# What's the best bank in Spain...



## Sirtravelot (Jul 20, 2011)

...for doing transfers in euros from foreign banks (non-British in this case)?

We heard that banks charge a transfer fee when they get money from outside Spain. Is this true, or is this bull?

If that's true, what's the best bank to use that doesn't charge these fees or charge the lowest? How much are these charges and could you recommend a bank?


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## Sirtravelot (Jul 20, 2011)

Also, do Spanish banks charge you for deposits, even if they are being made in Spain in cash?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Swings and roundabouts!!

Jo xxx


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## Sirtravelot (Jul 20, 2011)

jojo said:


> Swings and roundabouts!!
> 
> Jo xxx


Sorry?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Sirtravelot said:


> Sorry?


"Swings and roundabouts" is an expression meaning that you win on somethings and lose on others. My point is that all banks are as good, or as bad as each other - some make on somethings, but lose on others and Vice versa.

I dont know if anyone has any up-to-the-minute deals that any banks might have at the moment??

Jo xxx


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## Sirtravelot (Jul 20, 2011)

jojo said:


> "Swings and roundabouts" is an expression meaning that you win on somethings and lose on others. My point is that all banks are as good, or as bad as each other - some make on somethings, but lose on others and Vice versa.
> 
> I dont know if anyone has any up-to-the-minute deals that any banks might have at the moment??
> 
> Jo xxx


I understand that.

So which one can people here recommend?


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

I use Caixa, they do not charge me when I transfer from a currency transfer company in the U.K. The branch is also within walking distance.


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

From what I gather , its best to have a bank where the branch is nearby , then you can use the cashpoint and not be charged for using the cashpoint of another bank as is the case with all banks as I understand , that may then limit your choice , my recent transaction where I moved money from my UK bank to my Spanish bank cost me 1.5 euros , I didnt think that was too bad and I have found an account with no standing monthly charge (there are not many ) , need to shop around a but but Bankia works for me and they have a great online banking service.


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Hola

Just one simply point - banks use a variety of cash machine networks - mine is Servired, there is 4B & 6000 as I recollect. The back of your credit card will tell you which network to use 

Davexf


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Sirtravelot said:


> ...for doing transfers in euros from foreign banks (non-British in this case)?
> 
> We heard that banks charge a transfer fee when they get money from outside Spain. Is this true, or is this bull?
> 
> If that's true, what's the best bank to use that doesn't charge these fees or charge the lowest? How much are these charges and could you recommend a bank?


Spanish banks, in my experience, do not charge for receiving funds from abroad unless a sum of €50,000 or more is involved. See this article for more information:-



Avoiding Excessive Spanish Bank Charges | Legal4Spain

If you need to transfer a larger sum, may be better to break it down into amounts of less than €50,000, therefore, but you'd need to balance that against any fees you paid to the bank or currency broker who you'd use for making the transfer.

For residents, most banks now offer an account which does not charge account maintenance fees, a fee for direct debits or for a debit card (some waive the fee for having a credit card too) so long as a minimum sum is paid into the account each month (most commonly €600-700).


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## mlka (Sep 5, 2009)

I use transfer wise to my sabadell account in Spain.

Fantastic service. Transfer wise charge a small amount to transfer and give you the proper exchange rate.

Most banks in uk will charge you a fee as well as there own crap exchange rate. So for example transferring around 1000 pounds you could be charged in excess of 50 pounds, which is disguised in the exchange rate.

Salad ell don't charge me for receiving money from uk.


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## Crab eater (Sep 13, 2013)

I'd recommend Sabadell.
They've always treated us well and no charges if you deposit over €700 / month.
But I think each bank or branch is probably only as good as the staff that work there !


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

The best bank is the bank that charges nothing for their services. Alas, I have yet to find it. We use Cajamar and don't get charged for any transfers into the account. We get a charge of about €30 per year for the pleasure of having our money with them. I know that some banks are charge free as long as you deposit a large sum of money with them and never touch it. Well, not that large; maybe €2000 in some cases...


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

There have been so many takeovers and mergers over the last few years that the ones that remain are all pretty much the same. They nearly all offer better deals for new customers than we existing customers get. You might as well go to the nearest one.


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