Bank account for Spain

skintmostofthetime

Hi can anyone help please? I need to have a bank account in Spain, I will need to access it online and pay money from U.K. then use it to pay utility bills but no mortgage. I have one now ( Barclays)but all the letters are in Spanish and they are always too helpfull when you call because they have to find an english speaking person when I call . My spanish just isn't always up to scratch ! Does anyone know who can deal with this and who doesn't need you to have £25000 left in the account at all times (HSBC)? There is usually £3000/£4000 but it can vary.

Cheers all.

missile

I bank with Barlclays.es and find they are much better than a.n.other banks I have used.

I do speak spanish but my manager speaks excellent english. He is very helpful and when I am in UK, he responds promptly to e mails. I get free banking, no hidden charges and they give a 3% rebate for all DD made from my current account.

I rarely phone as I do most transactions on line. You do know Barclays have an english translation for online banking services? See here> https://www.barclays.es/publico/contents/particulares/particulares_home.jsp?lang=en_UK

Where about in spain? I guess if you are in the campo you may find few banks have english speaking staff. How many banks in UK have spanish speaking staff?

NFH

It used to be the case that you needed a euro account in the same country in which you primarily needed to use it, but this is no longer the case. Instead open a EUR account somewhere else in the Eurozone, perhaps taking into account your ability to speak the local language; Ireland may be a good choice. However, in the very unlikely event of a breakup of the Eurozone, you would be best off having your EUR in Germany so that it gets converted to DEM, rather than in Spain where it might be converted to ESP.