Privalgo’s guide to Opening a Spanish Bank Account

A quick guide provided by Privalgo when opening a Bank account in Spain. It is one of the things in your list, in fact, it’s best to have this job at the top of your to-do list when moving to Spain and buying a property.

You will be pleased to know that opening a Spanish bank account isn’t difficult. After all, Spain has such a large expat community (from the UK and elsewhere) that it’s Spanish in banks’ interests to make the process as smooth as possible.

Opening a bank as a non-resident:
For non-residents, opening a bank account in Spain is relatively easy. If you are already residing in Spain, your best bet of opening an account is to open an account is to visit a branch of your chosen bank and do it there. Be sure when you make an appointment to ask for a translator (if you don’t speak Spanish, that is). You will be asked to fill out all the relevant paperwork and provider the right documents. They are as follows:

• A passport or other proof of identity
• Proof of address
• Proof of employment
• NIE number

Once that’s all done, you should be able to use your Spanish bank account in 1-5 days.

KEY TIP
If you can’t be in Spain to open a bank account, it is possible to do it online in the UK. Some banks let you do the whole process online while others require you to visit the branch at least once.

What bank should I choose?

There are over 140 banks in Spain, all with their own individual perks. We’ll go into a couple of them here.
Santander is a Spanish bank you’ll probably already know. It’s one of the largest banks in Spain and offers essentially the same accounts as it does in the UK. Perks include free debit card withdrawals at Santander ATMS and a handy banking app.

BBVA is one of Spain’s largest banks. You may recognise the name from its countless ATMS and branches that line Spanish cities. BBVA’s main perks are its fee-free online account, fee-free debit cards and no pay-in requirements, along with thousands of ATMs.

Spanish banking fees

Fees vary between bank to bank — the ones we just mentioned are fee-free, for example. Some accounts do not come free, but they’re not eye-wateringly expensive either. On average, you can expect to pay around €15–20 in annual fees for current accounts. You will likely have to pay an extra €15–20 for debit cards and up to and over €30 a year for credit cards.
As you can see, Spanish bank account fees won’t break the, well, bank. Yet, what does become expensive when moving abroad is the cost of international exchange — moving your savings, income, pension payments from the UK to Spain.

Get in touch with Privalgo now if you need more guidance or willing to be assisted when moving to Spain.

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