Talk Quesada forum

We are looking to buy a property in Quesada in the next 6 months - we need to open up a Spanish bank account down can deposit some offshore pension money. We are British and currently live in the UK so how easy is it to open up a bank account, which bank would you recommend and what would we need to open an account? Do we need to be there in person? I'm guessing so. Thanks in advance. Regards, Julie

You used to be able to open a Spanish account at the main branches (usually in London) but, just like UK, I think you have to be there in person nowadays. You will need to obtain a NIE (a foreigners' ID number) which can be applied for at either a Spanish consulate in UK (and takes some time to get as they don't actually issue it) or a National Police station or foreigners' office (Oficina de Extranjeros) in Spain.
Once you have the NIE you take that and your passport to the bank to open an account. They will scan your passport into your account details. Try and use a money transfer company (like Moneycorp or hifx or transferwise to actually transfer money. Some Spanish banks charge you to put money in but the money transfer companies will be less and will give a better exchange rate.
As you won't be a resident (you can apply but the account will be a non-resident one to start with) there will be bank charges. Usually something like €12 for a debit card, a quarterly admin fee which can be anything from 15 to 25 euro or more and a two yearly non-resident certificate (for tax purposes) of around 25 euro per certificate.
To actually open an account is quite easy but there are a few hoops to go through to get the NIE.
Some banks have quite high charges for non-resident accounts and we closed ours with Bankinter because of the high costs. Bankia, Sabadell and Caja Rural seem to have the lowest charges. If and when you become residents, the charges are waived if you have a set amount paid in each month. Again the amount varies but €700 a month appears typical.

Banco Sabadell
Sabadell House
120 Pall Mall
London, SW1Y 5EA
Phone: 020 73210020
Fax: 020 73210075

Quicksilver wrote:We are looking to buy a property in Quesada in the next 6 months - we need to open up a Spanish bank account down can deposit some offshore pension money. We are British and currently live in the UK so how easy is it to open up a bank account, which bank would you recommend and what would we need to open an account? Do we need to be there in person? I'm guessing so. Thanks in advance. Regards, Julie

Hi I opened an account with Sabadell they are excellent! Yes you do need an NIE number but they did open mine first without it and I went in later on to give them a copy of the number. Would you like the e mail address of the man I delt with at Sabadell if so let me know and I will private message you. Good luck!

One important thing to look at is when you want to transfer money to the bank in some of them charge you for the doing this Caixa bank charge on anything over 25K so it can be expensive for large amounts. Sabadell however have an account where they do not charge for deposits the branch in Quesada is classed as international so they will all speak English.
Some banks now also want proof of exactly where the cash has come from and just to say savings is not enough!

could i have the email address of the contact at Sabadell. Also do you know the charges

Please and thanks

I use Sabadell in Quesada and they are excellent and charges are very reasonable. All speak perfect English and the online banking is in English and excellent.

I opened an account with Sabadell with just 300€ and without an NIE number. I then used Moneycorp to transfer from both Nationwide and TSB to Spain.

Periodically, I use Moneycorp, online, to transfer money to Spain from my debit cards.