As a student in the Netherlands I found it initially helpful and later necessary to set up a local bank account for the management of my money (in euros). ABN AMRO comes recommended by the Universiteit van Amsterdam for students so I went there to open my new account. I encountered some difficulties with this bank over the years. The greatest of these is the extremely limited options one has as an international student. For example, students from abroad who keep their money in ABN AMRO, as outlined in the contract, are denied acess to Internet and telephone banking. This makes it extremely troublesome to keep tabs on your money when traveling outside of the Netherlands, and is also annoying while in-country to have to go to the bank for every query rather than doing what so many of us are used to now which is just getting online to find the information we seek.

Now that I have graduated, I have been offered a new, updated service called the Young Professional Program by ABN AMRO. This account offeres lower rates (students pay around 7.50 euros per 3 months) and Internet banking accessibility. If you are having difficulties with your ABN AMRO account, opt for this account from the get-go. Some I know, even while enrolled at university, acquired this and bypassed the difficulties of the ''student'' account.