Living in Italian · Season 1 · Episode 7
At the bank: opening your first Italian account
28 October 2026 · 6 min
Your salary, your rent and your bills all need an Italian bank account. Learn what to say to open one, the questions the bank will ask, and the words on every bank statement.
The sentences you need
Vorrei aprire un conto corrente.
I'd like to open a current account.
Ha con sé un documento?
Do you have ID with you?
Mi serve per lo stipendio.
I need it for my salary.
La carta è compresa?
Is the card included?
Posso fare la domiciliazione?
Can I set up a direct debit?
Dove devo firmare?
Where do I sign?
Chapters
Full transcript
Italian lines are highlighted. Tap a time to listen from there.
- Host
Can you follow this? Don't worry if you can't. By the end of this episode, you will.
- Voice 2
Buongiorno. Come posso aiutarla?
- Voice 1
Buongiorno. Vorrei aprire un conto corrente. Sono arrivata in Italia a settembre.
- Voice 2
Benvenuta. Ha con sé un documento e il codice fiscale?
- Voice 1
Sì, ecco il passaporto e il codice fiscale.
- Voice 2
Il conto le serve per lo stipendio?
- Voice 1
Sì, e per pagare l'affitto e le bollette.
- Voice 2
Allora le consiglio il conto online. Il canone è di tre euro al mese.
- Voice 1
La carta è compresa?
- Voice 2
Sì, il bancomat è compreso. Arriva a casa in una settimana.
- Voice 1
E per le bollette, posso fare la domiciliazione?
- Voice 2
Certo. La attiviamo quando arriva la prima bolletta.
- Voice 1
Perfetto. Dove devo firmare?
- Voice 2
Qui e qui. Ecco il suo IBAN.
- Voice 1
Grazie mille!
- Host
"Ciao!" And welcome to Living in Italian, by Adesso Italian. One real situation from life in Italy, in under ten minutes.
- Host
Today: the bank. Your employer wants an Italian account for your salary, your landlord wants it for the rent, and paying bills is much easier with one.
- Host
By the end, you'll be able to open an account, ask about the card and the costs, and set up your bills.
- Host
Quick note: the voices you hear are AI-generated. Every script is written for real life in Italy and checked by a native Italian speaker.
- Host
Let's go, line by line.
- Host
The bank clerk says: "Buongiorno. Come posso aiutarla?" Good morning, how can I help you? And you go straight to the point:
- Voice 1
Vorrei aprire un conto corrente. Sono arrivata in Italia a settembre.
- Host
"Il conto corrente" is the current account. Not "l'account": that's for apps and websites. "Sono arrivata": I arrived. A man says "sono arrivato".
- Host
Then: "Ha con sé un documento e il codice fiscale?" Do you have ID and your tax code with you? "Con sé" means with you, in the polite form. And you answer: "Sì, ecco il passaporto e il codice fiscale."
- Host
Next: "Il conto le serve per lo stipendio?" Do you need the account for your salary? And you explain:
- Voice 1
Sì, e per pagare l'affitto e le bollette.
- Host
"Lo stipendio" is your salary. "L'affitto" is the rent, and "le bollette" are the bills: electricity, gas, water.
- Host
The clerk suggests an online account: "Il canone è di tre euro al mese." The fee is three euros a month. "Il canone" is any fixed fee you pay regularly.
- Host
You ask:
- Voice 1
La carta è compresa?
- Host
Is the card included? "Compreso" for a masculine word, "compresa" for a feminine one, like "la carta". The answer: "Sì, il bancomat è compreso." In Italy "il bancomat" is your debit card, and also the cash machine.
- Host
Now a very useful one:
- Voice 1
E per le bollette, posso fare la domiciliazione?
- Host
"La domiciliazione" is a direct debit: your bills are paid automatically from your account. No queues, no late payments.
- Host
And you finish with: "Dove devo firmare?" Where do I sign? You'll sign a lot of pages. That's normal.
- Host
Your turn. I'll say a sentence in English. In the pause, say it in Italian, out loud. Then listen to the answer.
- Host
I'd like to open a current account.
- Voice 1
Vorrei aprire un conto corrente.
- Host
I need it for my salary.
- Voice 1
Mi serve per lo stipendio.
- Host
Is the card included?
- Voice 1
La carta è compresa?
- Host
Can I set up a direct debit?
- Voice 1
Posso fare la domiciliazione?
- Host
Where do I sign?
- Voice 1
Dove devo firmare?
- Host
Italy, decoded. Your IBAN, and cards everywhere.
- Host
Your Italian IBAN starts with "IT". It's what you give your employer, your landlord and the utility companies.
- Host
Shops in Italy must accept card payments, even for small amounts, so you can pay a coffee by card. But there's a legal limit on cash payments, so big amounts always go by card or bank transfer, "il bonifico".
- Host
And before you sign, ask for "il foglio informativo", the information sheet. Every bank must give it to you, and it lists all the costs.
- Host
Now, the full conversation again. This time, you'll understand all of it.
- Voice 2
Buongiorno. Come posso aiutarla?
- Voice 1
Buongiorno. Vorrei aprire un conto corrente. Sono arrivata in Italia a settembre.
- Voice 2
Benvenuta. Ha con sé un documento e il codice fiscale?
- Voice 1
Sì, ecco il passaporto e il codice fiscale.
- Voice 2
Il conto le serve per lo stipendio?
- Voice 1
Sì, e per pagare l'affitto e le bollette.
- Voice 2
Allora le consiglio il conto online. Il canone è di tre euro al mese.
- Voice 1
La carta è compresa?
- Voice 2
Sì, il bancomat è compreso. Arriva a casa in una settimana.
- Voice 1
E per le bollette, posso fare la domiciliazione?
- Voice 2
Certo. La attiviamo quando arriva la prima bolletta.
- Voice 1
Perfetto. Dove devo firmare?
- Voice 2
Qui e qui. Ecco il suo IBAN.
- Voice 1
Grazie mille!
- Host
That's it for today. There's a printable booklet for the bank and the post office, with audio for every line, and there's Studio, where Unit 1 is free. The links are in the show notes.
- Host
Next episode, the last of this series: your neighbours, and life in an Italian condominium.
- Host
This was Living in Italian, by Adesso Italian. See you next time.
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