Bank a/c

You would need your NIE to open an account and you would be paying quarterly fees to the bank.

It is worth considering an online account with Wise or one of the others as many do in Spain and they are easily opened within minutes.

I agree with Paolo51. Unless it's absolutely necessary to have a very expensive non residents bank account the best alternative is a free online account. I've been using Wise online Banking for years without any problems. 

A lot of forum members have moved their accounts to online Banking. 

www.wise.com 

Steve 

An online bank is much cheaper and will save you a lot of hassle. I'm not familiar with Wise and don't know if they will give you a Spanish account number. If you need a Spanish IBAN you could try Openbank (part of Santander) or Bunq (bunq.com). I have a Spanish IBAN account with both.

https://together.bunq.com/d/46323-can-i-get-a-spanish-bank-account

Open an online account with N26, using your spanish address. Decline the issue of a physical card and do all your banking through the app. Takes about 10min and you only need a picture of your passport. Doing it this way gets you a spanish IBAN and saves any hassle

Opening an a/c online has been recommended by a few members. 3 q's :

(1) Tony - if I don't have a card, how do I get hold of cash? 

(2) Hans 1980 - l would need to transfer my pension from the UK. This would be paid in sterling which I would have converted to Euros via a Forex Co (on a monthly basis) which would then be transferred to my a/c in Spain. If I opted for an online a/c, is it straightforward to have the Euros transferred to that a/c or would this type of transaction be less problematic if I had an a/c with a major Spanish bank? Btw, I'm not great with technology (ie I've never downloaded an app).

(3) Wouldn't things be difficult for me without a card to access cash/pay for shopping etc? 

Grateful for any advice.

Thank you, Michael. 

You can of course get a card issued, but it will be delivered to your spanish address and as long as someone is there to forward it to you, it should be ok, if it is a family address etc but if staying in hotel or rented accom do you want to take the chance.

See the following, regarding how to use the N26 app on your phone.

https://n26.com/en-eu/digital-wallet

Hi all, still considering moving to the Costa Blanca… alas, haven’t made much progress with my ‘things to do’ list! Several people have suggested getting an online bank a/c. I seem to remember reading that these are great for paying bills, (utilities etc ie small regular payments). What about using Wise or N26 for (1) having UK pension paid in & (2) making rent payments - is that possible or would opening a Spanish bank a/c be more appropriate for this? Perhaps the people who are highly recommending the online a/c have bought their properties & don’t have any large monthly outg (mortgage), so Wise etc may be very practical for their circumstances. I will have to rent & am unsure what a/c would be most suitable for me. Any advice please?