Spanish Bank Accounts

Whilst it is not a necessity to have a Spanish Bank Account to purchase a property in Spain, having one will enable you to make transfers more easily and pay utility bills such as electricity & water by Direct Debit in Spain as well telephone, Sky TV and local charges etc.

There is no automated central clearing system for cheques and transfers and banks communicate with each other directly, couple this with the higher levels of personal service you get from Spanish banks and you will see why their charges are higher than you might be used to back home. Spanish Banks tend to charge for every transaction or activity rather than absorbing this cost in other charges such as interest rate, which is one of the reasons why cheques are not widely used in Spain.

Consider the types and amounts of transactions you wish to have go through your Spanish bank account and shop around for the most suitable charging structure.

All banks are required to by law to publish their charges, however not all banks provide them in English, so here is an example of some the more common transactions and their charges:

Transaction Type	Charges
Maintenance of a Bank Accounts	20 € per year (waived for high traffic accounts)
Cash Card and Credit Cards	12 Euros per year per card
To Pay in Cash	Nothing
To Pay in Spanish Cheque	Min. 1 Euro, or 0.2%
To Pay in an foreign Cheque	Min. 3 Euro, or 0.3%
Transfer Money	Via Internet 1 Euro / Bank 3 Euro
Receive Transfers from Spanish bank	Min. 1 Euro, or 0.05%
Receive Transfers from foreign bank in €	Min. 2.5 Euro, or 0.25%
Bank Draft	5 Euro
Bank cheque drawn on foreign bank	Min 7 Euro, or 0.40%

Compare charges for Bankinter

Your residency status in Spain will determine how your bank accounts are taxed; fiscal residents see 18% of earned interest withheld by the bank, whilst non-residents accounts receive gross interest and have the responsibility of declaring interest through tax returns in their own country.