Can anyone recommend a Spanish bank account suitable for non-residents?

Hi, i am using Bankinter. So far i am very pleased with their services. To my knowledge the monthly fees are lower with Bankinter then with Sabadell (at least it was so about a year ago when i opened my account)

Best Regards//Andreas

There are several recent threads on Spanish bank accounts on the site, no doubt stimulated by many banks introducing or ramping up charges recently in response to the tough business environment. I think the only free accounts available now are internet banks.

I have a Sabadell Expansion a/c which, as a resident, I used to get for free as I was depositing a regular 700€/month, but they've recently introduced a 60€ p.a. charge. I thought about changing but after weighing up the pros and cons, I decided to stick with them. They're a quality bank, equivalent to something like Barclays in the UK, with generally good levels of service which I didn't want to lose. I have a free credit card with them, for example. Some banks will waive charges if you buy 'extras' like insurance, or deposit large amounts in savings accounts (paying miniscule interest) but you generally find it's not worth it.

One financial tip I'll give you is not to transfer money from the UK using your bank's exchange service or an fx company, they'll rip you off something rotten. Far and away the best internet money transfer service is Transferwise, they give you the interbank exchange rate of the moment and charge a very small commission, with the deal all laid out transparently up front before you go ahead. When you're transferring a large amount over, to buy a house for example, the difference can run into thousands of pounds.

Thanks for replying to my post.  I've looked at Bankinter's accounts and fees (which proved quite a challenge for my Spanish language skills!).  Bankinter doesn't seem to have much of an advantage over Sabadell so I'll probably open my Spanish account with Banco de Sabadell when my wife and I get to Alicante.  Anyway, thanks for letting me know about Bankinter - it's always useful to compare different banks and what they have to offer.

Thanks for giving me your opinion on Sabadell - I've decided to make it my first choice when opening a bank account when my wife and I get to Alicante.  

I've emailed Sabadell's office in Av Alfonso X (Alicante) to ask if it's possible to open an account while I'm still in the UK (i.e. without physically walking into a branch in Spain) but I'm guessing that this will not be acceptable to them.  I'll just have to hope that the UK's current obstacles to foreign travel will have lifted by September, otherwise we may not manage to obtain three months-worth of bank statements before the end of this year, (a pre-requisite for obtaining Spanish Residency under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement).

Hi, we are non residents renting in Alicante. I have an expansion account with Sabadell which has worked well for me. You set up a direct debit taken from your uk account for a minimum of 700 Euros a month. As a result there are no charges from your UK account to send the money over to the Sabadell account . As regards drawing further cash out, its useful to have a UK Santander account. This means you can make free cash withdrawals at the cash machines at Santander Branches in Spain- there are several in Alicante. The rate for the transaction is the interbank rate which is very good.

I actually had difficulty opening a Sabadell account in Alicante- this was about 4 years ago. They insisted I took some house insurance out in order to open the account. I didnt need it so didnt bother. I found a branch which served an expat community much more helpful, and opened the account there. This may have changed now, but if you get stuck I will let you know the details of the branch I used.

Simon.

Thanks for this helpful info, Simon.  Yes, I would feel a bit more secure if I had the contact details of a helpful Sabadell bank in Alicante.  Could you send me these details, please?

PM sent.

Hi Tim P

We have just opened an account with Sabadell but its a key account and have done it from the UK, we are purchasing a property and need a bankers draft for the notary this is the only reason as we have opened a Starling account with a euro account tagged on it to pay all the DD's with.

You may be better opeing that first and once you have the residency you can then transfer to the other account, Sabadell seem very welcoming and helpfull to be honest so far our branch is at Cabo Roig.

Regards Andrew

Thanks for this info about your banking arrangements.  

I already use Starling and will probably continue to use it when we move to Spain.  However, my understanding of the process for  applying for Spanish Residency is that I need to provide three months-worth of bank statements from a Spanish bank account in my name.  I was very interested to read that you opened your Sabadell Key account from the UK - this is exactly what I'd like to do but I've been unable to find a way to do it!  I'd be very grateful if you could tell me how you opened the account, e.g. who you got in touch with (web address/email/phone number?) and how you proved your ID.