Hi Red Dragon,
Sabadell didn't charge when we closed our no-resident account..........BUT it took nine (9) months to close ........after all the usual letters and phone calls that would normally close the account we used a whinge on their Facebook site on the Saturday and it was closed the following Monday.................
fee-free bank account
- Enrique
- Andalucia Guru
- Posts: 9488
- Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 9:47 am
- Location: Mytchett/Alcala La Real
Re: fee-free bank account
All my best learning experiences start with a problem I need to solve.
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- Andalucia.com Amigo
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:18 pm
- Location: Benahavis non-resident
Re: fee-free bank account
Thanks Enrique. Good to know. I'm not transferring to another bank, but just emptying and closing the account. We have sold our holiday property so just shutting everything down.
Re: fee-free 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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