If you are planning to stay in Spain for any length of time you will probably need to open a bank account. There are two types of accounts available to foreigners in Spain these are either Resident or Non-resident accounts.
Banking in Spain is modern and well established and is controlled by the Bank of Spain (Banca de Espana) which is based in Madrid. There are also many foreign banks in Spain but they are mainly found in the coastal resorts and main cities.
Residents Accounts
To open a resident’s account you will need your passport or residency ID card (NIE).
Commissions and service charges vary greatly from bank to bank, it is therefore advisable to compare several before choosing which bank to go with. Bank charges in Spain tend to be very high. Most banks will also offer online banking facilities.
Non-residents Accounts
If you do not have an NIE card and you come from another country, you are considered to be non-resident. To open a non-resident account you will need to provide either a passport or other form of identification. Within 15 days you should also justify your non-resident status by providing a certificado de no residencia which can be obtained from your local police office. The bank should check on your non-residence status every two years. In reality, though, banks in Spain will rarely ask for this certificado de no residencia, but it is worthwhile getting one just in case. If you do eventually become a resident of Spain you should ensure that you notify the bank of this as soon as possible and you will need to produce your NIE card to them.
Fees and services should be very similar to those of resident accounts although banks may not offer a credit card or overdraft facility for non-residence accounts.
Spain has approximately 30 banks with a national or regional presence, with the largest of these being BBVA and Santander Central Hispano. Commissions and services vary greatly from bank to bank so it is advisable to compare several before choosing which bank to go with. Most bank employees do not speak English so it may be helpful to ask for a branch where someone does. You will find these mainly in larger cities.
Bank Accounts
The most common type of account is a non –interest bearing current account or cheque account (cuenta corriente). The alternative to this is a savings account (cuenta de abhorro).
For an annual fee most banks will offer you a debit card which can be used in shops or to withdraw cash from a cash-line machine. You should be aware that cheques are no longer used in shops.
The banks also operate a direct debit system as in the UK so that most utility bills can be paid in this way.
If you have a savings account, residents will have 25% of any interest retained by the bank against their Income tax Declaration. You should receive an annual statement of interest received, and tax withheld from your bank.
The bank should also provide you with a statement annually giving your average balance for the year for your Wealth Tax Declaration should you need to make one.
Cash machines (cajeros) operate on the ServiRed or Telebanco network and you should be able to withdraw money from all cash machines.
You may have to pay a fee for withdrawing cash from a cash machine but the amount should be displayed on the screen.
If you need to write a cheque always use a pen and write it to a person or business that is to receive payment and not to "al Portador" (bearer). To ensure a cheque can only be deposited into an account of the person or business which it is made out to, write "a abonar en cuenta" (to be credited to the account of) before the name of the recipient or cross the front of the cheque with two parallel lines.
Most banks will send bank statements to any address you specify, either in Spain or your home country.
Banking hours are generally from 8.30 until 2.30 Monday to Friday and some banks are open on a Saturday morning.
If you need to exchange money there are many ways of doing so. If you just need a small amount the simplest way is to use the currency exchange at the airport. You will not get the best exchange rate but it is the most convenient way.
If you need to exchange a larger amount of money it may be easier to make the transfer from your U.K. bank directly to your Spanish bank account. This is a fairly straight forward procedure and your bank will do it for you for a small fee. There are now very few restrictions or formalities when transferring funds to and from Spain from other E.U. countries. The bank will usually ask if the charges are to be met by them or the foreign bank. It is usually advantageous for the charges to be charged to the U.K. bank account.
Both residents and non-residents may take out a mortgage in Spain. A resident may obtain 100% mortgage to purchase a property but the usual amount is about 80% whereas a bank will normally only lend 50%-60% to non-residents.
Interests on mortgages are low in Spain. Variable interest mortgages can be as low as 3%-4% and fixed rate mortgages from 5%-7%.
