# Opening a bank account in Spain



## jenniferlewis (Oct 31, 2011)

I am moving to Madrid, Spain in January and am researching the necessary admin and paperwork before I move. Can someone explain to me how I open a bank account 
(I am learning Spanish but think I would struggle with complicated things).

Which banks are well respected and will have english speakers in and what documentation do I need to open an account before becoming a proper resident with an NIE number? I am considering a quick trip in December, is it possible to simply walk in and open an account?

Many thanks

Jen


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

jenniferlewis said:


> I am moving to Madrid, Spain in January and am researching the necessary admin and paperwork before I move. Can someone explain to me how I open a bank account
> (I am learning Spanish but think I would struggle with complicated things).
> 
> Which banks are well respected and will have english speakers in and what documentation do I need to open an account before becoming a proper resident with an NIE number? I am considering a quick trip in December, is it possible to simply walk in and open an account?
> ...


you can open a non-resident account using your passport & then change it to a resident account later when you have your NIE

have a search of the forum - there have been a few threads about different banks recently


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

We have used Halifax (Spain) they have a branch in Madrid you can open this account in England and I do believe that most of the employees in the English branches do in fact speak English


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Hepa said:


> I do believe that most of the employees in the English branches do in fact speak English


The way its going Hepa i am not so sure anymore!

:focus: Most Spanish banks do offer non residents accounts which serve their purpose. As soon as you have an NIE change it though because the non resident ones tend to have fees attached so you don´t want that on an ongoing basis.

I used Banco Sabadell when I first came out. They have branches dedicated to foreigners and these are branded "Solbank". The staff in those branches speak English and are usually very helpful. I switched between a few over the years including Bancaja which werent too bad but finally I went back to Sabadell (although now the main stream bank rather than Solbank) as I find them pretty good. The account that I now have is completely free and has no charges providing you deposit a minimum each month (i think 700€).

One tip though (from falling foul myself), if you get a bank account that is "free" providing you put in a minimum quantity each month, they oftern exclude deposits of foreign currency. I got stung with sabadell over this when in my first few months I paid in quite large sums of sterling both in cash and transfered from the UK but not much at that time in Euros as my income then was UK based. After 3 months I got wacked with fees and when arguing this I was told that paying in Sterling does not count as part of the miimum quota. Therefore, if you are paying in sterling its best to ask them to change it to euros and then deposit the euros instead of depositing sterling and converting it accordingly (crazy and more work for them but the only way to get it to count towards your quota).

In general though I found Sabadell and Bancaja about the best in service although Bancaja are USELESS for businesses in my humble opinion!


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## brocher (Mar 21, 2011)

We did exactly as Steve said in his post.

Walked straight in and opened account in April and paid in a small sum to keep the account open until it was needed in August. Debit card was posted to UK so you don't even have to be in the country long enough to have that issued. 

Here's a previous thread with lots of advice from several people, including exactly which documents, etc were required - 

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...-do-you-need-open-spanish-bank-account-2.html

Just ensure you do phone and activate the card when you receive it, or it will be cancelled. My daughter failed to phone quickly enough - and even that wasn't a big problem. Solbank simply arranged a new card to be ready and waiting in branch when we arrived in August!


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## jenniferlewis (Oct 31, 2011)

Hi,

thanks for this!! Really helpful! which bank did you open the account with? And how were they when you deposited foreign currency into the account?

many thanks

Jenny


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Jennifer, I've answered your post on the other thread you posted on. What I would say to you is that before you get too engrossed in all the paperwork and setting up of "life in Spain" do make sure that you will be able to get any secure work, or that you have a good financial buffer. Cos work is far more difficult to get in Spain and pay isnt as good as the UK. So come over by all means and prepare, but also take a good look at the job market and the way of life, cost of living etc... I'm not trying to put you off, but there are lots of aspects of moving to Spain that need to be considered. Strange times at the moment

Jo xxx


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## nigele2 (Dec 25, 2009)

jenniferlewis said:


> Hi,
> 
> thanks for this!! Really helpful! which bank did you open the account with? And how were they when you deposited foreign currency into the account?
> 
> ...


Jenny why would you deposit foreign currency into a Spanish account? It is likely to be very expensive if you do that. 

If you search on here you will find discussions on how people get the best rates and which mechanisms they use. If you go about it the wrong way you could easily lose 10% of your money before you even get started.

As jojo says research and research again before you even think of doing anything.


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

I came to Madrid in January and opened an account with Barclays in Colon, amazingly helpful English speaking staff and no charges unless you go in to your automatic 300e overdraft then they charge you 30e. You cannot open an account with Barclays in the UK as the two companies are separate entities.


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