# Banking in Spain



## LongboardSurfer (Aug 3, 2014)

Does anyone use local branches of US banks in Spain? Both Citibank and Chase Manhattan have branches in Spain and I was wondering if anyone encountered problems such as paying rent, utilities, etc.

It would be really easy for me to establish an account in either bank before leaving the US, and have everything set up when we arrive.

Thanks in advance for your replies,
LongboardSurfer


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

The lack of response suggests that nobody on the forum uses these banks, or if they do they haven't seen your post yet. We could have used a UK bank when we arrived but preferred a completely new bank and a Spanish one. It is very easy to open a Spanish bank account and you might want to consider doing just that in addition to your US bank.


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## LongboardSurfer (Aug 3, 2014)

thrax, thanks. I have considered using a Spanish bank but didn't want a "break in service" since my retired pay and Social Security both come from the government. Anything involving the government is harder to change than it ought to be.

LBSurfer


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

LongboardSurfer said:


> thrax, thanks. I have considered using a Spanish bank but didn't want a "break in service" since my retired pay and Social Security both come from the government. Anything involving the government is harder to change than it ought to be.
> 
> LBSurfer


I presume you're allowed to retain your US bank account when you move abroad, as we are in the UK (although we can't open any new UK ones once we're no longer resident there).

If that's so, you could open a new Spanish account and transfer however much you need each month from your US to your Spanish account using one of the currency transfer firms. I use CurrencyFair, there is a flat fee of €3 per transfer no matter how much is transferred, and many other people recommend Transferwise. They both operate on a worldwide basis, and you will get an exchange rate very close to the mid-market rate on a minute by minute basis (unlike when a bank does the transfer, you pay much higher charges and their rates are rubbish). Most Spanish banks now offer an account whereby if you transfer in a minimum amount each month (with Sabadell it's €700 for example) you pay no bank charges nor a fee for a debit and credit card. When I do a transfer the money always arrives in my Spanish account within 24 hours - sometimes the same day if I do the transfer quite early in the morning.


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

Are you sure that the "branches" you find in Spain of Citibank and Chase Manhattan are actually directly affiliated with the US banks of the same name? I'm pretty sure they function separately. Case in point: Citibank España has just been bought out by Banco Popular, so it will cease to exist as Citibank in Spain. But that won't affect Citibank in the US.


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## LongboardSurfer (Aug 3, 2014)

Thank you all. I can see this will take more research, especially the part about Citibank switching to Banko Popular. I'll look into the money transfer service as well as what the rules are for my govt checks going direct deposit into a foreign bank.

Thank you all!
LBSurfer


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

If you need money in an account /income to satisfy the authorities that you are finacially viable then it has to be in a Spanish bank account.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

You might be surprised at how little benefit you get from being in the same bank. I have worked abroad in a few places and depending on where they are, there can be no benefit at all from using the same banking company in two different places.

When I bought a place in Spain I considered shifting to Santander in the UK and then opening an account with them in Spain. It turned out that there is no benefit at all from doing this. It's no easier or harder to achieve anything than it is using separate banks.


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

kalohi said:


> Are you sure that the "branches" you find in Spain of Citibank and Chase Manhattan are actually directly affiliated with the US banks of the same name? I'm pretty sure they function separately. Case in point: Citibank España has just been bought out by Banco Popular, so it will cease to exist as Citibank in Spain. But that won't affect Citibank in the US.


When I went to Citibank in Bilbao to ask about opening an account, they told me that Citibank España and Citibank Spain are two different entities. I am nearly certain it's the same for all banks - Santander, Chase...

If your qualified to open an account with them, USAA is excellent to keep an American account while abroad. They're used to dealing with deployed service members so they are pros. I "transfer" money by taking it out of the ATM (you can use any one you want and they reimburse you for most fees) and then depositing the cash in my Spanish account.


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## LongboardSurfer (Aug 3, 2014)

Thank you, everyone! I checked with the govt service that processes my retirement and Spanish banks have been vetted as fully capable of receiving a direct deposit. That problem is solved. Re: the USAA option mentioned by elenetxu, I have been a USAA member for over 34 years for insurance purposes but never banking (just by choice) because I like to be able to walk into a branch and speak face-to-face if I have an issue. Using USAA for banking is an option, but if the direct deposit into a Spanish bank is available, I think that will be my choice.

Thanks again,
LBSurfer


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

LongboardSurfer said:


> Thank you, everyone! I checked with the govt service that processes my retirement and Spanish banks have been vetted as fully capable of receiving a direct deposit. That problem is solved. Re: the USAA option mentioned by elenetxu, I have been a USAA member for over 34 years for insurance purposes but never banking (just by choice) because I like to be able to walk into a branch and speak face-to-face if I have an issue. Using USAA for banking is an option, but if the direct deposit into a Spanish bank is available, I think that will be my choice.
> 
> Thanks again,
> LBSurfer


I love them. It's been really easy to deal with them via e-mail or phone 
Their checking account is good to have to keep *one* American account open.


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