Overview
Knab, at a glance.
Knab is a bank headquartered in the Netherlands, regulated by DNB, FMA. Business accounts cost €7 a month. Opening an account takes 3–5 days.
Knab is a brand of the Austrian bank BAWAG P.S.K., which operates in the Netherlands through a branch. Eligible deposits are covered by the Austrian deposit guarantee up to €100,000 per account holder.
Why businesses pick Knab
- A licensed bank account for €7 a month, with no opening fee
- The first 500 transactions a year are free, then €0.10 each
- Instant SEPA payments and a Dutch IBAN
- A Debit Mastercard, physical or digital, at no extra cost
- Savings, tax-reserve and bookkeeping tools for the self-employed
- Trustpilot score of 3.8 from almost 6,000 reviews
Watch out for
- Only for businesses registered and active in the Netherlands, whose owners live in the Netherlands
- Only sole proprietorships and BVs with a single director who owns all the shares; partnerships, foundations and charities are not accepted
- Euro only: payments in other currencies are converted automatically
- A payment outside SEPA costs €15, and receiving one from outside the EEA costs €10
- A long list of activities is not accepted, including crypto, gambling, payment services, trading in precious metals and businesses with turnover above €10 million
- Support and the app are in Dutch
Business fit
Will Knab accept your business?
Four quick answers. Where your company is registered and what it does rule a provider in or out faster than anything else.
Based on Knab's published rules
Likely no
Knab does not list United Kingdom among the countries where it accepts companies.
Knab does not publish a minimum company age or turnover, so those two answers are not checked here.
This is one provider. Your profile checks all of them.
- Every provider that fits your business
- The reason behind each match
- Company age and turnover checked too
Who it works with
Accepted and not accepted.
What Knab publishes about the businesses it takes on.
Who Knab serves
- Freelancers
- Startups and SMEs
- Professional services
- Creative
Not supported
Industries and countries Knab does not accept, from its own published lists.
Industries
- Customers with legal forms other than a Dutch sole proprietorship or qualifying Dutch BV
- Government bodies, independent administrative bodies
- Charities, lobby groups, ANBIs, NGOs, political parties, religious organisations and churches
- Promotion of extremist ideology
- Owner/director/partner also involved with five or more other companies
- VOFs/partnerships with more than five partners
- BVs with more than one director at onboarding
- Complex or non-transparent structures, foreign entities or nominee shareholders
- Annual turnover/assets over €10 million
- Stroman/nominee arrangements
- Higher reputation or liability risk / adverse internal-register findings
- Customers no longer fitting the accepted purpose/risk policy or previously terminated for integrity risk
- Explosives trade or production
- Specified high-value or foreign real-estate investment
- Managing/storing third-party funds on own account
- Collection/group/friends account use
- Money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions breaches, tax evasion
- Fraudulent or unlawful transactions
- Unacceptable countries or unknown counterparties
- Unlicensed gambling or gambling for third parties
- Business activities mainly abroad
- Using one package for multiple KVK enterprises
- Services/products intended to provide UBO anonymity or obscure money destination, including trust services, prepaid/stored-value/gift cards
- Defence industry, weapons and ammunition
- Sport/recreational guns
- Virtual-payment/crypto services, ICOs, mining, hardware wallets or crypto software
- Pension funds
- Insurers
- Crowdfunding/donation platforms
- Payment service providers or providing payment services
- Collection services
- Factoring
- Financial lease
- Money-transfer offices or currency trading
- Asset management/private equity/securities management for third parties
- Specified high-volume lending
- Pawnshops
- Guarantees for third parties
- Financial advice/brokerage services without required AFM authorisation or accepted cooperation
- Crowdfunding advice, consumer-loan intermediation, crypto advice/brokerage and specified Forex/HFT/NFT/MLM/affiliate/dropshipping activities
- Trading/investing in crypto, HFT, emission rights, Forex, platforms, derivatives or external/third-party capital
- Appointment setting/high-ticket closing with opaque clients
- Unlicensed curator/administrator/mentor activity
- Unqualified budget coaching/debt assistance
- Erotic coaching
- Sex workers not meeting Knab’s listed Dutch/European ID, age, no-staff and permit conditions
- Casinos, gambling halls, games of chance and lotteries
- Import/export to unacceptable countries
- Trade/distribution to unacceptable countries or unknown counterparties
- Mining/trading precious metals, diamonds, ivory, uranium, palm oil or tar sands
- Facilitating third-party energy investments
- Smartshops, headshops, seedshops, coffeeshops, hard/soft/designer drugs and related activities
- CBD above permitted THC
- Sports agents/managers
- Large taxi businesses or unlicensed passenger transport
- Tobacco, e-cigarettes, vaporizers, smoking goods and shisha lounges
- Prepaid phone cards
- Medicines without Farmatec permit
- Bailiffs without KBvG licence
- Holding movable assets for third parties/personal asset holding vehicles
- Facilitating transactions intended for third parties
- In-game items
- Software for sex industry/adult entertainment
- Unlicensed integration courses
- Other activities with elevated AML/terrorism/sanctions/tax risk
Countries
- Not published
Coverage
Where can you use Knab?
Coverage is a starting point. It does not confirm that every business in these markets is eligible.
Supported currencies
EUR only
Payments in other currencies are converted automatically.
Payment reach
Not published
Who can apply
Company incorporation countries1 countries · show list
- Netherlands
Owner nationality30 countries · show list
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Iceland
- Liechtenstein
- Norway
Owner residency1 countries · show list
- Netherlands
Company types
Sole proprietorships (eenmanszaak), BVs with one director who owns all the shares, A holding BV with one operating BV
Pricing
What does Knab cost?
Look beyond the monthly fee. Your total cost depends on how many transfers you make, where they go and how much you convert.
Account cost
Opening fee
Free
Monthly fee
€7–11
depends on plan
Business account
Lowest cost€7 per month
€0 setup · €84 in year one
Business account for a BV
€11 per month
€0 setup · €132 in year one
Transaction fees
| Cost | Listed amount | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|
| Incoming | ||
| SEPA | Free | No charge · First 500 transactions a year; then €0.10 each |
| SWIFT / international | €10 | Fixed fee · From outside the EEA |
| Outgoing | ||
| SEPA | Free | No charge · First 500 transactions a year; then €0.10 each |
| SWIFT / international | €15 | Fixed fee · Outside the EEA an exchange surcharge of 0.1% is added |
Other fees
Cards
| Cost | Listed amount | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|
| Physical card issue | Free | No charge |
| Card FX | 1.4% | Percentage of the amount |
Onboarding
From application to live account.
Opening an account typically takes three to five business days.
- 1
Apply
Start the application online or through the sales team.
- 2
Company and people
Give the company's registration details, directors and owners.
- 3
Checks
Upload the documents requested and complete identity verification.
- 4
Account live
Once approved, the account is opened and you receive its details.
Documents you need
Not published
FAQ
Your questions, answered.
Is Knab a bank?
Yes. Knab is a brand of BAWAG P.S.K., an Austrian bank that operates in the Netherlands through a branch registered with De Nederlandsche Bank. Deposits are covered by the Austrian deposit guarantee up to €100,000.
How much does a Knab business account cost?
€7 a month, or €11 a month for a BV, with no opening fee. The first 500 transactions a year are free and each one after that costs €0.10. A payment outside SEPA costs €15.
Who can open a Knab business account?
Sole proprietorships and BVs with a single director who owns all the shares, registered with the Chamber of Commerce (KVK) and active in the Netherlands. The owner must live in the Netherlands.
Which businesses does Knab not accept?
Its acceptance criteria exclude, among others, crypto services, gambling, payment and money-transfer services, trading in precious metals, weapons, tobacco and smart shops, foundations and charities, and businesses with turnover or assets above €10 million.
Alternatives
How Knab compares.
If Knab is not the right fit, these providers work with similar businesses. Compare their listed licences and services below.
| Provider | Licensed in | Known for |
|---|---|---|
 KnabThis pageBank |   | NetherlandsFreelancers |
| bunq BusinessBank | | Deposit protectionFreelancers |
 QontoPayment institution |  | FreelancersInvoicing tools |
 FinomE-money institution | | Freelancers and small companiesInvoicing |
 Revolut BusinessBank |   | Cards and spend controlsStartups and SMEs |
Not sure which one fits? Your profile ranks them for your business, with the reason behind each.