Yes but you need a social ID that is given specifically for that purpose and you need to be present here in Iceland to get it. Fairly standard I would guess.
"social ID" = "kennitalia" ?!?
Yes. "Kennitala" is your birthday example 12 Month example 05 and year example 93 than 4 extra digits ending with the decate you were born so standard kt =120593-2549
So I show up in some official place in Rejkjavik and request a kennitala (as a foreigner) for opening a bank account and they will issue one and put it into the database with certain properties that will allow me to use it for opening an account with one of your banks?
As i was given one by birth i have little knowledge on how foreigners acquire KT. here is a article i found on the matte
http://www.mcc.is/english/eng-administration/kennitala/Thanks for the link. I read a bit and checked out what info is required for a longer (>6 month) stay (you need to document how you plan to support yourself and be insured (helath), also you need a domicile that is your primary one). One can also get a Kennitalia for a shorter stay without a domicile, for example when looking for a job, but it hasn't become clear to me how that would be done (other than using "Registers Iceland").