# Banks in Spain



## Matamoros (Jun 26, 2017)

Dear Community,

We will be moving from Mexico to Spain in about 4 weeks. My wife is a US citizen and I am EU. Might someone be able to tell us which Spanish bank would be the best in terms of fees charged and other conditions?
We would be very grateful for any information. 
Thank you very much


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

As a general rule the best Spanish Bank is any foreign bank which operates in Spain.

You don't say what banking products you would be using, but assuming current account, credit card, mortgage, possible overdraft facility? 

We have found that ING are quite competitive at the moment, but others will suggest alternatives I am sure.


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## alex T. (10 mo ago)

I am pretty happy using N26: N26 The Mobile Bank Seems to be low on fees. Best thing is that chat support is instant and in perfect English. Small town physical branches in Spain - can be very trying to find someone who speak English well.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

All online accounts from Spanish banks are free for everything.

Look at wefferent, openbank, BBVAOnline to name but a few


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## stevec2x (Mar 24, 2012)

Hi 
If you don't need a loan of any sort, then Wise.com is the way to go - no monthly charges and the very best exchange rates. The debit card is accepted everywhere.
Cheers 
Steve


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## Localizer (Jun 23, 2016)

We recently moved from Sabadell to Openbank (part of Santander) - we wanted a fully featured current account (debit cards, ability to pay direct debits and a Spanish IBAN number etc) without the in-branch 'service' or random fees - but as we didn't want any credit facilities I can't comment on those although they are available it seems if required.
Going well so far - no dramas and no fees.
We use a Spanish Revolut for currency transfers to Spain and for global travel.......


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## Tucsonsteve (Mar 26, 2013)

stevec2x said:


> Hi
> If you don't need a loan of any sort, then Wise.com is the way to go - no monthly charges and the very best exchange rates. The debit card is accepted everywhere.
> Cheers
> Steve


Wise is handy and what I’ve used for exchanges and some payments, but:

1. It’s not a bank; there is no deposit insurance. Wise mitigates this risk to its customers by keeping its (their) money in five or six banks, so you’d only lose a portion of your money if one of them failed, assuming there are no wrinkles like litigation about who is owed what and who’s liable to whom.

2. IBAN discrimination happens. It’s illegal, but it’s easier to get a Spanish IBAN so as to avoid hassles.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Tucsonsteve (Mar 26, 2013)

I had a recent, bad experience trying to open a BBVA online account, so I can’t recommend that bank. BBVA is making customers arrange appointments for everything except proving identity to open an online account. I was told at a branch that I’d have to wait 10 days to get in to take care of that. At another branch, they demanded proof of income before they’d proceed, but refused to accept letters from my pension system because they were in English. My income would not explain the source of the substantial amount I wanted to deposit, so it was a mindless hoop. I had no desire to pay for the letters to be translated and fully expected that I would be told I needed to provide proof of the money’s source (which would have to be translated too, I’d bet). If you want in branch service, it’s probably a bad choice.

My previous experience opening a Sabadell account was good, but that was in branch and some on this forum have complained about their fees. Also, Sabadell has an annoying structure that requires the branch where you open the account to take care of various matters; other branches will forward the paperwork to that branch, if need be. Had I known this, I wouldn’t have opened the account at a small, neighborhood branch.

I’ve read good things about N26, but also read of problems with customers not being able to get hold of someone on the phone to deal with fraud/theft of account funds. It may also not provide appropriate documents for the Spanish tax authority, if that’s something you might need.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## manuka (May 26, 2014)

Matamoros said:


> Dear Community,
> 
> We will be moving from Mexico to Spain in about 4 weeks. My wife is a US citizen and I am EU. Might someone be able to tell us which Spanish bank would be the best in terms of fees charged and other conditions?
> We would be very grateful for any information.
> Thank you very much


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## manuka (May 26, 2014)

Hi. We moved to Spain from UK in February this year. There are some things only a brick and mortar bank can offer: an NIE number ( national insurance equivalent) also a Bankers Draft (for security) when buying a property. You would not get these from Internet bank. We have account with Caixa bank and will change to internet, probably "Wise", next year when all is sorted. Good luck with your move. Why are you moving from Mexico?


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## tomwins (Dec 27, 2014)

manuka said:


> Why are you moving from Mexico?


Your question to the other poster prompted my reply. I'm sorry it is off original topic. But I am moving from Mexico to Spain in July. There are several personal reasons but a general reason for someone to move from Mexico to Spain is that the economy and culture in Spain is much more stable. Mexico has two classes and a significant number of people who work ten hours a day, six days a week and make what I'd consider 1/2 of minimum wage. I am moving to Spain to experience European life and the ability to travel between EU countries with ease. Infrastructure and stability is far better in Spain than in Mexico. While I could live in Mexico for 3/4 of what I'll pay in Spain, the quality of life is far better. Just to give two examples, friends drove from Guadalajara to San Diego and were stopped six times by illegal road blocks demanding money - this has become a common practice that local authorities allow (as they get their cut). Also, the most common Covid-19 vaccine offered was SinoVac which has not disclosed it's effectiveness or ingredients. Mexico is bearly above a third world country.


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## timwip (Feb 27, 2017)

As an American citizen with a foreign bank account, you need to remember that you need to report annually regarding Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) to the Department of Treasury. This was instituted under the Obama administration to prevent money laundering. The banks also need to report to the Department of Treasury annually regarding the holdings of US citizens. Many small banks in Spain are not equipped to do this reporting. As a result, they do not accept accounts from US citizens. You will not have any problems with big banks like Santander and BBVA.


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

manuka said:


> Hi. We moved to Spain from UK in February this year. There are some things only a brick and mortar bank can offer: an NIE number ( national insurance equivalent) also a Bankers Draft (for security) when buying a property. You would not get these from Internet bank. We have account with Caixa bank and will change to internet, probably "Wise", next year when all is sorted. Good luck with your move. Why are you moving from Mexico?


I've never before heard of a bank issuing an NIE. We had to go to a national police station, but this was 14 years ago. Others, I believe, get their NIE from a Spanish consulate before moving to Spain. We sold a house last year and the buyers paid the deposit and the final balance online via their mobile phone. The money hit our account within seconds of the contract being signed and the final transfer was made in the Notary's office, again within seconds. They used Open Bank and they told us the charge was negligible. We, on the other hand, got a banker's draft from our brick and mortar bank (Caixa) to buy our new home and they tried to charge us €700 (reduced to €200 after protest, but we are still eight months later waiting for a further refund as they originally quoted us €50 for the banker's draft). I can't see any disadvantage with internet banking!


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

manuka said:


> Hi. We moved to Spain from UK in February this year. *There are some things only a brick and mortar bank can offer: an NIE number* ( national insurance equivalent) also a Bankers Draft (for security) when buying a property. You would not get these from Internet bank. We have account with Caixa bank and will change to internet, probably "Wise", next year when all is sorted. Good luck with your move. Why are you moving from Mexico?


I don't think that banks can issue you with an NIE, only national police.

Steve


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

I had to make a transfer to UK HMRC for my NI contributions the other day and Deutsche Bank online were going to charge me 40€ in commissions to pay less than 200€ converted to GBP.
Paying by Wise I paid around 2.50€.
What I mean by this is that if for other reasons it makes sense to use a particular bank, there are nowadays many other options to make day to day banking cheaper and easier, like Wise. We also use Bizum to transfer money between our Spanish accounts as it is much cheaper and quicker than "traditional" transfers.


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