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Hello Everyone
I am British with an Irish Passport (Eire)
I currently live in Queensland Australia with bank accounts for UK & Australia
I am moving to Costa Blanca this year and would like to know if I open a Wise Bank Account should I open it in Spain, UK or Australia for my general banking when living in Spain and for paying my electricity bill etc. Or maybe it doesn’t matter?
Also should I open on the phone or can it be done on line?
Thank you in advance for any help
Terry H
It doesn’t matter where you open it you just need to open a euro account for your payments in Spain. It is easy to set up online, takes about 5 minutes.
Paolo51 wrote on Thu Mar 13, 2025 7:28am:
It doesn’t matter where you open it you just need to open a euro account for your payments in Spain. It is easy to set up online, takes about 5 minutes.
Thank you Paolo
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2025 1:54pm
Very helpful member
Personally I would open it as soon as possible. You will have enough to do when you get to Spain. It will be easier as well supplying information that you readily have to hand now as well.
TheRower wrote on Thu Mar 13, 2025 1:54pm:
Personally I would open it as soon as possible. You will have enough to do when you get to Spain. It will be easier as well supplying information that you readily have to hand now as well.
Many thanks
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Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2025 10:43am
Super helpful member
Hi Terry
Just to point out a few things...
1 - your card will be delivered to your registered address
2 - if you register with your Australian address then your overall balance (i.e. the total of the various currencies you hold) will be expressed in AUD, which may be a bit inconvenient if you're living in Spain.
3 - there's some discussion on this forum about ATM charges. My belief is that if you use a Spanish address you will find it easier to avoid charges.
4 - nobody on this forum so far has registered with Wise in one country and then attempted to change to another country. I'm not sure how Wise would deal with this!
Cheers
Steve
Stevec2x wrote on Fri Mar 14, 2025 10:43am:
Hi Terry
Just to point out a few things...
Read more...
1 - your card will be delivered to your registered address
2 - if you register with your Australian address then your overall balance (i.e. the total of the various currencies you hold) will be expressed in AUD, which may be a bit inconvenient if you're living in Spain.
3 - there's some discussion on this forum about ATM charges. My belief is that if you use a Spanish address you will find it easier to avoid charges.
4 - nobody on this forum so far has registered with Wise in one country and then attempted to change to another country. I'm not sure how Wise would deal with this!
Cheers
Steve
Hi Steve
When you say card do you mean a debit card?
If I have a Euro account why would it be in AUD$?
I will use my UK address with Wise until I have finalised a purchase and physically move in, in Spain.
Your point No.4 isn’t clear enough for me to understand
Many thanks
Terry H
Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2025 1:49pm
Very helpful member
Just to clarify, I assumed you would not be moving within the next couple of weeks, so you would have time to receive your card in Australia.
You can hold whatever currency, or currencies you want in the account. When you set it up, you just convert whatever currency you like into Euros. I currently hold sterling, Thai Baht and Euros in my account. I also held Japanese Yen and Malaysian Ringgit (5 currencies) simultaneously until recently.
WISE limit the amount you can withdraw to 2 withdrawals up to a total of 200 Euros a month cash free. Beyond that, Wise will charge .50 Euros per withdrawal and 1.75% of the withdrawal amount. As regards a worst case scenario Unicaja still allow cash free withdrawals for "foreign" Wise account holders I believe.
When you move its simple to change your address to Spain. You will then have the same benefits of other Spanish registered card holders regarding fees.
If you do decide to wait until you get to Spain to apply for you Wise, you will need to provide documents for proof of address. So there will be a potential delay there until you obtain a utility bill or something official showing your address.
All all depends what suits you best in your circumstances.
Hope all goes well with your move and you enjoy life in Spain.
Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2025 2:11pm
Super helpful member
Kelmenson wrote on Fri Mar 14, 2025 1:44pm:
Hi Steve
When you say card do you mean a debit card?
Read more...
If I have a Euro account why would it be in AUD$?
I will use my UK address with Wise until I have finalised a purchase and physically move in, in Spain.
Your point No.4 isn’t clear enough for me to understand
Many thanks
Terry H
Ok, sorry for lack of clarity!
Yes, I mean debit card.
When you look at the Wise app, the first figure it gives is a grand total of the money you hold across different currencies. This is given in the home currency according to your registered address. Below that you will see those currencies listed and the amount you hold in each currency. If you're living in Spain it's not terribly helpful to show the grand total in AUD.
Another regular contributor to this forum has an address in the UK so his total is expressed in GBP. My total is expressed in euros because my address is Spain.
Neither of us is sure how Wise would react if we attempted to change countries.
Also, I get free ATM withdrawals in Spain at certain ATMs, but he gets charged.
Hope this clarifies things!
Cheers
Steve
Stevec2x wrote on Fri Mar 14, 2025 2:11pm:
Ok, sorry for lack of clarity!
Yes, I mean debit card.
Read more...
When you look at the Wise app, the first figure it gives is a grand total of the money you hold across different currencies. This is given in the home currency according to your registered address. Below that you will see those currencies listed and the amount you hold in each currency. If you're living in Spain it's not terribly helpful to show the grand total in AUD.
Another regular contributor to this forum has an address in the UK so his total is expressed in GBP. My total is expressed in euros because my address is Spain.
Neither of us is sure how Wise would react if we attempted to change countries.
Also, I get free ATM withdrawals in Spain at certain ATMs, but he gets charged.
Hope this clarifies things!
Cheers
Steve
Thank you
I am not sure why Wise would react if I change my address other than accommodate me as it is a normal practice for people to move?
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