Bank Account

Hello, SteveC.

Unless you have a really pressing reason for opening a bank account in Spain, do not do so.

if you do you will face ridiculously high and often unexpected and unexplained charges for an abysmal level of service. Spanish banks have absolutely no respect or concern for their customers, least of all non-residents.

If you do open an account you will simply be buying headaches.

It is possible to open a bank account in Spain with NIE, however I do agree with BigOLondo.

That said, if your father already do have an account; consider getting power to use that account. Most Spanish banks do have an internet banking system, which will make it easier for you to help out whether here or there. 

Alternatively get an EUR-account outside of Spain (direct debets and other payments can be done through most euro accounts, regardless of bank).

Hi SteveC,

Whilst you can open a Spanish bank account as a non-resident with an NIE number, I agree with the previous responses that it will be unnecessarily expensive.

Instead, I'd suggest opening a Wise multi-currency account, which many of us have.  You pay Sterling into the account and then transfer to Euros as and when you need it.  The transfers take seconds, fees are low and exchange rates are typically the best available.  You can also apply for a Wise card, so that you can make cash withdrawals in Spain.

https://wise.com/gb/account/

Kind regards, 

Kim

Hi 

Kimmy is absolutely right, this forum is awash with people complaining about Spanish banks - and lots of us use Wise, and I can't remember a single complaint about Wise. They also pay interest at about 3% variable.

The only drawback is that you can't use Wise to pay income tax, and your account is not protected by the £80k government guarantee.

Cheers 

Steve