How to open a bank account?

If you are buying through an agent then he should be able to help you with this as part of his service.

thanks very much.

Hello,

We came last September to look at property, which we found in a couple of days. Our lawyer made an appointment with Banco  Sabadell and came with us to open an account. They spoke very good English. With their Expansion A/C as long as you have a pension or salary paid directly into it each month, then their are no bank charges. Our cash point cards were ready to pick up a few days later. The online banking is very clear and the staff are very helpful. Do choose a bank that has a branch or cash point near to your new home though, as many of the cash point machines incur a fee. Also, our home insurance was taken out with them, as they offer a heavy discount for the first year. Good luck, and hope your move goes as well as ours did, to Playa Flamenca.

thanks for the great advice, how are you finding it over there, Kevin.

Hi, we are just about to complete on a property with a view to a permanent move in the next year or so.

We opened a bank account with Sabadell, just needed passports and 200 euros.  Very efficient, good communication via email and English speaking!

I opened an account with La Caixa last year and It was painless.

My solicitor (Abogado) gave me a list of recommendations to look through and was careful not to specifically single one out for me. I chose La Caixa and they made the initial appointment with the manager. He was great, spoke excellent English and guided me through the whole process. The bank has been great so far although I couldn't say if they were any better or worse than any other. What I do like is that the website is in English for my online banking and the ATM is also in English. I am finding this a real bonus until the Spanish lessons kick in !

Like others here, I also took the first year house insurance with them as they offered a good incentive to do so.

Good Luck.

Colin

Hi Kevin,

Glad it helped. We have settled in well, but it takes a while to get to grips with living in a different country. It's much quieter than London of course, which most of the time  I like! I retired from work at the same time, so I am missing having something to do. The weather has been brilliant though which certainly helps. Best of luck.

Sheila

thanks very much Griff all help and advice much appreciated.