Non Resident Bank account
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- Andalucia.com Amigo
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Non Resident Bank account
Hi
Can anyone recommend a bank which will give a non resident an account, preferably with free or low cost charges please?
Various ones recommended on line don't seem to come up with the goods.
Sabadell is expensive for non residents. ING and BBVA on line accounts look good but won't accept a UK ID. So can;t set up the account. Currently trying to speak to someone in English at BBVA with no success so far. There is no provision for a UK Passport number NIE or UTR, just a DNI or TIN.
Santander told me they won't open an account for a non resident (I'm sure this was not the case a few years ago when I enquired).
Currently talking to La Caxia which is recommended by resident friends but again, it may be more difficult or expensive for non residents.
Deutsche Bank have seriously messed me about and I want to leave them.
Any help appreciated
Can anyone recommend a bank which will give a non resident an account, preferably with free or low cost charges please?
Various ones recommended on line don't seem to come up with the goods.
Sabadell is expensive for non residents. ING and BBVA on line accounts look good but won't accept a UK ID. So can;t set up the account. Currently trying to speak to someone in English at BBVA with no success so far. There is no provision for a UK Passport number NIE or UTR, just a DNI or TIN.
Santander told me they won't open an account for a non resident (I'm sure this was not the case a few years ago when I enquired).
Currently talking to La Caxia which is recommended by resident friends but again, it may be more difficult or expensive for non residents.
Deutsche Bank have seriously messed me about and I want to leave them.
Any help appreciated
- Enrique
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Re: Non Resident Bank account
Hi Floriana,
Have you looked at the Caja Rural Group.............
http://www.ruralvia.com/cms/estatico/rv ... index.html
Free banking for us non-residents............not a chance.............low costs in above Group....I too was with Sabadell ........only by default from Halifax.
Have you looked at the Caja Rural Group.............
http://www.ruralvia.com/cms/estatico/rv ... index.html
Free banking for us non-residents............not a chance.............low costs in above Group....I too was with Sabadell ........only by default from Halifax.
All my best learning experiences start with a problem I need to solve.
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- Andalucia.com Amigo
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Re: Non Resident Bank account
Thanks Enrique but Caja Rural website less than impressive, no way to find out anything at all about their accounts that I can see.....am I missing some special button?
- Enrique
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Re: Non Resident Bank account
Hi Floriana,
I'll get some facts for you later, in middle of picking olives and the weather is closing in on the mountain.
I'll get some facts for you later, in middle of picking olives and the weather is closing in on the mountain.
All my best learning experiences start with a problem I need to solve.
Re: Non Resident Bank account
Unless you have x amount of money coming into the account every month then most accounts have charges for residents and non residents alike..theres also the non resident account. "tax" which i think is paid yearly
- Enrique
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Re: Non Resident Bank account
Hi Floriana,
You may find some info ..........
https://www.ruralvia.com/cms/estatico/r ... a_web.html
We have a Joint current account with one of the Group.......The charges I see 9€ /yr per card..... Visa Electron
Have Internet Banking set up.
Every two years they ask if we are Non-Resident.......not seen any charges for this.
Modest Commission on cheque paying in.
Which ever bank you choose make sure it's local to your Location.
elusive:: "theres also the non resident account. "tax" which i think is paid yearly"............only seen an Admin fee every two years with the old Halifax/Lloyds/Sabadell setup.
You may find some info ..........
https://www.ruralvia.com/cms/estatico/r ... a_web.html
We have a Joint current account with one of the Group.......The charges I see 9€ /yr per card..... Visa Electron
Have Internet Banking set up.
Every two years they ask if we are Non-Resident.......not seen any charges for this.
Modest Commission on cheque paying in.
Which ever bank you choose make sure it's local to your Location.
elusive:: "theres also the non resident account. "tax" which i think is paid yearly"............only seen an Admin fee every two years with the old Halifax/Lloyds/Sabadell setup.
All my best learning experiences start with a problem I need to solve.
Re: Non Resident Bank account
Sabadell may charge a quarterly fee but in my experience they are reliable. It counts for a lot if you come and go like a lot of us.
Re: Non Resident Bank account
Something to do with getting a certificate of non residency enrique? Prob changed 20 times since we were told about it before becoming residents
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Re: Non Resident Bank account
Floriana wrote:Hi
Can anyone recommend a bank which will give a non resident an account, preferably with free or low cost charges please?
Any help appreciated
There is no need to have a bank account in Spain. You can hold a bank account in any EU country if you are resident in the EU. I will make an assumption that you want to have an account in EUR to pay bills and withdraw cash etc. If so it does not matter which EUR zone country you hold the account. IF that is correct I woukd suggest you open an account in Malta as it is English speaking and are very used to offshore account holders. You can make paymenst and use your cash card or Debit card just like a Spanish bank. If you want. to tell me more about your specific needs I can recommend which bank to use, all of which will be covered by the deposit guarantee scheme and offer free banking
Re: Non Resident Bank account
But I bet the Spanish will charge for drawing your money/ D.Debits from an overseas account.
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Re: Non Resident Bank account
Yes and no.....some machines charge for withdrawing money when it is not from their bank even if it is a card from another Spanish bank...so I avoid them. The machine always gives you a notification if it will charge you.
Using the card to buy things at the till...no charge
Direct debits...no charge (exactly like paying from another bank in Spain)
Using the card to buy things at the till...no charge
Direct debits...no charge (exactly like paying from another bank in Spain)
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- Andalucia.com Amigo
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Re: Non Resident Bank account
We were hit with charges of up to 15 euros to withdraw cash at an ATM from our LaCaixa account while travelling in Greece.
That said, la Caixa has been alright although they do assess quarterly fees of about 5 euros on our non-residents account. Originally we had Barclay's, which did not assess any fees, but when they left Spain our account was transferred automatically to la Caixa.
That said, la Caixa has been alright although they do assess quarterly fees of about 5 euros on our non-residents account. Originally we had Barclay's, which did not assess any fees, but when they left Spain our account was transferred automatically to la Caixa.
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Re: Non Resident Bank account
Yes banks can set their own fees for not using their own cash machines even within the same country. They are not obliged by law to give it free. The Eu law says that they cannot charge for a transaction outside the country of origin of the bank if they would not charge for it inside the country of origin. That is why point of sale (shops, restaurants etc) transactions are always free throughout the EU. How they get around it with ATM is by showing not every cash withdrawal is free in their country of origin. However some banks try to attract customers by making cash withdrawals free throughout the EU. Basically read the banks T&C. There are a raft if baks throughout the EU who will not charge you no matter where you withdraw the cash (as long as the machine issuing the cash does not itself charge you..but as discussed in previous post this is easily avoidable). In short there is now no legal reason whatsoever to hold a bank account in a given EU country when you are free (and the bankmis legally obliged to provide) a basic (current) account in any EU country you choose
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- Andalucia.com Amigo
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Re: Non Resident Bank account
Thanks for posts on the subject, I have now opened an account with which I am more than happy!
- jamesbowker
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Re: Non Resident Bank account
I appreciate I'm after the event and you've found a bank account that works for you but for reference, and to echo Enrique's comments, I would definitely put a recommendation in for Caja Rural. They have been extremely helpful to me over the years and gone far beyond levels of service you would ever receive in the UK. I can email my branch's Manager directly and she always responds promptly. On one occasion I was encountering "administrative" issues with the Town Hall in Loja in connection with the IBI payment. Normally that would entail a trip to the Ayuntamiento but my Manager spoke to them on my behalf and all was sorted. When my debit card comes up for renewal she emails and asks whether I want it sent to my UK or Spanish address. The service has been superb and I would never consider another bank so long as Lorenza remains the branch manager!!
Re: Non Resident Bank account
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Re: Non Resident Bank account
I switched to Bankia from CaixaBank in 2017 to escape CaixaBank’s charges. At that time the Bankia staff in my part of Spain could not have been more helpful.
I then enjoyed four years of trouble free banking with no charges.
Following the takeover of Bankia in 2021 I found myself back with CaixaBank. My new assigned branch contact made it very clear that she couldn’t care less whether I remained a customer or not.
I looked at accounts with Wise and Revolut, but decided against them because my money would not be protected if they went out of business. Also, some people online say they’ve needed a Spanish IBAN to be able to set up some direct debits.
The only Spanish bank I could find which would offer me a non-resident account with no charges was Cajamar - their ‘Wefferent’ account comes with a debit card, you can use an app or their website, and it’s completely free if you operate it online.
As a non-resident I was not able to open the account online, but Cajamar have a nearby branch to me which I visited in March 2022. All the staff were very helpful and the manager spoke excellent English. They needed to see my passport, NIE, P60 and I needed a Spanish mobile number to verify certain transactions (their system will not accept a UK number). You can install the app on your UK mobile though.
It was quite easy to change the direct debits over myself, online, and I’ve just made a note to check that the first payment for each of them goes through OK. So far, the electricity and water have been fine.
I reduced the CaixaBank balance down to zero and then went into the branch and asked them to close the account.
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions!
I then enjoyed four years of trouble free banking with no charges.
Following the takeover of Bankia in 2021 I found myself back with CaixaBank. My new assigned branch contact made it very clear that she couldn’t care less whether I remained a customer or not.
I looked at accounts with Wise and Revolut, but decided against them because my money would not be protected if they went out of business. Also, some people online say they’ve needed a Spanish IBAN to be able to set up some direct debits.
The only Spanish bank I could find which would offer me a non-resident account with no charges was Cajamar - their ‘Wefferent’ account comes with a debit card, you can use an app or their website, and it’s completely free if you operate it online.
As a non-resident I was not able to open the account online, but Cajamar have a nearby branch to me which I visited in March 2022. All the staff were very helpful and the manager spoke excellent English. They needed to see my passport, NIE, P60 and I needed a Spanish mobile number to verify certain transactions (their system will not accept a UK number). You can install the app on your UK mobile though.
It was quite easy to change the direct debits over myself, online, and I’ve just made a note to check that the first payment for each of them goes through OK. So far, the electricity and water have been fine.
I reduced the CaixaBank balance down to zero and then went into the branch and asked them to close the account.
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions!
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Re: Non Resident Bank account
We started with Caja Granada who were then taken over by Bankia and now its CaixaBank.If anything has me fed up is these constant take overs, i've had to visit the banks in Spain more times than enough, it always feels like a day trip to the main branch in Granada because the smaller local branches haven't a clue..Each time theres a take over we have to provide new info, the whole experience puts me off looking at other branches to open a new account, had enough off swapping and changing for the time being.
Re: Non Resident Bank account
Hi Pamela1,
I know what you mean about swapping and changing! Not sure if you are a resident, if you are then you should be able to open a Wefferent account online... have a look here:
https://www.cajamar.es/en/particulares/ ... wefferent/
If you're a non-resident, have a couple of hours spare and find yourself near a Cajamar branch, you could always pop in with your paperwork and open an account. It won't cost anything but your time.
As I said, I've only been with them for a couple of months, but everything is working well so far, and the staff at the branch where I opened the account were incredibly friendly and helpful. A complete contrast to my assigned branch contact at CaixaBank!
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Re: Non Resident Bank account
I am a non resident,it's not as easy living in the Uk trying to submit info, it always ends up taking a trip into the city to visit the bank.On this last visit we had to go because we couldn't access our online account since the takeover, it was supposed to be straight forward but it wasn't, nothing ever is. We were asked to submit the company tax info of which my husband is a director,i couldn't get my head around it because it was nothing to do with the company, it was a personal account. When all came to all the staff member had it all wrong, it then took another trip when we got back over to sort it out.The staff are the same staff we opened the account with 9yrs ago with Caja Granada and everything seemed more straight forward back then, sometimes the more digital it gets the more complicated things become or it feels that way to me but then i'm not 21 anymore.adamski wrote: ↑Sun May 01, 2022 6:13 pmHi Pamela1,
I know what you mean about swapping and changing! Not sure if you are a resident, if you are then you should be able to open a Wefferent account online... have a look here:
https://www.cajamar.es/en/particulares/ ... wefferent/
If you're a non-resident, have a couple of hours spare and find yourself near a Cajamar branch, you could always pop in with your paperwork and open an account. It won't cost anything but your time.
As I said, I've only been with them for a couple of months, but everything is working well so far, and the staff at the branch where I opened the account were incredibly friendly and helpful. A complete contrast to my assigned branch contact at CaixaBank!
At least you sound happy with Cajamar, perhaps when i have lot's of time i will check them out in the summer. One thing i did read about Caixa is that one or two people were very annoyed that their debit cards had been replaced with a credid card, that's something i do not want.My Bankia card will not be replaced until nearer the expiry date so there is a year left on it,gives me some breathing space.
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