# Bank Accounts In Spain



## littlejools (Jun 7, 2012)

Hi, my partner and I moved to Spain back at the end of June and both start teaching jobs this month. We need to open a bank account (or 2) and wondered if anyone has any recommendations? It would be better if the bank actually had branches rather then just online. Thanks in advance


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

littlejools said:


> Hi, my partner and I moved to Spain back at the end of June and both start teaching jobs this month. We need to open a bank account (or 2) and wondered if anyone has any recommendations? It would be better if the bank actually had branches rather then just online. Thanks in advance


Partner and I both use BancoSabadell and are very happy with them.

But I think it depends on the attitude of staff at your local branch and we are fortunate that at our branch the staff are exceptionally friendly and more importantly efficient.


----------



## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

La Caixa and BBVA have served us well.


----------



## littlejools (Jun 7, 2012)

thanks for that, do you know if there are any accounts/banks available which are linked to banks back in the UK? I have rent being paid into my UK account and am trying to figure out the best way of getting it over here. Obviously I'll have to pay for the transfer but I wondered if there were any that charged more or less than the others?


----------



## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

littlejools said:


> thanks for that, do you know if there are any accounts/banks available which are linked to banks back in the UK? I have rent being paid into my UK account and am trying to figure out the best way of getting it over here. Obviously I'll have to pay for the transfer but I wondered if there were any that charged more or less than the others?


I use a firm in London who specialise in Currency transfers

Foreign Money & Currency Exchange Services, Euro Exchange, UK Currency Converter :: SmartCurrencyExchange.com

There is no commission for sums over £3000 and the exchange rates are far better than the banks give. There are also other companies that give the same services.


----------



## littlejools (Jun 7, 2012)

Ah, so you transfer the funds to them and they then transfer the euros to your Spanish account? That seems like a sensible thing to do.


----------



## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

littlejools said:


> Ah, so you transfer the funds to them and they then transfer the euros to your Spanish account? That seems like a sensible thing to do.


That is right, once it has been done and set up, the second time it is far easier. Transfer is done sometimes the same day.


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

littlejools said:


> thanks for that, do you know if there are any accounts/banks available which are linked to banks back in the UK? I have rent being paid into my UK account and am trying to figure out the best way of getting it over here. Obviously I'll have to pay for the transfer but I wondered if there were any that charged more or less than the others?


I also have an offshore sterling account into which my UK income is paid and also a euro account.
Offshore accounts aren't for the seriously wealthy or tax dodgers - that's an ignorant misconception. You can open an offshore account with a Channel Islands or Gibraltar-based British High Street bank with as little as 100 euros or £100. 

When I was living in Prague I often had sterling cheques to pay into my Czech bank account and there was a handling charge of £15 equivalent for each cheque, regardless of amount. That was why I opened an offshore account - not to hide any filthy lucre gained by criminal means... I could pay the cheques directly to my sterling offshore account with no fee. 
I closed my UK bank account when I left the UK as I could see no point in continuing with it and in any case I no longer had a UK address as we sold our property shortly after we left.


----------



## shoemanpete (Jan 4, 2010)

littlejools said:


> thanks for that, do you know if there are any accounts/banks available which are linked to banks back in the UK? I have rent being paid into my UK account and am trying to figure out the best way of getting it over here. Obviously I'll have to pay for the transfer but I wondered if there were any that charged more or less than the others?



There are several Lloyds International branches along the coast and if you have an HBOS account in the UK, then transfers between them are free and the same day.
There may be a Barclays where you are too.
For transfers I use Currency Solutions, excellent rates and good service.


----------



## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Using internet via Hsbc they will transfer up to 10k for £9. Wholesale exchange rate , more or less & normally arrives in minutes.


----------



## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

Make sure you shop around, and don't assume that just because you open a Spanish Bank account with a British Bank, that you will be offered a similar service / costs etc.. and that transfers will be free / cheap. The same rules apply here as with opening an account with a Spanish Bank - read the samll print !


----------



## joannepa (Sep 6, 2012)

I've recently arrived in Spain and have asked around at various banks to see what the receiving fee is for an international transfer. i have found that they don't usually know and the answers have varied at different branches of the same bank. I have to transfer money from my account in Australia. I'll be using a third party to transfer the money into Euros already.

Does anyone know of any bank's receiving fees for international transfers?


----------



## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

joannepa said:


> I've recently arrived in Spain and have asked around at various banks to see what the receiving fee is for an international transfer. i have found that they don't usually know and the answers have varied at different branches of the same bank. I have to transfer money from my account in Australia. I'll be using a third party to transfer the money into Euros already.
> 
> Does anyone know of any bank's receiving fees for international transfers?




Nothing (no receiving fee) for both Sabadell and Banesto.


----------



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

joannepa said:


> I've recently arrived in Spain and have asked around at various banks to see what the receiving fee is for an international transfer. i have found that they don't usually know and the answers have varied at different branches of the same bank. I have to transfer money from my account in Australia. I'll be using a third party to transfer the money into Euros already.
> 
> Does anyone know of any bank's receiving fees for international transfers?


My bank (La Caixa) doesn't charge a receiving fee if the money is transferred electronically by a foreign exchange company.


----------



## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

We're with Caja Granada (600 group) and we pay nothing here for receiving, all the charges are at the sending end.

Many seemingly Spanish branches of UK banks are not but are branches of a different bank. Lloyds and Barclays International are not branches of Lloyds and Barclays in the UK but are separate companies.


----------



## laurenp (Sep 10, 2012)

littlejools said:


> Hi, my partner and I moved to Spain back at the end of June and both start teaching jobs this month. We need to open a bank account (or 2) and wondered if anyone has any recommendations? It would be better if the bank actually had branches rather then just online. Thanks in advance


i think its important to know that the branch where you open the account is the same branch where only certain transactions can be carried out. I opened an account with santander on 15th june and my card didnt arrive until the end of august... can be a bit frustrating....


----------



## samthemainman (Aug 15, 2012)

You should ask your British bank for a SEPA payment (also known as a Structured Payment). Unlike SWIFT (which takes longer, but is a tad more secure, apparently), there should be no receiving charges. SEPA payments happen within one working day.

I bank with the Coop in the UK and La Caixa in Spain. A SEPA payment costs £8 (charged by the Coop) and is in my La Caixa account (which is currently a non-residents account - but that's irrelevant here) normally by early afternoon the next day. All the main Spanish banks accept them and they should only charge you if there are issues locating your account and it requires manual intervention (e.g. the IBAN or BIC don't match the other details) - which really shouldn't happen. I have to phone the Coop to request the payment - but thats just because their online facilities are fairly poor. Their customer service is always really good though.

If you can get the full BIC (also known as SWIFT code) of 11 digits (the normal 8 digit BIC with the three digit branch code) this can help reduce the error rate - but I've processed several payments now to two different accounts (including 1 with the 8 digit BIC/SWIFT code) - and they all cleared within 1 working day without charges at the Spanish end.


----------



## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

samthemainman said:


> ...
> 
> If you can get the full BIC (also known as SWIFT code) of 11 digits (the normal 8 digit BIC with the three digit branch code) this can help reduce the error rate - but I've processed several payments now to two different accounts (including 1 with the 8 digit BIC/SWIFT code) - and they all cleared within 1 working day without charges at the Spanish end.



The safest of all though is to quote the IBAN number.


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Sabadell doesn't charge a receiving fee...or a sending fee if you send euros within the EU.


----------



## samthemainman (Aug 15, 2012)

snikpoh said:


> The safest of all though is to quote the IBAN number.


Absolutely - You always need the IBAN number anyway - but having the BIC/SWIFT is an additional measure imposed by most banks - the BIC is the code for the Bank and Branch, which helps verify the details in the IBAN.


----------



## Stuart Woodruff (Mar 21, 2012)

This might be a bit late but I am with HSBC in the UK and BancoSabadell in Spain. I arranged a monthly transfer with my Spanish bank. The minimum is £150.00 per month or £300.00 every 3 months. There is no cost to me in respect of transferring this money.


----------

