Category: Banking | Page 3

N26 – The Best Free Bank Account with Spanish IBAN

Last updated: November 12, 202120 Comments

In an earlier post on this blog, I had talked about the best commission-free Spanish banks, and eventually came to the conclusion that the best option is to actually open an account with N26, which is a German bank that offers us the ability to open an account in a very straightforward way and manage everything from a mobile app.

Unfortunately, as some of you have pointed out, many Spanish companies refuse to accept non-local IBAN accounts for payslips or direct debits, leaving the majority of us with no option but to find a local bank to conduct our transactions.

N26 has decided to start offering Spanish IBAN accounts to their Spanish customers in 2019, solving that issue. For those who sign up through the link below from now onwards, you will automatically get a Spanish IBAN immediately.

For those of us who have signed up with N26 some time ago, we will unfortunately not get the option to switch to a Spanish IBAN. The only solution is to closer your current account and open a new one with N26, and then you will get a Spanish IBAN assigned.

Further reading: Best Online Banks in Europe

How to Open a Maltese Personal Bank Account

Last updated: January 04, 2024Leave a Comment

One of the first steps in establishing a life in Malta is opening a bank account. In this article, I will talk about the typical process for opening an account at a local bank, and some alternatives if that doesn’t work out for you. Unfortunately, banks in Malta have become excessively stringent and many people, especially expats, are finding it impossible to open a bank account with one of the local banks.

1. Choosing the Right Bank

There are several banks in Malta, both local and international, that offer various banking services to individuals. Some of the most prominent banks include:

Bank of Valletta (BOV)
HSBC Malta
APS Bank
Lombard Bank
Banif Bank (now BNF Bank)

Each bank has its own set of account options and fees, so it is essential to research and compare their offerings to find the one that best suits your needs.

2. Required Documentation

When opening a bank account in Malta, you will need to provide the following documents:

A valid passport or national ID card (for EU/EEA nationals)
Proof of address (e.g., a utility bill or rental agreement)
A reference letter from your current bank or a bank statement
Proof of income or employment (e.g., a payslip, an employment contract, or a pension statement)
Tax Identification Number (TIN) or Social Security Number (if applicable)

Some banks may also require additional documentation, so it is advisable to check with your chosen bank for any specific requirements.

3. Opening a Bank Account in Person

Most banks in Malta require individuals to open an account in person at one of their local branches. It is a good idea to schedule an appointment with the bank to ensure a smooth and efficient process. During the appointment, you will be asked to present the required documentation and complete an application form. The bank may also ask about the purpose of the account, the source of funds, and your expected banking activity.

4. Opening a Bank Account Remotely

In some cases, it may be possible to open a Maltese bank account remotely. However, this option is usually limited to individuals who already have a relationship with the bank or can provide a strong reference from their current bank. Additionally, remote account opening may involve more stringent documentation requirements, such as notarized copies of your documents.

5. Bank Account Features and Fees

Maltese bank accounts typically offer various features, such as online banking, debit cards, and access to a network of ATMs. However, it is essential to be aware of the fees associated with these services. Some banks charge monthly account maintenance fees, transaction fees, or fees for using ATMs outside of their network. Make sure to review the fee structure of your chosen bank to avoid any unexpected costs.

BoV VS HSBC

The two big banks in Malta are HSBC and Bank of Valletta.

Here are some of my notes on opening and maintaining bank accounts with both of these banks.

Internet Banking

Although BOV revamped their internet banking system in 2018, they only made it even worse than before, both looks and functionality-wise. HSBC offers a clean interface and an easy way to contact bank officials and get your queries resolved in a timely manner via the internet banking interface. I’ve previously sent messages to BOV from the internet banking that I never got replies to.

The internet banking key of HSBC is also much thinner and thus is easier to carry around.

Branches

HSBC is a clear winner here. Staff is professional and smart, and the offices are modern and well appointed. BOV offices seem to be older and badly designed.

Getting Things Done

HSBC has a reputation of being tougher with their requirements than BOV. Nowadays, however, both of them have strict procedures to adhere to, and if you follow the procedure, I’ve actually found dealing with HSBC to be a more pleasant experience and always very efficient.

Crypto-Friendliness

BoV does not allow outgoing transfers to crypto exchanges, while incoming transfers might also be subject to checks and blocks. HSBC also prevents its users from interacting with crypto exchanges.

ATMs

Again, I think the HSBC ATMs are easier to use and easier to access.

Fees

BOV charge €60/year if your residential address is outside of Malta. HSBC charges €30/month to companies, while BOV doesn’t.

Which Bank Should You Use?

I’ve always believed that it’s always safer to use two banks rather than one. It gives you more peace of mind in the unlikely event of things going south. It also gives you the opportunity to compare and contrast banks and take your business to the one that serves you best. It might also very well be the case that one bank excels in one area but is poor in another and vice versa.

After holding accounts with both BoV and HSBC for more than 20 years, I’ve decided to shut down my BoV account for two reasons. One is that their new internet banking system is horrendous, and second because every year I kept getting hit by some new hidden charge or issue and I’m tired of dealing with them anymore. HSBC have always been the more professional bank so I’m sticking with them.

It is also worth noting that in recent years we have seen the rise of virtual banks such as Revolut and N26, and they offer a far superior experience to the normal customer who just wants an account to deposit money and spend accordingly.

I think N26 has the edge at the moment, and they provide spending analysis via their impressive mobile app, something that will probably take years before BOV or HSBC can implement. They also provide the ability to link smartphones to your account and thus pay through your phone. If you need direct debit facilities, European businesses are now obliged to accept direct debits from non-local banks, so this is no longer a reason for needing a local bank account. N26 will do just fine. However, last time I checked, N26 is not available for Maltese residents yet.

Another option is to open an account with Wise. This can work both as an individual or as a business, and indeed, many of the companies who are opening up in Malta use Wise as their banking partner, due to the difficulties in opening a bank account with a Maltese bank at the moment.

So right now, the best two options for residents in Malta are:

Wise
Revolut

Both will you give you a multiple currency account (USD, EUR, etc). What you would need to do is transfer money out from your BOV account and into your Transferwise or Revolut account. Then from there you can transfer onwards into your cryptocurrency exchange of choice, no problems at all. The same applies for withdrawing money from exchanges, it works the other way round as well.

If you want to learn more about Wise, check out my previous post on Borderless Banking. Another bonus of using Wise and Revolut is that you will be able to get much better rates when converting from one currency to another. The classic case for Maltese people who work in the UK is converting money between GBP and EUR and vice versa. By using Wise or Revolut they can get better rates than when using a Maltese bank to do the conversion.

Open a Revolut account | Wise account

What about Crypto Transfers?

The big banks have proven to be reluctant to deal with crypto, so you’d need to look at the smaller banks. Unfortunately, due to Malta being a small country, there aren’t that many options.

Agribank seems to be the only banking provider in Malta that allows transfers to and from crypto exchanges.

Paytah is touted to be a crypto-friendly bank and it is definitely involved with crypto companies and payments processing, however, it has repeatedly been in the news for the wrong reasons.

If you explicitly want to make crypto transfers, either as an individual or as a company, then your only option is Agribank at the moment.

🆚 PayPal VS Wise Borderless

Last updated: February 15, 202326 Comments

Wise introduced borderless banking in 2017. The big advantage it gives you is that you can have bank accounts in multiple currencies. As soon as they launched I started to think of how it could help me get rid of PayPal and its high fees.

First, let me introduce you briefly to Wise Borderless. If you want to read my full review of this product, do browse over to my review of Wise Borderless.

The vast majority of entrepreneurs I know require a combination of accounts in these three major currencies:

US Dollars (USD)
Euro (EUR)
British Pounds (GBP)

The problem so far has been the simple fact that it’s unnecessarily and frustratingly hard or downright impossible to open a bank account in another country than the one your business is based in.

So for example if your business is based in the UK, but you make all your online sales in USD, you would probably want a USD account so that you would be able to transfer money to it without losing on exchange rates.

This problem is now solved with Transferwise’s borderless banking system. Once you open an account with Transferwise, you will be able to apply for borderless banking and select the accounts you need (USD, EUR and GBP available at the moment). Within two days you will have them in place and you can then start receiving client payments to these accounts.

So what are borderless accounts?

Your borderless account is a bit like having local accounts all over the world, without having to open a real bank account abroad.

It’s a multi-currency account that lets you keep money in 28 currencies, and convert between them at the real exchange rate whenever you need.

You get bank details (like account numbers, bank codes and IBANs) issued by TransferWise so you can receive money in different currencies around the world with zero fees. These aren’t actual bank accounts (they only work similarly to bank accounts), so you don’t have to fill in any forms or have a foreign proof of address. They’re your unique bank details issued by TransferWise to you, that you can give to your friends, company or customers in the US, UK, Eurozone and Australia to get paid in those countries as if you had a bank account there, with zero fees.

How do they work?

Add money to your account in any of the supported currencies. Then activate the currencies you want to convert to or hold money in.
Convert money between your currencies in seconds whenever you need, always at the real exchange rate, with our low conversion fees.
Send money directly from any currency in your account to pay bills, pay friends or move it to another account of your own.
Activate AUD, EUR, GBP or USD in your account to get account numbers and IBANs. Give them to your friends, company or customers to receive those currencies from any bank account in Australia, Eurozone, UK or US with zero fees.

Wise vs PayPal

I’ve written about the loss of money due to currency conversion when using PayPal before, so I was hoping that Borderless Banking would solve this issue once and for all.

First Use Case – Invoicing Clients

The first thing I thought of was to replace PayPal completely with TransferWise. Instead of issuing my clients invoices through PayPal, I would ask them to send money directly to my Borderless accounts thus incurring no fees. Apart from incurring no fees to receive the money, I would also avoid the currency conversions, since I now have accounts in the four major currencies I use the most.

TransferWise works perfectly in this case, and for this purpose I was able to eliminate PayPal completely from my workflow.

Second Use Case – Paying Employees or Freelancers Globally

I’ve always used PayPal to pay my employees or collaborators who work in other countries, but this is expensive for both me and them. Again, TransferWise Borderless proved to be a great solution.

I can recommend the borderless accounts for this purpose as you will definitely save a ton of money.

Third Use Case – Withdrawing money from PayPal

Unfortunately, I still had to keep on using PayPal as it is one of the most comfortable ways to set up automated payments for digital products, especially in countries where Stripe is not yet established.

The problem, as I described in another post, is that PayPal charges hefty fees for currency conversions when withdrawing money to your bank account. Even if you use my method to eliminate the conversion on PayPal’s end, you will still have the money converted automatically by your bank when it arrives there. The ideal solution is to have USD be transferred from PayPal to a USD bank account, and so on and so forth with the other currencies. This makes borderless perfect for the job.

My idea was to add each of my borderless accounts to PayPal as withdrawal methods.

However, after checking with PayPal, they have informed me that at this stage they don’t support virtual bank accounts, which is what TransferWise’s Borderless banking solution is classified as.

2Checkout do not allow withdrawals to a Borderless Banking account unfortunately, so I can’t use them there either.

It would also be interesting to know what Stripe are doing, so if any of my readers wants to try that, do leave a comment with the results.

You should be able to use Borderless Banking with other services that support bank wire transfers, such as affiliate systems like Avangate and Shareasale.

While I did not have any luck adding the borderless accounts to PayPal, several readers have reported that they managed to do so by calling PayPal directly. I hate waiting on calls to be honest, and the prospect of dealing with some PayPal rep and trying to convince them to do something like this wasn’t very enticing, so I didn’t bother.

If you want to try it, here’s how:

Go to the contact page within your PayPal account, click call us and you’ll get a freephone number to call (which works on Skype too) and a code to give them. Once you call you have to answer some security questions, then give them the ACH routing number and account number of the Transferwise US bank account. If you’re lucky it will show up instantly on your PayPal account as the Community Federal Savings Bank.

Wrapping Up

This is a great step in the right direction. Revolut released something similar earlier this year, but TransferWise’s solution is better. The last step now is for everyone to be able to use this type of account with PayPal for withdrawals.

In any case, you can still ask clients to pay you to one of your multi-current Wise Borderless accounts, and that’s already a huge bonus for those entrepreneurs and companies who receive invoice payments directly rather than through payment gateways such as 2Checkout, Stripe or PayPal.

Don’t forget that you can now also get a TransferWise debit card, which gives you direct access to your multi-currency Borderless accounts so that you can spend your money anywhere around the world where cards are accepted.

This is post 9 of 11 in the series “PayPal”

🏦 Best Commission-Free Banks in Spain (Updated 2024)

Last updated: February 14, 2024294 Comments

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.

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.

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💳 Withdrawing Money From PayPal for Non-US Accounts

Last updated: February 15, 2023256 Comments

As discussed in previous posts, once you’re using PayPal to sell your stuff online, you will also want to eventually withdraw the money you make into your bank account so that you can actually use it. Here’s where things get a bit nasty, unfortunately.

If you have a US bank account and a US PayPal account, you can stop reading right here. You’re in luck. All you have to do is attach your bank account to your PayPal account and withdraw USD from your PayPal account to your bank account. There are no currency conversions to worry about, and the transfer itself is free from PayPal’s side.

If you are the owner of a non-US PayPal account and you don’t have a US bank account, things are not so pretty.

You are given two options (depending on your home country, it might even be just one option):

Withdraw to a debit or credit card
Withdraw to your local bank account.

If you sell online you probably use USD as the main currency on your store and hence your PayPal balance will be in USD. What happens is that since your local credit card or bank account are not in USD, an automatic currency conversion takes place on PayPal’s end as the money is on the way out. The conversion rates are bad, to put it mildly. Hence you’re going to lose a lot of money on that conversion.

Withdrawing your funds from PayPal to a debit or credit card can be annoying if you have significant funds. The reason is that you can only withdraw up to $2,500 at one go, and every time you make a withdrawal you are charged $2,50.

So let’s say you need to withdraw $50,000. You will need to go through the withdrawal process 20 times for a total cost of $60. This sounds ridiculous; a time-wasting activity and also a money-grab by PayPal. It is, there’s no other way of looking at it.

The other way of withdrawing is to send the funds directly to your bank account. There are no limits when compared to withdrawing to a card. Sounds like we solved our problem right?

Well, not so fast.

If your bank account is in a different currency than the funds you have stored on PayPal, be prepared to lose a significant amount of money due to PayPal’s horrible exchange rates. PayPal does not let you send, say, USD directly to a EUR-denominated account. This is a limitation on their end, and I suspect an intentional one to fleece their users. There are no such limitations when using other payment gateways such as 2Checkout.