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Survival Kit VIII. Practical Information: Working and Living in South Moravia Practical Information

Practical Information

Currency, Money

The currency in the Czech Republic is the Czech Crown or koruna česká (abbreviated to CZK or Kč), which is divided into 100 heller or haléř (abbreviated to h). Coins come in the denominations 1 Kč, 2 Kč, 5 Kč, 10 Kč, 20 Kč and 50 Kč; notes in 100 Kč, 200 Kč, 500 Kč, 1,000 Kč, 2,000 Kč, and 5,000 Kč. The prices in the shops quoted are rounded to the nearest Crown.

EUR / CZK

Source: Czech National Bank, September 2020

USD / CZK

Source: Czech National Bank, September 2020

Opening a Bank Account

Opening an account in Crowns or a foreign currency at a local bank can be done relatively easily at virtually any bank. You can have a bank account of your own on condition that you are 18 years old – except for a few specific products. These include e.g. student accounts that you can open from 15 years of age in the presence of a statutory representative. Foreigners must submit a permit to stay in the CR.

You will be asked for two proofs of identity when opening an account. As for foreigners, the banks differentiate between foreigners coming from EU-member countries and the rest of the world. EU foreigners usually present an identification document issued and valid in the EU (ID card of an EU member state), possibly their passport. The second document is, similarly to CR citizens, e.g. a birth certificate, driving licence or residence permit issued by the Ministry of Interior CR. For foreigners from non-EU countries, the key document is their passport and the other documents are the same as for EU citizens. Banks always prefer documents with photographs.

Generally banks in the Czech Republic can be divided into the large ones that offer a wide range of financial services but where a range of service charges are charged (e.g. ČSOB, Česká spořitelna, Komerční banka and Unicredit Bank), and the smaller low-cost ones (e.g. Air Bank, Fio, Equa and mBank). These do not offer so many financial services, but if you are looking for the basic services and with low or absent service charges, these are the right ones for you.

Banks

Bank ATMs

Almost every bank or branch office has an ATM too, most of them accepting major credit cards (VISA being the most wide-spread one). The most frequent ATMs are those of Austrian-owned Erste Bank – Česká spořitelna which are present in practically every town of any size (5,000 inhabitants +). Withdrawing money should therefore not pose any major problem at any time, and the nearest ATM will never be farther than 10 or 20 Km no matter where you are in the region. However, most of banks in the Czech Republic do charge a withdrawal fee in case you are withdrawing money from another bank’s ATM. Also if you are withdrawing money from your own bank’s ATM, they could still charge you something.

Electricity

Electricity here is the standard continental 230 volts AC. Most European appliances should work as long as you have an adaptor for European style two-pin round plugs.

Phones

Telephone Numbers

  • All national subscriber (landline) telephone numbers have a uniform length of 9 digits.
  • We do not dial a 0 at the start of any call within the Czech Republic.
  • All emergency calls, additional services and access codes for choice of operator begin with the number 1.
  • All national subscriber numbers in the fixed network begin with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5.
  • The numbers of mobile operators, access to the Internet and other additional services of all fixed operators begin with the numbers 6, 7, 8 and 9.
  • Telephone numbers in South Moravia begin with numbers 51, 53, 54.
  • When making an international call, you have to dial 00 or symbol “+” followed by the country code.
  • The country code of the Czech republic is 420.

Tab. 16: Useful free telephone numbers

Emergency call (for all types of emergencies)

112

Rescue

155

Fire

150

Police of the CR

158

Municipal police

156

Mobile Phones

There are currently three main mobile operators in the Czech Republic. More information on tariffs and services is available on Websites of individual operators:

Post Offices

Most post offices (pošta) are open from 8 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday, and Saturdays until noon. The post office next to the Brno main railway station (Nádražní 418/1) features a 24-hour, 7-day a week service.

Post offices could be pretty baffling institutions for foreigners, with separate windows for just about every service. Look out for the right sign to avoid queuing unnecessarily: Letters can be sent at “listovní služby”, parcels – “balíky”, stamps – “známky”. At most post offices, there is an electronic calling system using serial numbers, where after selecting the required service, you will be assigned to the correct window. However, it is usually easier to arrange sending someone speaking Czech or to just take them with you.

Tab. 17: The postage varies according to the weight of the letter or parcel you wish to send

postcard, letter within the Czech Republic

from 19 Kč*

postcard, letter abroad

from 39 Kč*

* 50 g – standard

For more information please visit: www.ceskaposta.cz

Apart from using post office, the following might be also helpful for fast delivery:

Police

There are two separate police forces in the Czech Republic: the Police of the Czech Republic – PCR – e.g. its national police force (Policie České republiky), and municipal police forces (Městská policie). They can be distinguished by their uniforms; the PCR wear grey trousers with blue shirts and the municipal police wear black uniforms. The PCR deal with such areas as criminal and traffic offenses (thefts, burglaries, homicides, as well as car accidents, fines and so on). The municipal police have limited powers to maintain law and order within the bounds of their municipality.

Traveling Around the Country and Abroad

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    Regional Development Agency of South Moravia
    Královopolská 139
    612 00 Brno
    Czech Republic
    www.rrajm.cz

    Michaela Hrózová
    +420 541 212 125
    +420 606 551 509
    michaela.hrozova@rrajm.cz

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