Can you recommend your bank? - Page 2

Agreed WISE are very good.

“Use Wise as it is far cheaper than a Spanish bank if you do not have your TIE. After you get that N26 is a no fee virtual bank. Withdraw at any ATM without fees.”

https://spainguru.es/2022/06/08/what-are-the-benefits-of-using-wise-in-terms-of-money-transfers-in-spain-for-expats/

I don't understand what a TIE has to do with it? Do you know of a Spanish bank that offers lower conversion fees than Wise? 

N26 are good too, my wife has an account with them. They charge at the atm for conversion though don't they?

Obviously this all depends on many factors such as if you need to exchange money regularly. If you need a physical Spanish bank with bad customer service and huge queues (that's my experience in Malaga). If you want an account that the government can embargo when they see fit etc.

I used to have a Solbank for many years until last year.

Last year Solbank told me I would have to start paying charges, initially they wanted 240 euro a year, which they then agreed to reduce to 160 euro a year.

I then opened a Wise account, really just so that I could pay my handful of DDs from it as I have a property in the Spain.

Opening my Wise was easy using my UK address, I paid for and received my Debit card within days posted to me at my UK address, I set up new DDs to be taken from my Wise account, I transferred my euros from my Sabadell account to my Wise account, finally closing my Sabadell account.

I find Wise very easy to deal with as they have an excellent online system and are very quick to respond to queries. I get informed any time money is taken from my Wise account DD, shopping and ATM.

A couple of downsides of wise are:-

1. It is not a bank, so any money you deposit in Wise is not subject to EU banking protections. This doesn't bother me as I only intend to keep enough money in my Wise account to service my DDs and have spending money available on my Wise card for when I visit Spain

2. Wise limit you to two free ATM withdrawals of 200 euro each per calendar month. They will charge you if you make more than two ATM withdrawals per calendar month. Again I can work around this so it isn't a problem for me.

I am very happy with my free online Wise account and it's saving me 240/160 euro a year. Opening the Wise account was very easy online.

If I was a Spanish resident I would open a free online BBVA bank account.

As David has said N26 is a great bank (and thanks to him I felt confident to begin the steps to move).  If you plan to be resident here you need a bank that offers a Spanish IBAN which N26 does.

After 1 year of planning for this day, tomorrow I have an appointment at Sabadell to cancel my account.  I have been testing N26 as a full replacement to Sabadell and for me, it is exactly what I need.  I am resident here and have many direct debits.  I have not needed to extract funds but I understand that is easy to do at many FREE ATM's.  The N26 website is very helpful and if you need personal service you can use chat.  I have had no need to call them.

The days paying 40 euro every 3 months are nearly over.  (If I left this account for 5 years that would be 800 euros and to me that is outrageous and I will not take out insurance or deposit 750 per month to avoid these charges with a bank - they have full access to the money in my bank accounts!).

Freedom from this banking stranglehold is 24 hours away for me.  I would definitely review your online options.  I also have Wise for money transfers but N26 is the Sabadell replacement.

Many thanks again! 

You have to be resident in the EU to open a N26 bank account.

If you use your N26 card to withdraw money from an ATM the bank that owns the ATM may make a charge. Most banks charge for ATM withdrawals if you do not have your account with them. If I use my Wise card at an ATM to withdraw cash I would incur a small charge.

You do not have to have a Spanish IBAN to set up DDs, it has to be an EU IBAN. My Wise account is Brussels based and I had no issue setting up my Spanish DDs using the Wise Belgium IBAN.

If I was resident in Spain I would have opened a BBVA free online bank account.

Depends on the DD.  Many will not accept anything but a Bank registered in Spain with a Spanish IBAN.  

Also I believe the person asking the question here will be a resident so they might need a fully registered Spanish Bank which Wise isnt (although its amazing for many things including currency exchanges and bank transfers!).  

Is it safe to keep money in my Wise account? | Wise Help Centre

If a Bank charges for the ATM withdrawal you can contact N26 to arrange a refund if the bank is listed on the FREE ATM list.  Although there are restrictions depending on the type of N26 account.  I think the person looking for the right bank needs to do the research necessary for their specific situation.  For me Wise would not have fully replicated Sabadell.

Kerri

All the service suppliers to me accepted the Brussels IBAN code.

I transferred all my DDs to Wise no problem Water, Electric, Broadband, Community Fee and Council Taxes.

I am not saying that Wise is the best for everyone.

If I was a resident I would have opened a free online account with the Spanish BBVA bank.

Hello Alex, Chris, David, Jeffers and Kerri thank you very much for having taken the time to give us information and advice, with your experiences and preferences. Most useful!    😊 😻  Zaa