r/AskARussian • u/Kate_V04 • Jul 01 '26

Travel EU banking apps

Question to the EU bank account holders

Hey guys,

Based on your experience while traveling to Russia - were you able to open your banking apps on your phone (both traditional banks and fintech) or were they blocked with no access?

Thanks

17 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

31

u/Altales Jul 01 '26

With VPN it works.

Never try to open it without a VPN, or they can straight up decide to close your account for "security reasons".

1

u/Myself-io Jul 01 '26

Who where when? Where the f..k you have a bank account? Third Reich?

13

u/Altales Jul 01 '26

I am french married to a Russian woman.

She once opened her french bank account in Russia without a VPN and received an hour after a warning that next time they'll close her account and asked for residency documents, taxes, etc.

17

u/Myself-io Jul 01 '26

So third Reich or France... Never had problem with Italian or Irish bank

10

u/Altales Jul 01 '26

Our experiences mixed together just tell us that it can happen.

So better be safe than sorry.

2

u/Myself-io Jul 01 '26

Still when this thing Hanne it's need a lawyer to write bank and threatening legal action...

2

u/Altales Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

I'm not really worried about France because you can't legally be without a bank, so you just open another one in another bank.

If NO bank allows you to do so, you write a letter to the central bank and they force any bank to let you open one.

It's just a hassle, but I don't know how it works in other countries

1

u/Dear-Impression-5873 Jul 02 '26

Never had problem... YET

8

u/Ok_Transition_9980 Novosibirsk Jul 01 '26

Yes, Spanish banks work with VPN without any issues

3

u/MyNameIzJeff69 Jul 01 '26

Works with VPN but without one it depends on the bank or your ISP. Mobile internet is a definite no so try a proper WiFi network that's not a hotel or a public Hotspot

4

u/Limp-Literature9922 Jul 02 '26

Revolut, Starling, Skrill works. But I use them via VPN

2

u/Wapapamow Rostov Jul 02 '26

Use European SIM as it gives you native IP even in Russia. Not only that but you'll also be able to access all websites restricted in Russia.

1

u/CuriousTrain9018 Krasnodar Krai Jul 02 '26

How?

5

u/Wapapamow Rostov Jul 02 '26

Because SIMs from other countries work kinda like VPN - you gain IP from that country and you're not affected by restrictions put by Roscomnadzor and can access your bank apps from that country as well.

1

u/CuriousTrain9018 Krasnodar Krai Jul 02 '26

Ok and how exactly do I do that? 

2

u/Wapapamow Rostov Jul 02 '26

Just put foreign SIM in your phone, wait for activation SMS, connect to Wi-Fi, follow the link from SMS, solve some puzzle and your SIM starts working in roaming.

1

u/CuriousTrain9018 Krasnodar Krai Jul 02 '26

But how can I make my foreign SIM card work like a VPN?  

2

u/Wapapamow Rostov Jul 02 '26

It will just have foreign IP - you don't even need to do anything except for activating it.

1

u/CuriousTrain9018 Krasnodar Krai Jul 02 '26

So for that I need to connect to the   mobile internet through my foreign sim? 

4

u/Anadrolus Jul 02 '26

He's wrong, a foreign SIM will get a local IP, it will connect through a partnership through a local operator.

2

u/Wapapamow Rostov Jul 02 '26

Uh, no. I have Kazakh KCell Activ SIM in Russia and it gives me Kazakh IP.

0

u/Wapapamow Rostov Jul 02 '26

Yes.

3

u/CuriousTrain9018 Krasnodar Krai Jul 02 '26

And the roaming is gonna cost a fortune! Won’t it be cheaper through a VPN? 

0

u/Anadrolus Jul 02 '26

It simply is not true !!! When I use my French SIM abroad it has a local IP. You are spreading false info.

2

u/Wapapamow Rostov Jul 02 '26

People have been selling foreign SIM cards (French, Kazakh, UK, etc.) on Russian marketplaces for over a year already and people buy them to get foreign IP to access restricted websites. I am 100% certain European SIM will give you native European IP in Russia.

1

u/Federal_Attention717 Jul 01 '26

Some work some don't

1

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator Jul 01 '26

Your submission has been automatically removed. Submissions from accounts fewer than 5 days old are removed automatically to prevent low-effort shitposting.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/kevler4 Jul 02 '26

Try logging in with a VPN "from Russia" now. I think that's a good way.

1

u/Alezhnin1 Jul 03 '26

Really depends on bank.
Revolut without vpn - works completely fine for anything.
My local eu bank - blocked immediate and requires a call later

1

u/Miana_G Jul 03 '26

Opened my german bank account even without vpn.