grandscenic010

Hi there!
Can anyone offer any advice on opening a bank account in spain and a savings account. I believe alot of the banks especially Spanish ones have very high charges for transferring money in/out etc...,
Can anyone recommend a good bank, preferably with English speaking staff and relatively low charges on everyday things that you would use a bank for

Thanks!

NicCol

From what I hear the Halifax is very good, and offer free transfers from your UK account, though there aren't any actual branches in Chiclana. I am with Banca March, there are branches all over. The staff in Sancti Petri do speak OK english. To transfer money, you can open an account with Banca March in London, they did tell me if I did that, then transfers would be free. The internet banking site is quite simple to use too.

dazzle

Is there such a thing as cheap Banking in Spain?

We're with Bankinter and though I'm not really up on the fine details of how they compare on charges for me their best assest is our Account Manager in the Chiclana Branch.

He's German but speaks excellent English and Spanish and is so efficient. He always answers emails (often within the hour) and was a godsend when we were purchasing our house. It's like having the 'old style' UK Bank Manager.

We use the internet banking www.ebankinter.com which we find easy to use.

We also had an account with Banca Marche in the beginning but closed it in favour of Bankinter as they were easier to deal with.

I don't know what we'll do if he leaves though!!!

poollounger

If you transfer money throught HIFX, the currency exchange people, they guarantee no charges at the other end. Our account and mortgage in Spain are with SabadellAtlantico in Cadiz, but we had no probs getting a bankers draft in the Chiclana branch to pay the deposit on the kitchen. Christobal Mundoz at the Cadiz branch speaks very good english. There is also an internet facility just like a British bank to make transfers etc. And they have a London branch in Pall mall though we haven't as yet explored what the can offer, as at the moment there is no need.

cindyp

We are with Bankinter at Chiclana too.. and from your description, I think we share the same account manager who is just brilliant - he was great when we were buying our house too. I've said to him before, please don't leave, what would we do without you?

I don't know what we'll do if he leaves though.. follow him I think....

grandscenic010

Thanks very much for your reply, your info is a great help, I would have thought it would be more convenient for us to open with a bank that has a branch in Chiclana.

grandscenic010

EBankinter, should be paying you all commission for selling there services and their staff. I think we may have to call in and see them, when we come to Chiclana. Thanks for your reply

grandscenic010

Again thankyou very much for your reply. All info is greatly accepted. I haven't actually heard of your bank, but will certainly consider them after what you have told us.

grandscenic010

Again thankyou for replying. The account manager in the Chiclana branch, is obviously very good at his job and deserves a pay rise from the sounds of it. They are definately at the top of our list after everyone's comments.

Thanks!

accommodation-in-spain

We use Deutsche Bank in Novo Sancti Petri who are also very helpful.

Pool lounger do HIFX guarantee that your bank will not charge you when they receive the money. I know they offer free transfers but I think this means that they will not charge you to transfer the money but when your bank receives it then they charge you for that.

FX Solutions are also good, there is a link to them here - there is also some other useful info on buying in the area here if that is what you are doing.

poollounger

Yes they guarantee no chages at the receiving end in Spain. No charges for the Swift transaction to get the money over there, and no charges at the other end for receiving. I believe it is one free transfer each way per transaction.

dazzle

Is there a minimum amount? Most make no charge on large amounts but someone who offered the same service on small amounts would be really good.

I don't get charged by Bankinter to receive a transfer from my British Account but of course the Bank here does charge me.

accommodation-in-spain

That is wondeful Poollounger - I will be looking into that for future :-)

Dazzle it looks like they do a monthly direct debit option which you may find useful - if you contact them or FX Solutions they can usually work something out with them and it is worth haggling

mickeacs

No matter what bank you go to you usually end up with rip off charges. Try to pick an English Bank, Barclays or Halifax, so at least you can get online banking. When transferring money between Spain and the UK use one of the currency brokers or money transfer companies that are registered such as www.sun-pay.com or www.currenciesdirect.com

david_cadiz

Since I bought my house I have transferred money to my bank in spain and sometimes ive been charged and sometimes not. It transpires that not all Spanish based banks have a direct contract in place with UK banks so the money is transferred via a third party and therefore a fee is passed on to the receiving bank and then you the customer. So the main thing is to check with your local bank in spain (whichever one you end up going with) to see what their arrangements are.

More and more banks in the Costa de la Luz are adapting to the english/german speaking markets and are bringing in staff who can help. so it maybe that one branch of the bank no one speaks any english/german but that another branch does. I know most staff at Banca March in Novo Sancti Petri speaks english, I know of one member of staff who speaks english at Banco Andalucia in Chiclana town centre. If you have an Abbey account in the UK it might be worth checking out Santander Central Hispano (Bank) in spain as they now own the Abbey, so there could be a reciprocal arrangement.

As for transferring money, I think Foreign Currencies Direct (www.currencies.co.uk) and HIFX Plc (www.hifx.co.uk) are both pretty much of a muchness.

Most of the above is what ive found out as ive been researching things for myself so i hope its of use....