opening a bank account

walk in two any bank with your passport , you get non resident account , you will in time need a NIE number aswell to change in to resident account

non resident account cost more two run .........
jurdy

thanx. it sounds easy. everything is more difficult in the DR. I
had to have 3 letters of references - one from my bank, one from
a DR business, and one from a local person. I also had to provide
proof of my income. This is a very frustrating place to get things
done but luckily I am retired.

All banks require two forms of I.D ( PHOTO and you need to give then you DR address so have few utility bills as NON resident account )

ie bring you back account with address form Chase and Bank of America , thay will look in two it and can take 5 working days to 10 working day befor you give ATM card , you not European Citizens so there is few more think you need to do and that need to look at

Jurdy

Any recommendations for a bank that DOESN'T CHARGE quarterly fee. (Don't mind paying a small amoutn for 'card maintenance' when I need a new one.) We have used Cajamar for past 5yrs, but just received notification they are now charging Eu9 per quarter and Eu20 pa for card maintenance. Sign of the times :( (PS - for any one under 26 and over 65 there are no fees, or if you have a pension or salary paid in each month. But we do not fit into any of these catagories - yet!) ;) ps - we have never paid for any transactions either. (Don't use cheques - just ATM/Debit card etc.)

Theres a new 'moneysavingspain' website - it recommends
ING
CitiBank
Uno Bank
Banesto
La Caixa

but on reading the above's T's&C's nearly all want either your salary or pension paying in to qualify.

Any more suggestions/info welcome. (We don't mind on-line banking per se, but I know how much better it is when you can walk into a branch in Spain if there is an issue! We would prefer to do this in our local town of Alhaurin el Grande and not have to travel miles to the coast to sort anything out (which invariably there is from time to time!) So this limits our choices I guess. Will check out our local banks first, but if anyone knows any good deals ;) please let us know!

Hi Susan,

Relevant post - would also be interested seeing some informed feedback on that. Also which banks are currently the most secure/safest ??

Thanks,

Andrea


> Any recommendations for a bank that DOESN'T CHARGE quarterly fee. (Don't mind paying a small amoutn for 'card maintenance' when I need a new one.) We have used Cajamar for past 5yrs, but just received notification they are now charging Eu9 per quarter and Eu20 pa for card maintenance. Sign of the times :( (PS - for any one under 26 and over 65 there are no fees, or if you have a pension or salary paid in each month. But we do not fit into any of these catagories - yet!) ;) ps - we have never paid for any transactions either. (Don't use cheques - just ATM/Debit card etc.)

Theres a new 'moneysavingspain' website - it recommends
ING
CitiBank
Uno Bank
Banesto
La Caixa

but on reading the above's T's&C's nearly all want either your salary or pension paying in to qualify.

Any more suggestions/info welcome. (We don't mind on-line banking per se, but I know how much better it is when you can walk into a branch in Spain if there is an issue! We would prefer to do this in our local town of Alhaurin el Grande and not have to travel miles to the coast to sort anything out (which invariably there is from time to time!) So this limits our choices I guess. Will check out our local banks first, but if anyone knows any good deals ;) please let us know!

Hi Andrea,
I haven't got round to checking out the local banks yet (too busy!)...
Re 'safest'... I think we are all keeping our money under the mattress at present, and only sufficient in bank to pay elec etc ;)

Hope you are over soon :)

Ha Ha - well Susan maybe little option but to buy a "money bag" & carry it around with us !!!

Best Wishes,

Andrea

A 007.... ^
Sadly one has to be so careful in the street/car parks etc these days.
More and more purse/bag snatching being reported by our local neighbourhood watch.

But I am sure it is hard times for all at present.

(Crime usually escalates on the coast as tourists are easy pickings, but this is inland and it is shocking to say the least!)

We have all agreed, 'keep your bag close to your chest. Don't talk to strangers and have Eyes like a Hawk.'

Sad, but true :(

I really don't like making recommendations, but practically since first coming to Spain I've used the Banco de Andaluc?a. Always found them helpful. It is an old established bank.

Patricia

WOW - is it really that bad Susan & are these recent developments due to high unemployment etc ?????

We were there last year & had no problems.

Good to know these things in advance.

Thanks,

Andrea


> A 007.... ^
Sadly one has to be so careful in the street/car parks etc these days.
More and more purse/bag snatching being reported by our local neighbourhood watch.

But I am sure it is hard times for all at present.

(Crime usually escalates on the coast as tourists are easy pickings, but this is inland and it is shocking to say the least!)

We have all agreed, 'keep your bag close to your chest. Don't talk to strangers and have Eyes like a Hawk.'

Sad, but true :(

Criminal activity of this kind has always existed. There is probably not a town or city worldwide where some degree of bag-snatching/pickpocketing does not go on.

The key word is, of course" careful".
It's no wonder tourists are easy pickings, if they go around with a big handbag (sack!) containing all their wordly goods, while at the same time gazing around them absent-mindedly. It isn't enough to be aware. LOOK aware. Don't carry a bag at all. And keep the "bling" for other occasions. And for godssakes don't put your handbag on the floor or hanging off the back of your chair in a caf? or on a caf? terrace etc.
That applies in Dublin, London, Madrid or M?laga.

There is no harm in talking to strangers (I often do), as you may have to ask directions, or whatever. Again, trust your gut.

An anecdote, to illustrate the crazy things people do:

A client of mine had about 4.000 pounds lifted from his account via his card.

Scenario: middle of day, Marbella area outskirts, he's at the ATM, problem with ATM (probably set-up). Nice lady behind him waiting, offers to help. He accepts her help. End of story.
He tells me (and this man is no dazed tourist) "she was very well dressed, good jewellery, well spoken, helpful, good-looking (!).....
Who'd have thought.."

P.

Once you've got your Spanish account set-up and you're ready to transfer money across from the US, you should consider using one of the new crowd-sourced payment companies, such as TransferWise or CurrencyFair. They offer a much better rate than the banks, and you'll save yourself a tonne of fees in the process. Good luck!

Just a quick note. Such a bank like Ingdirect only have customer service in Spanish, which might be important thing to consider. Also, Banco Sabadell has not been mentioned in this tread, it is a good bank with many branches all over the Spain, you can possibly find some English speaker in there. They have an option for non-resident bank account where you don?t have to pay any fees, if you have monthly income in that account.