watkins1

Can you also use your UK Santander account for your Spanish direct debits?

shirley and anthony hide

I have delved a bit deeper.This site compares all the credit and debit cards.It was last uodated on 9 Feb so is hot off the press
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cre...-credit-cards/
Just plug in what card you have and it els you the fees etc

shirley and anthony hide

Looking at the website the Santander 123 card is "The card from Hell"
So back to the drawing board.

EsuriJohn

That is exactly the format we use 123 Santander account in UK, 123 Santander account in Spain. For all normal expenditure we draw from the hole in the wall on our UK cards (max €300 each) and pay into both Sabadell and Santander as required. With both Spanish banks we have three DDs to keep the accounts free but we have to pay €3mth for the use of their charge cards.

snikpoh

Sabadell now charge simply for the privilege of having an account with them. Unless you have one of their additional products, you will be charged - irrespective of how many DD's you have.

Normal charge with Sabadell Expansion account is now at least 5€ per month paid quarterly.

EsuriJohn

we have a small mortgage which we are in no rush to pay off. The interest charge is just €2 a month so a good deal!

EsuriJohn

we only ever draw cash from a Spanish Santander branch with th English Santander card. Works a treat and cost nothing with great ex rate.

shirley and anthony hide

So the question is the John ,what exchange rate do you get when you withdraw Euros using your UK account ,and is there a commission added to the transaction .

Whenever I buy Euros I compare the rate I get to the interbank rate at that moment.The interbank rate is the "perfect rate " I use to see how much under that rate I am getting my euros . For those that don't know what the interbank rate is the the rate that banks deal with each other in the FX market worldwide. The spread would typically be 1 pip. That's 1.1500 bid against 1.1501 offer for example ,and this would be for minimum of £1,000,000 or multiples thereof.
So that's the benchmark rate you should base the all in rate you are getting (rate plus commission if any added) on whether you are getting a good deal or not.
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shirley and anthony hide

Sorry John didn't see this when I replied earlier .
I wonder if it's that as you have both a Santander Euro account and a Santander UK account, is the reason you get the better rate with no commission .

guesswork

I have a Halifax Clarity Credit Card. It is always one of the best on Moneysaving expert. If my Sabadell acc is a bit low I get cash on on the Clarity card and deposit in my Sabadell account

EsuriJohn

exactly!

jackteet

Hi, My Wife and I have held an account with Sabadell for 17 years and do not pay any maintenance fees. Like the rest of you the bank has slapped €18.00 monthly charge for transfers. There are a couple of people on our local facebook that visited sabadell and after short chats with the manager the charges have been dropped. However there are several articles about spanish banks increasing their charges in respect of account maintenance so even if fees for transfers are stopped the banks get us another way.
From research I have decided to open N26 bank accounts for my wife and I and a TransferWise account. The N26 has a spanish IBAN number so state and private pensions can be paid into the account. The account is free and comes with a free visa debit and the bank also deals with direct debits and S/O.
I think for us expats the days of using spanish banks is coming to an end.

keithBT

WOW, N26 is a new one on me !! I googled it and it seems to be run by Axos bank and is totally free. SO I need an idiots guide ! Does this mean we can close our spanish bank accounts and transfer ALL our direct debits for Ghiasa, Endesa, braodband, EUC, IBI etc to the N26 account ? Presumably we can still fund the account as normal using transferwise. I'm speaking as a non EU resident btw. ANY THOUGHTS? I'd love to close my bbva account as they charge me 126 euros annually in fees. No way round it for uk residents.

maccro

N26 don't operate in UK but will send their debit card to one's Spanish address when they validate your NIE number and verify that your passport photo is similar to your selfie. I created my account yesterday and have transferred a small amount to activate the account . My cousin has banked with them for over a year and is happy with the service. I have no connection to this bank and only opened the account because Ulster Bank are withdrawing from Rep. Of Ireland

jackteet

Hi, Have a look at N26 on Trust Pilot, excellent reviews. You can set up direct debits and the account comes with a free Visa debit card. I dont know where you live but N26 offers accounts in most countries except the uk. I have just opened an account in Spain and it comes with a spanish IBAN number.
State and private pensions can be paid into the account and it is automatically linked to TransferWise. Being a spanish account all transfers are internal so there are no transfers fees applied by your receiving bank.