Upon moving to Spain, one of the first things you need to do is open a bank account.
You will need it for several things, most importantly for paying your monthly rent. A foreign bank account is not that useful in Spain as many institutions rely on direct debits to a local account. For example, if you make a gym subscription, or if you sign up for private health insurance, you will need to provide your bank details, and you need to give a Spanish IBAN number.
See also: Best broker for buying stocks in Spain
The same thing applies if you have an iPhone and want to use the Spanish app store; you need a Spanish debit or credit card.
When I arrived in Spain, I had a list of criteria that I used to search for the best bank here. Let me share them with you:
- Commission-free.
I’m giving money to the bank and they will use it to gain money, I shouldn’t be paying them. If anything, they should be compensating me for providing the capital. - Straightforward to open and operate.
I didn’t want to jump through too many hoops to open a bank account, and I expect a modern web and mobile interface to operate on a daily basis. - English-speaking staff and multilingual website and contracts.
Not so much of a deal-breaker as I’m fluent in Spanish, but it’s always a plus. - Stable and highly-regarded bank.
I don’t want nasty surprises in the future, so let’s keep to the top banks and avoid going with the lesser-known ones.
See also: Best apps for trading cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum
Here are some of the typical bank fees charged by banks here that I was not prepared to pay:
- Maintenance fees
There is usually an average fee for having your bank account and this is anything from €40 year and upwards - Transferring money
If you use your bank account to transfer money, even to another Spanish account, you may be charged. The transfer cost is usually around €2 or C3 for every transaction you make. Online transactions are usually free. - ATM
If you use a cash machine that is not linked to the bank you use then you will be charged a fee. This varies but is likely to be at least €2. - Credit and debit cards
Some banks may charge a small fee per year for maintaining your card and can be around €8 and €10 per year.
After spending many hours in online research, speaking to people and visiting bank branches, these were my shortlisted banks:
Currency Conversions
Before we delve into details about each of these banks and my top pick, I’d like to make a special note for those who will be transferring money from other countries. The most common cases are GBP and USD but this applies to any other non-Euro currency.
I suggest that you use Wise for your conversions as you will save a ton of money versus any local bank. You can also set up a Wise Borderless account which gives you a debit card in multiple currencies that is perfect for travel.
Ok, now that you now know how to do currency exchanges the right way, let’s move on to Spanish banks. If you have any questions about currency exchange, leave a comment and I’ll try to help out.
N26 – Best Low-Cost Bank in Spain for 2023
Unfortunately, I haven’t been very impressed by banking in Spain. It’s decent enough, don’t get me wrong, and most banks have very good online systems and apps, however, support and compliance can get very frustrating.
That is why I would recommend N26, a German bank with the very latest technology and an amazing mobile app through which you manage your account.
Since April 2019, N26 gives its Spanish users a Spanish IBAN account, so you will be able to use the bank for any direct debits as you would use other Spanish bank accounts.
Now that we have the option, I recommend opening an account with N26, which is a new breed of bank that is totally app-based. This is the future of banking, so they give you best-in-class digital facilities such as an app and website to go with it, while also helping you track your expenses.
I use DEGIRO as a stockbroker in combination with N26 as a bank account, and I have zero hassle with local branches and any other issues.
Revolut
The famous online bank Revolut is also available to residents of Spain. Revolut is a digital banking app and card that focuses on technology, low fees and premium features. It’s designed for those who travel a lot and offers ways to spend abroad, including international money transfers with no hidden fees.
When you sign up, you will need to choose between three account tiers, starting at €0 per month for the Standard account.
For all account tiers, Revolut gives you a free IBAN account, a free UK current account and a bank card so you can spend your money. You can spend in over 150 currencies at the interbank exchange rate and exchange 29 fiat currencies. There are a number of features that come with each account tier, such as free ATM withdrawals plus exclusive features that come with the Premium and Metal accounts.
Revolut has three tiers: Standard, Premium and Metal. The Standard account is €0 per month, the Premium account is €7.99 per month and the Metal account is €13.99 per month.
One of Revolut’s most appealing features is that it lets you spend fee-free at the interbank rate in over 150 currencies.
Using it abroad is much like using it in Spain. However, don’t forget that while there’s no spending limit for card payments, free ATM withdrawals are limited to €200 per month with the Standard account (higher for Premium and Metal), after which you’ll be charged a 2% fee.
Revolut received its European banking license from the European Central Bank in December 2018. This means that if you open a current account with Revolut in the future your funds will be protected up to €100,000. However, at the time of writing, this was still being put into place. For now, Revolut still has obligations to safeguard your funds in a separate bank so you can get them back should anything happen to Revolut.
Revolut stands out from its competitors in cryptocurrencies. In 2017, it became the first challenger bank to let customers buy cryptos within the app.
What’s more, it’s incredibly easy for anyone to use cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin with Revolut. Revolut’s aim is to make cryptocurrencies accessible. Customers have access to five different cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether, Bitcoin Cash and XRP. However, you have to hold a Premium account or higher to access the cryptocurrency feature automatically. Otherwise, you will need to invite three or more friends to use the app to unlock the feature.
Revolut shows you real-time cryptocurrency graphs which shows you current rates. You can also set up price alerts to hear when your cryptocurrency hits a certain value.
Revolut applies a markup of 0.5% on major currencies and 1% on other currencies over the weekend when markets are closed.
You are charged at least a 1% markup for currencies such as the Thai baht, Russian rouble, Ukrainian hryvnia and the Turkish lira. This rises to 2% on weekends.
You can make fee-free currency conversions up to €6,000 per month, after which a 0.5% fee applies.
The big disadvantage of using Revolut at the moment is that you don’t get a Spanish IBAN. Although according to EU rules, businesses here in Spain should accept European IBANs for direct debit purposes, in practice there are some big companies that still refuse to do so. You might want to check which companies you will need to work with and decide accordingly.
Having said that, since there is no cost to signing up to and maintaining a standard Revolut, I would still recommend having it, especially since you like to travel. Having more options is always better than less options. If you’re worried about managing multiple cards, have a look at the solution I found for that further down in the article.
Wise
Before you move abroad consider opening a TransferWise multi-currency account. You get your own free local bank account details in Europe, UK, US, Australia and New Zealand so you can have a local bank account before arriving.
It comes with a debit card so you can pay and withdraw money at ATMs once you come to Spain with much lower fees than with your bank.
Read my full Wise Borderless review or go ahead and open an account using the link below.
BBVA Cuenta Online – Best Spanish Bank
BBVA is a Spanish bank with an excellent reputation, and their mobile app has won numerous awards.
You can open a Cuenta Online with no commissions in 10 minutes using the mobile app. Their website is available in multiple languages including English.
You can’t really go wrong with BBVA if you want the extra peace of mind of having your money in a Spanish bank. BBVA is consistently rated among the top 3 banks in Spain.
This is now my favorite local bank in Spain. I am very happy with the service they provide and the application is excellent, even allowing you to aggregate other banks’ accounts into the BBVA app for your convenience.
Banks to Avoid
Banc Sabadell
I don’t recommend this bank due to the various reports of multiple charges that are now associated to having accounts with them (see comments section).
Ing Direct
ING Direct used to be my favorite local bank, but as of April 2019, I would recommend N26 above ING Direct. They have a weird policy of letting all incoming transfers in, then suddenly asking for documentation about all incoming international transfers months later. It’s quite maddening because they typically don’t even know what they need, they just ask you for documentation for everything, which of course can be incredibly time-consuming to retrieve given that some transfers might have been done years ago.
They have also blocked many clients’ accounts even during the sensitive Coronavirus crisis times, piling more difficulty on families when they should be helping alleviating the burden. I find these practices extremely insensitive and unprofessional and cannot recommend this bank any longer.
Their customer support is only available via phone (long waits) and usually turns out to be quite incompetent, barely able to answer basic questions.
In short: Stay away from this bank.
Wrapping up
You will no doubt have your own requirements for bank accounts. Perhaps you are already thinking of a loan or mortgage, or you’re interested in finding a bank with great stock brokerage facilities, or even other products such as life insurance or deposit accounts.
Make sure you make a list of things that are most important to you, then start your search by visiting all the sites of the local banks. You will usually get a gut feeling about certain banks that will allow you to narrow things down. You can then proceed to visit the local offices of the shortlisted banks and get a feel for the kind of people that work there and get more information about their products.
Finally, you can make an educated decision on which account to use. Remember that you can always close an account without any hassle or cost if further down the line you understand that the bank is not well aligned with your needs.
When you open a bank account at any entity, be aware that they will usually ask for your passport and your NIE at the very minimum. They might also ask for things like your rental contract, statement from your foreign bank, tax statements from your previous country of residence etc. Banks are on the lookout for money launderers and have very strict parameters within which to operate. All the banks I mentioned above are very reasonable in what they require and will not make things difficult for you. Others may have stricter policies, and they might reject your application without providing any specific reasons.
Over the years, I’ve come to prefer online banks, so here would be my favorite options:
Accounts for traveling outside the Eurozone:
- Revolut (Personal or Business)
- Wise Borderless
Good luck with opening a bank account in Spain, and if you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments section.
Curve – Managing multiple cards
It’s a hassle having many cards in your wallet. You might lose one without even noticing, not to mention the inconvenience of a fat wallet in your pocket.
The solution to that is to use the Curve app and card. Basically, Curve allows you to load all your cards into its app, then use just one card (the Curve card) to make your payments. Before you make a payment, you can use the app to choose which bank card you want to take the money from. Incredibly useful for those of us who have many debit and credit cards.
Savings and Investment accounts
None of the banks mentioned in my article are great places to earn any interest on your money. As you know, banks nowadays offer very low interest for leaving your money in their accounts. However, there are some good online options if you’re seeking some return on your money.
Raisin – Best Investment accounts
Raisin puts more than 70 savings products at your disposal. The platform collaborates with many European collaborator banks, all of which count on the European deposit guarantee scheme (up to €100,000). It is basically an aggregator of all the savings account offerings across Europe.
I find it extremely convenient to be able to access all these investment products in one place. The traditional way would be to actually sign up to a bank in order to be able to access its savings products, which is incredibly more laborious and harder for the customer to compare offers between banks. Check it out, I think you will like the idea behind Raisin.
P2P Lending – Mintos
If you’re interested in making the most of your money, don’t leave it sitting in your bank account where it generates low returns.
Take a look at my results (above 10% returns) investing through the Mintos P2P lending platform, it’s been excellent so far. If you’re not familiar with P2P lending, read my review of the best P2P lending sites in Europe, which includes a thorough guide on how this sector works.
Another option is to invest in property via online platforms. I have lots of content on that subject as well on this site, and a good place to start is my post on the best property investment platforms in Europe.
Documents needed to open a bank account in Spain
Before you even attempt to open a bank account, make sure you have the following documents handy as you will need them.
If you’re opening your first bank account in Spain with one of the local banks:
- A valid passport or national identity card
- Your Spanish Tax identification number (NIE)
- A document to confirm your address such as a utility bill or Title Deed
- A document to prove you have an income – this could be a payslip, tax return or an official form connected to your pension (optional)
Proof of income documentation is not always required. When I arrived in Spain I did not have any payslips to show, so instead, they asked me for statements from the bank account in my country, and that was enough to open the first bank account here in Spain.
If you already have another bank account in Spain and you’re opening another bank account in Spain with a local bank:
- A valid passport or national identity card
- Your Spanish Tax identification number (NIE)
- The IBAN number of your other bank account
If you’re opening an account with one of the digital banks:
- A valid passport or national identity card
The digital banks (Revolut, Wise, and N26) only require basic identification to open a bank account with them.
Banks trust each other, so if one bank has done its checks and opened a bank account for you, you can then open another account at another bank by just providing basic identification and the IBAN number for your other bank account.
Note that many traditional Spanish banks do not provide sign up instructions on their website in English, but it’s pretty self-explanatory in most cases.
Keep in mind that banks do discriminate openly against citizens of certain countries that they deem to be on their “blacklist”. My wife (Russian) was straight up refused consideration from various banks, while even myself (Maltese) was refused in one bank due to the manager claiming that Malta was on some kind of blacklist, which is very weird since it is in the EU.
See also: Should you buy Bitcoin?
Spanish Banking Glossary
Let’s talk about some of the most common words used in Spanish banking.
- Cuenta = account
- Cuenta Corriente = current account
- Tarjeta = card
- Seguros = insurance
- Saldo Contable = account balance
- Saldo Disponible = balance available
- Traspasos = transfers
- Inicio = Start
- Extracto = statement
- Cuenta para residentes = resident account
- Cuenta para no residentes = non-resident account
- Caja = savings banks
- Account number – usually a ten digit number
- Sort code – four digits for your bank reference and four digits for your branch
- Control number – a two-digit number
- BIC – Bank Identifier Code. It begins with letters that refer to the bank you are using. It is used in conjunction with the IBAN
- IBAN – ‘International Bank Account Number’ and is a standard way of identifying banks across different countries.
ING has stopped its account SIN NOMINA in September 2018. Now if you want an account without commissions you still can have it but it has to be an online only account.
More info here (in Spanish): https://www.ocu.org/dinero/cuenta-bancaria/noticias/fin-cuenta-sin-nomina-ing
I used to think Revolut was an awesome account to have for traveling, and I WAS recommending it to everyone, but not anymore!
Customer support is non-existent! Avoid! Check the reviews before you take out a premium account.
A month before I was traveling to Dubai, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, they sent me a message to verify a code they added to my last deposit. There was no code, so I contacted support. A couple days later they responded saying I will be contacted by compliance. 2 months later and after sending them many messages, I am still waiting and my account is suspended especially after witnessing their child-like responses.
I have requested their complaints procedure and they will not send me anything. There is no other method to contact them.
I have now asked for a refund from my premium account and cancel the account. That was a week ago and still no response.
My next move is to report them to the financial ombudsman.
Why EVO Banco is not included?
Based on your list, I opened an account with Sabadell back in 2018, now I’m looking for a replacement as they will start charging fees quarterly on Expansion accounts.
Spanish banks are great, customer service is perhaps debatable, however the technology is highly advance to carry out your day to day payments, wire transfers and consists of user friendly apps. On the other hand it is true that the service and maintenance charge is quite high whereas a lot of Bank offers online accounts if one wishes to avoid fees.
According to my experience and opinion, people with jobs/businesses earning above 900 euros may seek for a Brick-And-Mortar Bank (having the option to operate physically by visiting a Bank) and may choose any of the Spanish Banks. In addition, there are people who are unemployed or earn from time to time and even students may consider opening an online account, and my suggestion will still be choosing a Spanish Bank.
Both type of users are somewhat privileged to visit their respective Bank offices but mostly clients (having a traditional account) will get efficient and rapid feedback to their queries and their problems will be sorted out quickly. Online users can as well benefit from these sort of services but it may cost them a charge, response may be delayed and even there might be limitations. To me, You get what you paid for, no complain from my side. A couple of them only operates online without any offices that I am not comfortable with and I rather prefer to visit an office than talking or chatting to a representative over the phone in finding solution to my problems. And lastly, regardless whether you are opting for an online or tradition account, do not forget to check their offerings like discounts, interest on deposits, ATM fees and other facilities. Just shared my personal views.
This is how I rank some of the Banks : 1. Santander, 2. BBVA, 3. Caixa, 4. Bankia, 5. Open Bank, Caixa Popular, Liber Bank & ING.
Great article, thanks for publishing. I had an ING account years ago in Spain but now have a Sabadell. It’s crippling me as I have to send Euro 700 a month into it – otherwise it’s free!! So I’m looking for an alternative that is low or free from charges without this crazy monthly deposit. Any suggestions or advice?
Hi,
May I suggest you get the Revolut App. I use this to transfer money every month to my Sabadell account. I send 250 to sabadell. Once credited I send it back to Revolut, I repeat the process until I’ve hit the minimum deposit. It’s free and takes seconds over a 4 day period.
I have the same account (“Expansion”), but unfortunately from 01/01/2020, it’s no longer free. 🙁
“maintenance fee will be €15 quarterly”
https://www.bancsabadell.com/cs/Satellite/SabAtl/Expansion-Account/1191346505022/en/
That’s not good news, thanks for the update.
I can second that. Sabadell expansion added conditions to be free, either be younger than 30 or you could upgrade to their premium account, but take additional insurance.
30 Euro/quarter fee, or 15/Q, but again with conditions (average 2.5k Euro in account)
I’ve never had to pay in my life for bank accounts, with greatest conditions. I’m not going to start now…
Thanks for the article, I’ll be using it to help me find my next match 🙂
Good luck 🙂
Unethical and amoral bank! Sabadell made an admin error in Summer ’19 whereby they charged me twice for an Airbnb stay without adjusting the balance to make me aware of the lack of funds I now had due to this double charge. It happened at a financially critical moment during my stay in Spain which forced me to arrange an emergency loan in order to pay for a flight back to the UK.
Sabadell have refused to compensate me for their error which put me in the financial predicament and subsequent debt. They have communicated with me in an unprofessional way, accepting my complaint PDF file from my email address yet refusing to send the outcome back to my email address.
Furthermore, Sabadell fails to keep its ATMs in Madrid stocked with banknotes. One of the reasons why I chose Sabadell is because two of their ATMS were close to my apartment in Chamartin. Yet one, sometimes both, ATMs were out of money, costing me ATM charges using other banks’ ATMS.
Over all the bank’s conduct, certainly in the handling of my complaint and claim for at least some renumeration due to Sabadell’s maladministration, has not matched the standards required for an EU banking institution and I am currently seeking advice from the EU’s Financial Ombudsman as a result.
I’m with Bankia and been told that I don’t qualify as an existing client to set up an ON account. This is so out of line compared with the UK.
Banks in Spain are regarded as predatory in their fees and charges so don’t get to comfortable with this one, which was the biggest to fail in the recent crisis. I’m looking for another bank but one way or another they all fall short in the reviews. Expect to pay a monthly fee with some like N26. Compare notes with me if you wish
Sorry to hear that Barry. I’d say the entire financial sector in Spain is of a predatory and unprofessional nature (admittedly I’m generalising). You can sign up to the N26 free account with no monthly fees.
Thanks for the excellent article Dominic. In my case, I will be making regular transfers into the account from the UK (in GBP). Do you know if either Bankia Now or ING Direct would add charges to receive those payments?
Excellent post, very interesting! I want yo share with you guys something that could be useful for you to know and It is that Sabadell bank allows you to open a dollar account (Cuenta Divisas, witch is like to say “currency account” or something like that) actually It is called so because you can have whatever currency you want to have in there, not only dollar. It’ not free, but I think it’s not that expensive, around U$ 10 monthly. This way you can avoid the currency exchange fees (witch are truly high).
What I would like you to tell me is if you know some good and not expensive, but “reliable” broker I could link my bank account with in order to buy-sell stocks.
Thanks in advance.
Hi Leonardo, check out my post about brokers in Spain.
I have a Cuenta On account with Bankia. I own an apartment as a non resident and opened the account in September 2018. The account is free of management charges as long as the account is managed online.
On 16th December I received a letter (via Bankia’s online messaging system) containing revised terms and conditions. My understanding of the letter (9 pages long) is that current users of the Cuenta On account are being moved, on 23rd February 2020, to another account type: “Por Ser Tu” which appears to have much more stringent conditions for it to remain free of charges.
The Cuenta On account is still available to new clients.
I just wondered if anyone else has this account, has received the letter and has formed the same view as me (the letter was in Spanish and I could not guarantee my interpretation is 100% accurate.
Hi Tony.
I opened a Cuenta ON around the same time as you (although as a resident, rather than a non-resident) and I’ve just discovered the same letter in my inbox.
The letter sets out new conditions for around 15 of Bankia’s account types, stating that the Por Ser Tú programme will apply to them from 23 February 2020. Under this programme, account holders are exempt from account maintenance charges and annual card fees as long as they have their pay cheque, pension or unemployment benefit paid into their account every month. If not, there will be a monthly account maintenance charge of either 6 euros or 14 euros (!) per month, depending on whether the holder also meets certain other conditions, PLUS a charge of 28 euros per year for the debit card.
As I read through this letter (9 pages long, as you say), I was all set to close my account. However, I then discovered this paragraph at the bottom of page 8:
“Comisión de mantenimiento Cuenta On: la comisión de mantenimiento de la Cuenta On seguirá siendo de cinco (5) euros mensuales. No obstante, si cumples el perfil digital, la comisión de mantenimiento de la Cuenta On y la cuota anual de la Tarjeta de Débito On será de cero (0) euros.”
If I understand this correctly, this means that the exemption from account maintenance and card fees that we currently enjoy will continue as long as we maintain the account online and have the mobile app set up correctly. (There are full details of the requirements at the top of the same page.) If not, then we revert to the terms of Por Ser Tú.
I’m going to check this with my girlfriend, who is Spanish, just to make sure she interprets it in the same way. However, I think I’ve got it right. The letter is certainly written in a confusing way, because everything apart from that one paragraph suggests that new charges will be applied unless we meet the terms of Por Ser Tú.
It’s also worth mentioning that on page 7 the letter quotes my account number along with “Denominación Actual: Cuenta ON” and “Nueva Denominación: Sin cambio”, indicating that the account will remain a Cuenta ON. You should check that this is also the case for your own account.
Hope this helps!
Hi Dominic
Thanks for your extremely helpful response. In the meantime I had emailed Bankia and also messaged them on Facebook and both channels responded by stating that the Cuenta On account remained free of commissions as long as the digital profile was maintained. They confirmed on FB that my digital profile was correct. Judging from their FB site I am not the only one to conclude that the majority of the Bankia accounts were being migrated to their Por Ser Tu programme – many Spaniards had assumed the same. On another matter I’ve also had deductions made from my account for both of our joint account debit cards. I received a response to a written complaint recently that stated that these will be refunded. It has yet to happen but at least I’ve had a positive response. I don’t want to move banks as I like the Bankia app and they do respond to the various contact channels – not always clearly though.
Thanks again
Tony
That’s great news! I’m really pleased that you had a positive response from Bankia.
My girlfriend agreed with my interpretation of the text, although she also felt that it was confusing – especially with the added reference to a 5 euro monthly fee (instead of 6 or 14) if one doesn’t maintain a digital profile. We were debating whether to go and check with my gestor at the local branch, just to be absolutely sure.
The responses that you’ve received do give me added confidence, though. Many thanks for following up on my reply.
Hi,
I’m also received the online message about tariffs and am a non resident. Today have made 3 phone calls to Bankia regarding configuration of my Cuenta_ON account. One said my account is ok, 2nd said need to setup profile / notification alerts (setup 5 Cuantas & 1 Tarjetas) and 3rd said create profile / notification alert otras / Acceso a canales digitales.
Hi Jean and other readers.
Jean, thanks again for your excellent post / page.
I wanted to add a bit of info from my experience so far.
Firstly, like you i had initial good experience with ING on a day to day basis, where i had issues was there “Checking info” policy that you have described, that department has the task of checking up on automated security notices. This are now standard and from what i can see the politicians have passed on this responsibility to the banks. So there now caught between the middle of having to collate info about transactions to cover their backs. But….. some banks are better at dealing with the communication of this process. I’m afriad ING in Spain is very poor, frustrating and lacking understanding of how to deal with its customers.
I moved to N26, that as you mention do seem very good.
The only issue i have encountered is that they do not have a list of “commission free” ATMs for you to use. I spoke to the agent, its trial and error. Put your card in and see if they charge for a fee & cancel. The money will be debited & then refunded. But it is in this day and age a slightly inefficient way for customers to find out.
Does anybody have any recommendations for commission free ATMs in Spain? (As of 30 December 2019)
Hi Jean Good evening,
I would like to ask you two questions and It would be helpful if you kindly answer them based on your knowledge and experience.
1. Will I be questioned if I intend to receive a total below 10000 euro through a Bank transfer to my Spanish account from another EU country ?
2. The money is going to be sent like a gift for my personal use and I am thinking of opening a small business as well. Will that be an issue ?
Waiting for your answer and thank you in advance.
Hi Alek,
1. Impossible to answer unfortunately as banks don’t publicly share their policies and it depends on a ton of factors anyway.
2. As far as I know, gifts are taxable when received by a Spanish resident, so you’d probably first need to discuss that with your tax advisor.
Hello Jean,
Good post. Perhaps you wish to take a look to Abanca and Evo Banco, or even Ferratum (a Maltese bank for EU nationals in EU including Spain).
One question, if you had to compare access to banking between Maltese and Spanish banks, who would you say is less pain in the ‘bottom’?
Narak!!
Thanks for the suggestions. For opening a bank account and technology (apps, web etc) the Spanish banks are far superior. For reliability and fees the Maltese ones are better.
Hi Jean,
Good site!! My question, we want to live in Spain as non-resident (so max 6 Months), and we like a simple Bank solution as N26. Is it possible to use N26 as “non-resident”? I had a chat with N26 online, but the support person was not 100% sure. He basically said: just try when you are in Spain 🙂 But we are not there yet.
Thanks for your reply
Bob
It will work, as long as you have an Spanish address when you signup, if you do not have a Spanish address when you signup you will probably get their German IBAN account number, and you will have problems when you are going to sign up for direct debits like phone, internet, power, and water. I would recommend to wait for signing up until you have an Spanish address, I would guess even the address for an airbnb would work – you could just change the address father you get the Visa debit card.
Hi Jean
Thanks for writing the article, really useful. I started googling ING, as i too am having issues with incoming transfers. Exactly as you mentioned, all fine. Now they seem to have blocked all incoming transfers from services like” Transferwise, Revoult.”
I think your right, there not up to speed with managing incoming foreign transfers. We all know that banks have to be careful in the age to help protect us. But likwise i’m being asked to provide information from 20 years ago. I don’t know what will happen next, wether i can move my money away or i will get more calls. Off course we can provide information, but as you mention in your article. Its quite random the requests and in some cases impossible.
How did it eventually work out for you?
As i belive im now in that same situation.
Once again, thanks for writing and sharing as now realise its not just me.
Hi Rich, thanks for commenting on the issue. From my conversations with them it seems that they are just ticking boxes. There seems to be a total disconnect between management and the people who are sending out emails and replying to phone calls about these issues. Basically whenever I spoke to them they struggled to even understand what I was calling about then scrambled to find out why they were actually asking me for the information, and finally concluding by repeatedly asking in a bit of a menacing way whether I would send the information. In the end given the ridiculous requests I decided to wait it out and so far nobody has contacted me again.
Hi Jean – I am in the process of relocating from South Africa to retire in Spain. I have therefore read your blog with interest. Whilst I have an EU passport, I dont have a NIE number yet. I will be travelling to Spain in September to try and sort out a lot of things, bank acount being one. Will I be able to open an account online from South Africa or should I do it when we’re there in September?
Also, trustpilot has terrible reviews of ING-Direct? https://www.trustpilot.com/review/ingdirect.es
I would definitely recommend that you open the account once you’re here. ING Direct still works well for me but they do have several bad reviews as you stated. The only problem I’ve encountered is their average customer care and annoying justification requests for incoming transfers.
As I state in the post, if I were to open my accounts from scratch today I would do away with the archaic Spanish banks and use N26. I have an account with them and have had zero problems so far, and you get a Spanish IBAN so you can use it for things like renting an apartment or gym memberships where they need direct debit access.
Visited N26 website and chatted online to a consultant. They do not offer credit cards, no joint accounts and no term deposit accounts at this stage, which is what I require. Other than that, their mobile app and web platform is very slick and mod with great features and look-and-feel. As a simple mobile banking offering/app it’s first class.
Hi Jean!
Thanks for the useful post.
You mention Open Bank in the list but you didn’t review it then.
I’ve seen poor reviews here: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/openbank.es
Any thoughts?
Thank you!
I haven’t tried them so I would rely on the Trustpilot reviews and stay away from them unless the ratings improve. I would only recommend N26 at the moment.
Currently with Sabadell, get charged 30 euros a year for a card…which I have to have to put cash into the account as staff refuse to do this now!
In addition, I’m charged 30 euros every 3 months!!? And also accrue other “charges/commissions” which they cannot explain to me what they are for!? A 5 euro payment to local school parents group had a “charge” of 6:55!!!? MORE than the charitable group receiving it…every child in every school at E6:55 cents is a very good day for Sabadell!
Following the change in LAW I asked to have a “Basic Banking Account” as entitled to by LAW…after numerous attempts to convince me that this or that was required and my proving it wasn’t… they told me “If you are not happy, go to another Bank”
The Manager…said that?!!!
Thieves, liars and arrogant #@£% that care nothing about their customers.
Check out the caja mar wefferent account. No commissions or maintenance fees. Apply online only. Courier comes to do door to sign papers then card comes in post. Cajamar.es
Has broker options and decent app. Card is a bit ugly and the name is questionable but account good.
I think this caja mar offer is the best, I did prefer bankia but they closed my account after I transferred a big amount of cash in and refused to accept evidence of the origination of funds. They also threatened to confiscate my money and I was quite worried.. I would still recommend bankia for small holdings and free cash withdrawals, cuenta on account.
Self bank have dripped association with CaixaBank so not such a good proposition any more. N26 is a better option now than self bank. 5 free withdrawals a month instead on 1 with self bank.
Finally jean, your blog helped me a lot getting set up in spain so i hope this information helps someone else. Thanks
Glad my blog was helpful Jonny. How did it end with Bankia, did they send the funds back or allow you to transfer them to another local bank?
Hello, i’m creating an offshore company in Spain and i need an account in a spanish Bank. The company through which i’m creating my company suggests i use the banks in this list http://www.confiduss.com/en/banks/list/spain/ . What do you think, which bank should i choose?
I stand by my recommendations so far, and I haven’t tried all the banks mentioned in that list so I can’t comment on those.
N26 don’t support non resident accounts. I’ve tried to open an account and if your tax liability is in the UK then you can’t open the Spanish account, even with a Spanish address.
Just worth noting..
Hi Jean,
I notice that you now recommend N26.
There’s more good news.
N26 have recognised the difficulties in Spain where companies appear to ignore European law requiring acceptance of all bank accounts throughout the Eurozone. So, new N26 customers in Spain are now given a Spanish IBAN rather than a German IBAN. Existing customers will be able to switch from a German to a Spanish IBAN.
This should overcome the difficulties of deliberately awkward companies like Movistar!
Life gets better all the time…
Yes, see my latest post on the blog 🙂
I had very bad experience with openbank. They made it hard for me to open an account, including requesting me to visit a santender bank and make 10 euros transfer. I felt like its a scam. I opened an account without problems in sabadell.
Surprised you first mention Open Bank as an alternative, then list other banks but not Open Bank and lastly recommend no banks at all. I’ve been a customer of Open Bank for 5 years. Never paid anything for my account or card. The website is in Eng/Spa and so is their app. Check it out!
I don’t speak Spanish. I’ve sent a query to ING about opening the account in English. Reply came in Spanish. I’m so done with this. Any recommendations? Revolut doesn’t work, it’s not recognized by authorities as a Spanish account, I cannot even use their card to recharge my prepaid phone.
Update: I asked if they could answer my queries in english. Got an arrogant reply that they only provide services in Spanish. The reply came, of course, in Spanish. This from their official Facebook account. They really work hard on not having me as a client. Any suggestions?
Unfortunately I’m not surprised as this happens quite frequently and not just with this bank but with the majority of businesses in Spain. It’s mostly due to them not being equipped to support English-speaking clients rather than any malice, although I understand how sometimes it does come across as arrogant as they lack the apologetic attitude typically taken by support in English-speaking countries. I have learnt Spanish myself so I’m afraid I can’t really give you any suggestions.
I’m not even from an English speaking country and I’d consider their reply rude. I just moved here and the only other languages that I speak, apart from my native Czech, are English and German. I think I will go with Bankia for now, as they were prompt to answer my questions in English, even though some of the reviews here are not very favourable. I’m planning on learning Spanish, but this is my day #11 in Spain 🙂
Absolutely, you’re right to expect a nice reply and an accommodating attitude from any service provider. Bankia are heavily criticised by many, however my experience with them has been good, they’ve always been very nice to me at the branch. They also have Apple pay integration which Ing don’t have.
Hi Jean,
We have internet banking with Caixa Bank in Santander and have just had a message about KYC which appears to be about money laundering etc.
Some posts on the internet suggest that bank accounts can be frozen.
We have had out account for over 10 years and this is the first time this has been mentioned to us.
Can you give us some information on this please.
Thanks.
KYC can be annoying but as long as you provide the info they request there should be no problem. Accounts are only frozen in extreme cases where there are problems.
Hey Jean,
Checking ING and they only seem to have a cuenta nómina available now- which means there needs to be a minimum deposit each month (like the drawback you mention with Sabadell). Any suggestions for people that don’t have this option? (Aka starting one business with no guaranteed monthly income)
Hi I’ve recently moved to Spain for nine months – have started the bank account process,sadly with Sabadell before seeing these posts. My account is not fully open until they see my NIE which is on is way. How easy is it to cancel/close an account soon after opening? My language proficiency is not great!
My experience with Bankia is pure disaster. I speak Spanish (and English and German), and we have had accounts with Caja Granada (worked resonably well, except for some criminal action) and BMN (worked well), but since Bankia took over, the internet access is blocked. To de-block the access, I had to go to the branch, which I did about ten times. People there were friendly, but incompetent. I gave them all the documentation they claimed they needed (BMN did not need all that), and still no internet access. I cannot call in, because my identity card has letters and numbers, and the telephone machine accepts only numbers. We pay by direct debit things like power, IBI or telephone. I tried to change that process to the bank of my European homecountry, which is absolutely possible under European law – except that some companies do not want to do that. Without internet access, I don’t know, whether there is enough money in the account, so we get our power turned off. In my experience, Bankia is absolutely worthless.
Great info Jean !
However I just tried to open an account in ING bank and they only let me open it if I have the “tarjeta de residencia” only with my NIE and job contract they don’t open it.
You managed to open it only with your NIE?
Best Regards,
Elson
Tarjeta de residencia is a NIE. I’m not sure what happened there but you should definitely be able to open it once you present your NIE (it’s a flimsy card-like thing like this one).
NIE is foreigners identity number, which you can get easily. Residencia is a different accolade, meaning you are resident in Spain. I’m guessing ING no longer offer non-resident accounts if they require Residencia
NIE counts as residency, in fact on the card there is the date when you started residing in Spain. I did not need any other papers apart from perhaps empadronamiento or flat rental contract (I don’t remember if this was necessary).
Not any more Jean. They are two seperate applications, with different requirements. I believe they used to be one application for both, not anymore
Since when has this changed Richard?
I don’t know Jean. I moved to Spain in January and was advised by the translation service I used that it’s now two seperate applications. For Residency you have to provide proof of healthcare (private insurance not enough due to limitations on care covered), your NIE, a current Certificado De Empadronmiento, three months bank statements, proof of employment (translated by an official Spanish translator if not in Spanish language, plus all the usual identification and proof of address stuff. It’s a four to six week wait for an appointment with the Policia Nacionale around these parts
I think we’re talking about the same thing as those are the documents I needed to get my NIE (the one like I linked to in my previous comment). I know that there used to be a paper that gave you a NIE but not residency, and now with the card I have it serves both as a record of my NIE number as well as a residency permit.
Perhaps you can apply for residencia and nie at the same time, but one is not the same as the other. If you need residencia to open a resident account, having only an nie will not work as it isn’t proof of residency
If we’re referring to NIE purely as the number, then yes, I agree. If we are referring to the NIE as in the card I linked to, then I say it should be enough to prove residency.
Richard,
I was working in a spanish Bank for many years. Try in BBVA with nie and passport, easy on line. 1 week takes all the process. Bankia online is fine, also.
My suggest is not complicate the life. If ING makes you difficulties, just pass to others interfice.