by Ciara Carruthers

If you are planning on moving to Spain for good, or at least for the moment, a Spanish bank account will be essential. Even if you are purchasing property in Spain to use as a holiday home, a Spanish bank account will still be very useful, for paying bills, taking out money without having huge charges slapped onto the withdrawal, and for receiving rent payments, if you intend to let the property. Banking and topics revolving around finance in general are not the same in any two countries, so here we will outline to you some of the points to note when talking about Spain.

Firstly, when opening a bank account, you will either open it as a resident or a non-resident. You are a non-resident if you are not from Spain and do not have a NIE card (Identification number). To open your account, you will need your passport. Some banks will require that you deposit an initial amount (perhaps 300E) in order to open the account. If you do become a resident, you should notify your bank and give them your NIE number. They ask you to do this, but it works to your benefit also, as banking fees are lower for residents. When opening your account, it is wise to do it with the help of somebody who has a high level of Spanish; you cannot expect the bank staff to speak English, they probably won’t unless the bank is located in a tourist area. Setting up your account is something you want to do right the first time, to ensure that you have the best account for your interests.

Rather inconveniently, banks close quite early. Their normal opening hours will be from 8.30 am to 1.30/2.30 pm during the week, and 8.30 to 12.00 pm on Saturdays. Interestingly, and important to note, is that summer opening hours are generally shorter, with a lot of banks not opening on Saturdays during the summer. ATM machines are easy to come by, and can be found outside most banks, or sometimes within the banks, even after opening hours. There will be an inner section of the bank, the door to which you may need to open by swiping your bank card, which you will be able to shut, so that you’ll have total privacy and safety. This is a great feature. Occasionally, homeless people use these areas to sleep in. They are probably perfectly harmless, but entering these areas with a friend may be a good idea, instead of going in alone.

Opening two bank accounts with the same bank is doable, but you may get questioned as to why you need two bank accounts. Again, bring a Spanish speaker along with you when opening second accounts. The two common type of bank accounts are current/checking account (cuenta corriente) and savings account (cuenta de ahorro). When you open your account, you will probably get a debit card, maybe a check book, and maybe a bank book (libreta). You will be able to take out money with the libreta, and the ATM will print the transaction on the book, so it is like a running bank statement. However, the debit card is far more convenient. Checks are rarely used. In shops you can pay with cash, debit or credit card. For putting down deposits on apartments, etc…you will probably be asked to do a bank transfer.

All in all, banking in Spain is trouble free. There are plenty of banks around to choose from. Keep a few things in mind though; firstly, queues move slowly in Spain, so leave plenty of time if you have deadlines to meet, and secondly, finding an English speaker will not be easy. Once again, take a Spanish speaking friend if you have any issues which you need to discuss with your bank.

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Ciara Carruthers works as a freelance content writer for oppSpain (www.oppspain.com), a company that is specialised in selling new developments and off plan properties all over Spain.