Starling Bank

From the N26 website:
https://n26.com/en-gb

Des wrote:From the N26 website:
https://n26.com/en-gb

hi Des, Yes they are closing their UK Bank accounts.

Their Spanish accounts remain unaffected. https://n26.com/en-eu/bank-account

With Starling, you can only open an account with them if you have a UK address.
We bank with Sabadell but we were in Tenerife recently and there is a dearth of Sabadell ATM's, and if we use another bank's ATM we get charged a withdrawal fee.
I was hoping that a Starling account would suit, but I can't have one, shame.

Paul58 wrote:

Des wrote:From the N26 website:
https://n26.com/en-gb

hi Des, Yes they are closing their UK Bank accounts.

Their Spanish accounts remain unaffected. https://n26.com/en-eu/bank-account

UPDATE - I've just been in contact with N26 support and they have confirmed that they are closing all accounts created in the UK but as my account was created in Spain it will be unaffected.

If you want to create an account with them, to pay your direct debits in Spain, you have to use the website above and change your location to Spain if you're currently in the UK (it will automatically do this for you if you apply in Spain). You will need a Spanish address to receive your debit card, we used a mail drop address as our communal post boxes aren't very secure. The ID check is very easy and involves using your mobile phone to take a picture of your passport, a selfie and, if I remember rightly, a picture of your NIE.

Be aware that you can only use the debit card for fee free cash withdrawals from ATMs 5 times a month, after this you pay a 1.7% transaction charge. You can withdraw upto a max of €2,500 each time (ATM permitting). We've still have a UK 123 Santander account which we use for most of our fee free cash withdrawals and leave the N26 card just for emergencies.

HTH

I am non resident and I too wanted to avoid Bankia's recently increased charges.

I have a Starling personal account and a Euro account which as Pete quite rightly states has an IBAN number starting with GB.

I also have a Transferwise Euro account, primarily for funding my Spanish account but also to pay trades people in Spain and the occasional spend on goods with the card.

My consideration was, which one to use to pay my direct debits in Spain ? ( janetg, Starling allow this )
In the end I went for Transferwise, their IBAN starts BE, their account will soon be based in Belgium and somehow this just felt better than having a GB IBAN, no real logic to it though lol.

In January I visited the offices of Iberdrola, Hidraqua and Suma and gave them the Transferwise IBAN number, the administrator for the community fees accepted this by email.

Iberdrola have already taken a dd from the account and Hidraqua is due shortly, when I know that they both work I will close the Bankia account on my next visit to Spain in June, until then I will just have to suffer their inflated charges but even this is preferable to any of the utilities being cut off.

For cash withdrawals in Spain I use my Santander123 account which incurs no charges, also tried withdrawals with the Transferwise wise card, this would have incurred costs and also tried the Starling card which would also have incurred costs but others on the forum have stated that at certain atm's they received no withdrawal charges on their Starling card, I think from memory, Deutsche bank and La Caixa and maybe one more which Shayden posted a while ago.

Kenbo wrote:I am non resident and I too wanted to avoid Bankia's recently increased charges.

I have a Starling personal account and a Euro account which as Pete quite rightly states has an IBAN number starting with GB.

I also have a Transferwise Euro account, primarily for funding my Spanish account but also to pay trades people in Spain and the occasional spend on goods with the card.

My consideration was, which one to use to pay my direct debits in Spain ? ( janetg, Starling allow this )
In the end I went for Transferwise, their IBAN starts BE, their account will soon be based in Belgium and somehow this just felt better than having a GB IBAN, no real logic to it though lol.

In January I visited the offices of Iberdrola, Hidraqua and Suma and gave them the Transferwise IBAN number, the administrator for the community fees accepted this by email.

Iberdrola have already taken a dd from the account and Hidraqua is due shortly, when I know that they both work I will close the Bankia account on my next visit to Spain in June, until then I will just have to suffer their inflated charges but even this is preferable to any of the utilities being cut off.

For cash withdrawals in Spain I use my Santander123 account which incurs no charges, also tried withdrawals with the Transferwise wise card, this would have incurred costs and also tried the Starling card which would also have incurred costs but others on the forum have stated that at certain atm's they received no withdrawal charges on their Starling card, I think from memory, Deutsche bank and La Caixa and maybe one more which Shayden posted a while ago.

Good info', Thanks.

I might open one of these accounts to run alongside my N26 account. (The N26 account has a ES IBAN suffix for easy use in Spain)

I already use transferwise for currency exchange but not thought to use their Euro account.


Edit....... What is the charge for withdrawing euros from a Spanish ATM? (I can't find this info' on the Transferwise website.)

Paul

If you go into your Transferwise account and open a borderless account, this will facilitate accounts in other currencies, Sterling,Euro,Dollars and lots more, it also allows you to receive money in each currency, handy for people who rent out their property.

Transferwise own bank account is now based in Belgium hence the IBAN starts with BE, I can confirm that this is acceptable to the likes of Iberdrola, Hidraqua and Suma, in fact my first direct debits to Iberdrola and Hidraqua went out this morning.

My next step is now to close my Bankia account which has to be done in person but will have to wait until I am next there in June.

As for atm withdrawals with Transferwise I found that the charge was €3.85 in a Santander atm machine, obviously I declined and withdrew cash from the same machine with my Santander 123 card.
It would probably be a different amount in other atms but haven't experimented with that, you may possibly find free ones ??
This is actually the pattern of things as we found out when trying to withdraw cash with a Starling euro account, others have recommended where the free ones are with Starling.

Transfer wise website says you're limited to €200 a month from an ATM with their card before they charge you in addition to any machine fees..

Yes, they are not the best at the atm, neither are N26.
Supplement Transferwise with Sant 123 or Starling.

Hello All,

I have been through all these pains.
We bought a place ten years ago and at that time set up a Halifax Spain account which was taken over by Lloyd's International and finally Sabadell who at the end were charging us €30 per quarter plus transactions. so €40-45 per quarter.
I too was very excited about the Starling Bank when they announced their Euro account and was a early Euro account trialist about a year ago.
I can confirm categorically that the Starling Bank Euro account doesn't work in Spain for Euro Direct Debits.
I know this for sure having firstly changed my electric and water direct debits online and visiting the Suma office to change their direct debit.
None of the direct debits ever worked.

However, I have two solutions both using FREE banking.

For UK residents, get a Revolut card.
For those people who have not got or heard of Revolut you need to seriously look at what they have to offer.
Revolut is one of the first digital banks which is operated from their App which works on your Apple or android mobile or iPad.
They offer the best rates when transferring £ to € converting almost at interbank exchange rates, a full 2-5 cents more than a traditional bank.
The App is simple to use and £ Sterling top-ups, € transfers and purchases in any currency are notified on the App within seconds of the activity.
Revolut works without any problem with Iberdrola now Curenergia, Aguaus, Suma and Telecable Internet.
The only supplier I have found that won't work with Revolut are Connect Fibra who insist on customers having a Spanish account as their accounting software won't work with a non Spanish bank which is actually against SEPA regulations which are governed under European law, however, you can pay Connect Fibra by other mechanisms.

Revolut provide a Mastercard which can be used to pay in restaurants, shopping, fuel etc and allows cash withdrawals from cash machines though this is limited to between £200 & £600 per month depending on the type of card taken. Euro cash withdrawals work fine at any major bank or shopping mall.

Revolut has a European banking licence so funds up to €100K are protected and provide fully operational £ Sterling and € Euro banking accounts.

There are three account options, a free account, a Premium account and a Metal account.
The free account will work and provide all the banking services needed to pay for a Spanish properties utility services from
I have the Premium account which costs £80 per year but allows cash withdrawals up to €400 per month and offers overseas medical insurance, delayed baggage & flight insurance, disposable virtual cards and several other facilities.

I also use Revolut to send Euros to my solicitor and make other card payments online in Euros or Sterling.

If you travel, this is the card for you with over 150 currencies available. I use £, €, $, Swiss Franc, Canadian $ while friends have used Danish Krone, Croatian Kuna, Polish Zloty, Thai Bart, Saudi Riyal and UAE Dirham on their cards.

For Spanish property owners, resident or non-resident Bankia offer a digital account that is FREE.
I am not a resident but have opened a Bankia 'Cuenta On' account which again is a digital account.

I tried to open this online but wasn't able to and eventually had to go to the branch, which I went to in Quesada.
The branch were very helpful and opening the account takes getting on for an hour. To open the account at the branch you need, passport, NIE, Spanish address details, proof of income and email & telephone contact details.
For proof of income I used last years P60 but a recent payslip is acceptable anf if you are retired your pension details should be OK.

I have had my Cuenta On account open since October 2019 and not a charge in site.

I hope this information will help some of you.