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
on my N26 account (german IBAN not spanish) i opened it in 2019 before they started using the ES in the IBAN. it says that i am liable for taxes in uk and spain. anyone had this ? they are looking into why but very slow.
We are looking for a joint account with a SPANISH IBAN at present with Sabadell we have a parting home in Spain but reside in uk
My question if we change to N26 what atms can we use to her cash
And is it easy to change accounts and set up the direct debits for utilities in spain
Can the Spanish authorities embargo my N26 account which has a Spanish Iban?
hi. I am resident In Spain but sick of the way the banks conduct business… if I was to open an N26 account with a Spanish IBAN could the account have an embargo placed on it?
Hi,
I’m an English teacher in Madrid and just before Xmas, I was “wacked” by BBVA’s “6 monthly liquidation due to my not depositing a minimum of 800ā¬ each month into my account. As you can imagine it was a massive shock as they took everything I had (apart from the credit card) and just before Xmas! A mere 229ā¬, but it was everything!
I just want to confirm that any employer in Spain won’t have a problem depositing my pay into an N26 account. If so, I’ll go for it!
Rob
Good luck Robert!
Thanks for the info! Should I declare my N26 account with Spanish IBAN on my Modelo 720? Thanks!
To my knowledge: no. However, you should confirm with a professional as I’m not a tax consultant.
Hi
I would also like to know if I can pay my Spanish Taxes using N26.
I can’t close my Caixa Bank account until I know that I can replicate the payment process which generates an NRC number that enabled me to pay my Form 210 online.
Thanks
Anyone know if you can pay your Spanish tax from n26? I know you can pay online with normal banks, so hoping the same with n26.
TIA,
Luke
The website still says this on the page link you directed people to:
N26 operates with a full European banking license, and your bank account with a German iBAN is protected up to ā¬100,000, according to EU directives.
No mention of Spanish IBAN. Is this correct?
You will get a Spanish IBAN if you apply from Spain and set your address to a Spanish one.
This is great news, So have N26 opened a branch in SPAIN now to get the IBAN?
14th January 2020 you still can’t pay Spanish utility bills even with a Spanish IBAN number from N26!
Which company is preventing you from doing so Martin?
Hi,
I was one of the customers that already had an account with N26, resident in one of the Nordic countries. Since I have a vacation apartment in Spain I was pleased to find out that N26 had decided to offer Spanish IBAN account numbers (since you probably know the difficulties with getting direct debits etc with an German IBAN number – despite the law requiring them to accept any EU Euro account) So I contacted the N26 customer service, asking them to change my account to a Spanish IBAN. The N26 answer was that this was not possible, since I already was a customer – the solution; cancel the account – wait at least to weeks – than sign up again with my Spanish address and NIE number. The process a bit slow and bit of ha hassle, but okey – done, I now have a new account with the Spanish account. So I am planning to change all the direct debits that I have in Spain to the new account. Has anyone tried to open Direct Debits with the Spanish N26 Account? Any obstacles and difficulties after the change? Any experience is appreciated, will probably change the d.dās next time I am in Spain.
Thanks š
Hi! I did exactly what u write. Got any problems with re-opening, no obstacles, and any difficulties after the change.
Thanks for the comment form someone that actually have tested if direct debits works fine, their app / web interface and card works great – so will change the direct debit to N26. Only negative is that they do not have any branches if I need to pay taxes in a bank – as I understand the banks in Spain can not charge any fees if you pay taxes to the government over the counter – so probably no problem.
Thanks so much for this extremely helpful information. My cuenta expansion with Sabadell was changed to a cuenta relacion without the bank notifying me (I’ve just moved back from Spain to France), which I only found out after they charged a disproportionate fee for a small transfer. This was because the obligatory 700e per month was no longer coming in (and I’ve not had the opportunity to change it into an account for foreign residents). On top of that, 30e a quarter to park my money somewhere… So I will be closing that account asap and opening an N26 account to pay all the utility bills for my flat in Spain and to be able to withdraw cash from ATMs free of charge. I used to think banks in France were bad (compared to banks in Holland, where I lived before France). But Spanish banks really take the biscuit.
You’re welcome Paula. Things can be pretty archaic in Spain at times.