basic banking service.
Leaving Belgium at the end of a contract with a Belgian account still open.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.