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killjoy wrote on Sun Apr 10, 2022 1:24pm:

To open a bank account you have to apply in person or by means of a POA. Carefully familiarize with the various options and  conditions as otherweise you can get ripped off by means of so many extra fees and charges. Do not trust on what your are told, only what's written is binding.

jack1959 wrote on Sun Apr 10, 2022 6:10pm:

open a wise account online

killjoy wrote on Sun Apr 10, 2022 1:24pm:

To open a bank account you have to apply in person or by means of a POA. Carefully familiarize with the various options and  conditions as otherweise you can get ripped off by means of so many extra fees and charges. Do not trust on what your are told, only what's written is binding.

Domingos2022 wrote on Mon Apr 11, 2022 8:46am:

Do you really need a bank account in Spain when you have a 🇬🇧 one? You can pay with your actual credit card or by bank transfer. They take your money directly from your pocket…

Kimmy11 wrote on Mon Apr 11, 2022 10:30am:

Hi StanLady,

Is your property for permanent living or a holiday home?  If the latter, Spanish bank fees for non-residents are expensive.  In that case, I agree with Jack, you would be best to open an account with one of the online providers, but they MUST have an EU IBAN (International Bank Account ...

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...Number) in order for you to pay bills by direct debits.  You can open an EU-IBAN account with Wise, which is highly recommended by many of our members:

https://wise.com/help/articles/2827505/how-do-i-use-my-eur-account-details

Once you have the account, you transfer money from your UK bank account into your Wise account to cover your utility bills, which are converted to Euros at very competitive rates.  The direct debits set up on your Wise account will then pay your Spanish utility companies in Euros.  If you were to pay your bills by transferring money from your UK bank account to your Spanish bank, not only are you very likely to receive poor exchange rates and/or exchange fees, your receiving bank in Spain will charge you every time they receive a transaction from a UK IBAN.

If your lawyer is setting up the direct debits for your utilities on your behalf, it would make sense for you to open a Wise or other EU-IBAN account as soon as possible and give your lawyer those account details.

You should also ask your Spanish lawyer whether you can transfer your property purchase funds into their client account, for completion by electronic transfer.  If they can't (won't!) do this, then you may have no choice but to open a Spanish bank account to complete on your purchase, but this will incur charges for a banker's draft as well - check what the charges are before committing to a particular bank.  If they're calculated as a percentage of the purchase price, the cost of the draft can run into €000s.  Some banks, such as Sabadell, offer a reduced fee for a banker's draft if, for example, you take their buildings and contents insurance - however, this then ties you into them for the period of the insurance, during which your non-resident bank fees will be at least €40 per quarter!

The only Spanish bank that I've heard of which is free of charge for non-residents is Cajamar's Wefferent account, but you should still check what they charge for a banker's draft.

Unlike the UK, banking in Spain is not free and it can throw up some nasty surprises, which have become worse for non-residents since Brexit.  Opening an account with an EU IBAN can help to mitigate most charges.  Like Wise, there are other online providers that offer these accounts, such as N26 and Revolut.  Whichever one you choose, it MUST have an EU-IBAN and you should check other terms, such as how often you can make cash withdrawals (and where in Spain) to avoid ATM charges.

Any queries, just ask - we have many very helpful members who have already been taking steps to reduce their bank charges and have opened EU-IBAN accounts to do so.

Kind regards, 

Kim