Life in Slovakia

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Institutions & Services

Banks

There are many banks in Slovakia, usually members of international corporations offering ordinary banking services such as current accounts and subaccounts, domestic and international payments, electronic banking, debit and credit cards, cheques, deposit products, securities, private banking, unit trusts, mortgage financing, loans, exchange and even insurance services.

 

List of banks in Slovakia 

 

365.bank
ČSOB (also in English)
Poštová banka
Privatbanka (also in English)
Prima banka
Raiffeisen Bank
Slovenská záručná a rozvojová banka
VÚB Banka (also in English)
PSS - Prvá stavebná sporiteľňa
SLSP - Slovenská sporiteľňa (also in English)
Tatra banka (also in English)
Wüstenrot

 

 

Banks are usually open from Monday to Friday (from 8:00 to 17:00/18:00). Some branches remain open even longer, and some are open on Saturdays and Sundays (mostly in shopping centres only).

For more details, please, visit the website of the respective bank.

 

How to Open a Bank Account

To open a bank account, you need ID or passport. The opening of the account is for free. The fee per month for the maintenance of the account varies from bank to bank, and depends on whether it is in euro or in a foreign currency.

International students can open a student account for free (they are exempt of monthly fee for maintenance and they can get a debit card for free). Closing of the bank account is usually for free too.

 

Credit & Debit Cards

If you have a current account in euro, a debit card is usually issued within a service package. A credit card is issued independently of an account. Major credit cards (American Express, Diners’ Club, Visa, Eurocard/MasterCard) and debit cards (Maestro, Cirrus, Eurocheque cards and Visa Electron, Eurocard/ MasterCard) may be used for cash withdrawal from cash dispensers (ATM), as well as for payments in hotels, restaurants, shops and petrol stations. Credit cards can also be used to obtain cash.

For further information on commercial acceptability and other services, please, consult your card issuer.

 

Post Offices

 

Post offices are at your service in all towns and villages.

Post offices are open from Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 18:00 and on Saturday until 13:00. The main post offices in larger towns or shopping centres are open daily until 20:00. It is possible to buy postage stamps for postcards and letters directly in the post offices or in some newspaper stands.

 

A 50 g letter sent within Slovakia by 2nd class costs 0.50 €, sent by 1st class costs 0.70 € and registered mail costs 1.45 €. The postage for sending a 50 g letter by 2nd class from Slovakia to the Czech Republic costs 0.95 €, while sending a 50 g letter by the same class to other European countries or outside Europe costs 1.10 €.

The price list is available at the website of the Slovak Post Office, where you can also find postal codes of all the towns in Slovakia and information on other services provided at the post office, e.g. you can pay your utility bills, receive cash on delivery consignments, buy lottery tickets, receive payments, buy a phone and mobile phone cards, and, of course, send postcards and letters.

 

Internet Connection

Slovakia has a large number of full area internet service providers that offer wired broadband internet connections, for example:

 

They offer a range of connections, from ADSL/ADSL2+ to optical “Fibernet”. ADSL or ADSL2+ is available in almost every town in Slovakia. Mobile operators have various mobile internet offers, too. Wi-Fi spots are available throughout the city centres, shopping centres and even in some buses and trains. Almost every coffee shop and restaurant offers free Wi-Fi connection or hotspots for their customers. You can find even free Wi-Fi connection in bookshops around the cities.

 

Phone Calls & Services

 

Currently, there are 4 mobile operators in the territory of the Slovak Republic:

 

 

Orange

Slovak Telekom

O2 Slovakia

4ka

 

They offer either prepaid card services or phone contracts paid on monthly basis.

Slovakia is well covered by mobile phone networks which enable calls even from some peaks of Tatras. Only very distant areas are without signal.

 

Roaming in the EU

The EU “roam like at home” rules enable holders of the EU/EEA countries SIM card to use their mobile phones while travelling in any EU country without any additional roaming charges. The rules cover voice services (to mobile telephones and fixed phone lines), sending text messages (SMS) and using data services while abroad. These rules also apply when receiving calls or texts while roaming, even if the person you are calling is using a different service provider.

More information available at EC website:

The easiest solution to benefit from the EU “roam like at home” rule is to buy a prepaid SIM card. For its purchase, the Slovak legislation requires verification of personal data. Therefore, cards are not sold as freely as in some other countries. Sellers will ask buyers for their passport or identity card if from European Union, or residence permit in Slovakia, on the basis of which they will verify buyer’s identity. The minimum age limit for buying a SIM card is 15.

 

How to Make Phone Calls

 

Emergency calls

General Emergency 112
Ambulance 155
Firemen 150
Police 158
Local municipal police 159

 

Enquiry services - usually paid

Directory enquiries – information about telephone numbers in Slovakia 11 81
International directory enquiries – information about telephone numbers abroad 12 111
Exact time 12 110
Wake up calls 12 125

 

City codes in Slovakia

 

International country code of the Slovak Republic: +421

 

Banská Bystrica 048
Bardejov 054
Bratislava 02
Dunajská Streda  031
Humenné  057
Košice  055
Levice  036
Liptovský Mikuláš  044
Lučenec  047
Martin  043
Michalovce  056
Nitra  037
Nové Zámky  035
Poprad 052
Považská Bystrica  042
Prešov 051
Prievidza  046
Rožňava  058
Senica  034
Spišská Nová Ves  053
Topoľčany  038
Trenčín  032
Trnava  033
Zvolen  045
Žilina  041

 

TIP: when calling landline numbers in Slovakia (they do not have prefix 09..) you must first type Slovak international country code 00421 or+421 and then city code without zero.

 

Libraries

 

There is 1 National Library, 5 scientific libraries, 63 academic libraries and a large number of public, special and school libraries in Slovakia.

The University Library in Bratislava, founded in 1919, contains more than 2 million volumes and is the country’s most important library.

The Slovak National Library in Martin, founded in 1863, includes a collection of materials related to Slovak culture, and also by law, must contain a print of every book even published in Slovakia.

A portal to catalogues and collections of Slovak libraries

Database of Slovak libraries (in Slovak only)

The most important libraries in Slovakia are:

 

 

Other Services

 

Laundry and Dry Cleaning Service

At present, there is a lot of laundry service companies in Slovakia, here you can find some located in university towns, but if you ask locals they will recommend more options to you:

However, there are many dry cleaning services or even fast dry cleaners (nearly in every shopping centre). Some of them also provide leather/suede/fur cleaning and dyeing.

 

Insurance

Here are some useful links for different types of insurance (life insurance, household insurance, car insurance, etc.), where you can find a list of insurance companies with their contact data: