# Banking Questions?????



## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

So we are over on Monday and because of this Brexit thing, if we win the vote and remain, the £ will go up (as per the forecasters) to a high of about 1.44 and then drop. Now I know none of this may happen but if it does we need to be prepared and open an account once we get there on the first day of business, which will be the Tuesday for us. I know which bank we will be using in Torre Del Mar but I'm not 100% sure on which documents we will need to open the account. At this stage we won't have our NIE number but I'm led to believe you can open an account without that. We'll be depositing a few thousand euro cheque to open the account and I was wondering what documents we should take and how long before it is up and running? I will then be able to transfer sterling and take advantage (hopefully) of a better rate. Nothing like a dose of optimism


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Have you checked with the bank how much their fee is for accepting a cheque?

Cheques are not favoured in Spain. I recently asked my bank if I could pay a high value sterling (by my standards) cheque into my account and was told that the bank charge would be somewhere around 8%.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

When we first opened our account, we just needed passports and money. We also needed a mail address (although this is not essential as they will keep mail for a while.)

There are still some banks that do NOT require an NIE.

Our account was up and running within minutes although it took a week to get the necessary cards.


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## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

snikpoh said:


> When we first opened our account, we just needed passports and money. We also needed a mail address (although this is not essential as they will keep mail for a while.)
> 
> There are still some banks that do NOT require an NIE.
> 
> Our account was up and running within minutes although it took a week to get the necessary cards.


Sounds good, I will deposit a couple of hundred euro as well if that speeds things up. Just in case it is delayed for the cheque to clear.


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## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

Overandout said:


> Have you checked with the bank how much their fee is for accepting a cheque?
> 
> Cheques are not favoured in Spain. I recently asked my bank if I could pay a high value sterling (by my standards) cheque into my account and was told that the bank charge would be somewhere around 8%.


Wow, that sounds a bit excessive.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Roy C said:


> Wow, that sounds a bit excessive.


That's a more polite reaction to the one I gave!!

I still have the cheque at home while I try to open an account in the UK to pay it into. No way a Spanish bank is keeping several thousand Euros in commission for simply banking a cheque!!


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## Jesnat (Mar 5, 2016)

We opened our account with Sabadell (Costa Blanca south) with passport, rental agreement for address and small amount of money to deposit. Have you also considered opening a Euro current account in the UK with one of the big high street banks and buying Euro's if and when you think the rate is favourable. It can just sit there until you are ready to transfer it.


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## hwmartin (Jun 22, 2015)

By using one of the specialist currency exchange companies you could always fix the exchange rate when it's good and transfer the money later. You'll also get a better rate than those offered by the High street banks.

Best to open the account now though as they take a few days to set up your account.

Which currency specialist to go with? Check out the threads on here!


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## LDN2ESP (Jul 24, 2015)

We moved loads of cash to our Spanish account once we opened it. Sabadell bank, easy, English friendly and more importantly, when speaking to our lawyer she started to giggle when other local banks were mentioned as an alternative!

We opened the account using our passports initially and UK details as a means of proof of ID. After that, we deposited a small amount, but declined ATM/Visa cards until we finally move into our Spanish property.

Make sure you've got your passports and perhaps a UK bank statement or utility bill with your name and address when opening your account. NIE numbers weren't asked for at the time as we were still waiting for those to be issued to us. Even though you may have a joint Spanish account, be prepared for only the Mr (Don) to be asked for proof details ... this is Spain after all.

Do not pay a British cheque into a Spanish bank! We transferred money using Transferwise who were very smooth, easy to use and so much better value than using a conventional bank. The transfer of funds from our Transferwise account took between 4-24 hours depending on the amount. We shifted a small amount as a test, then 10k, followed by 100k (converted into Euros). The small amount and 10k took about 6 hours to register on our Sabadell account (the bank set us up immediately with online banking) - the larger amount took about 24 hours to register on our Spanish bank account. There are other well respected Forex traders you can source online, all with far better conversion rates than the UK High st banks.

All you need is a small amount of cash 50 Euros? To open the account. Just be careful which bank you choose, speak to the people who deal with English speakers, you'll be surprised what little faith they have in some of the well known established Spanish banks.

Above all ... Watch the currency if and when the UK remains in the EU? The Real Estate agents out here have countless amounts of UK buyers waiting for the vote decision. I would expect a mad rush to secure property from buyers from the UK if we stay in. If we vote out, hold back for a few weeks is my advice whilst the dust settles? Nervy times ...


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## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

Thanks LDN we are going with Sabadell will do that next week. We were looking at HiFX for the transfer but will also look at Travelwise anybody know anything about HiFX?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Roy C said:


> Thanks LDN we are going with Sabadell will do that next week. We were looking at HiFX for the transfer but will also look at Travelwise anybody know anything about HiFX?


Personally I prefer CurrencyFair - low cost and excellent rates.


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## Localizer (Jun 23, 2016)

HI, I use HiFX for both large & small transfers...... not sure they are the best, but their rates will be better than every high street bank. In my experience they are fine for small transfers which you can do online. Anytime you have to talk with them regarding larger transfers they leave you feeling a little underwhelmed.......


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