Spanish banks withdrawal charges

plodder49

I have a Caxton card which I took out to be able to make fee free withdrawals in Europe. For some time now it has not been possible to do this as all the machines I have tried make a charge, in some cases as much as €6 to withdraw €300. I wonder if anyone knows of a fee free bank, in Spain, or can make alternative suggestions to withdraw cash in Europe.

eskbanker

ATM fees are usually charged by the machine operator and the bank issuing the card has no control over this, so there aren't any cards that can guarantee no charges at any ATM (just like within the UK).

Santander may be worth considering, if you have access to their own ATMs where you're visiting:

We won't charge you when you use your personal debit card to make withdrawals at Santander cash machines abroad. You'll find our cash machines in Spain, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and the USA. Make sure you choose to pay in the local currency to avoid being charged any other fees.

greyteam1959

You could open a Cajamar Wefferent bank account if you must have a Spanish account 
No charges free cash withdrawals.
Only snag is as a non resident you have to go into a branch to open the account.
Otherwise use a Santander debit card in a Santander branded ATM.

NoodleDoodleMan

"Otherwise use a Santander debit card in a Santander branded ATM."

https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/current-accounts/everyday-current-account

The best deal for Spain (including the Balearics) and Canaries - no strings attached such as 2 Direct Debits, or minimum monthly pay in.

No fees of any kind at Santander holes in th wall.

plodder49

Thanks. Cajamar is the cheapest I’ve found so far.

bagand96

Banca March was still free of charge when I was in Spain a couple of times last year. One of the last though that are totally free.

This crops up from time to time on MSE and it was the case a few years ago where it could vary depending on the region of Spain you were in, not sure if that's still the case most seem to have caught on to unilaterally charging. 

Doshwaster

bagand96 said:

Banca March was still free of charge when I was in Spain a couple of times last year. One of the last though that are totally free.

This crops up from time to time on MSE and it was the case a few years ago where it could vary depending on the region of Spain you were in, not sure if that's still the case most seem to have caught on to unilaterally charging. 

Banca March is common in the Canaries but I didn't see one when I was in Malaga recently.

Deutsch Bank and Unicaja are also free from recent experience.

bagand96

Doshwaster said:

bagand96 said:

Banca March was still free of charge when I was in Spain a couple of times last year. One of the last though that are totally free.

This crops up from time to time on MSE and it was the case a few years ago where it could vary depending on the region of Spain you were in, not sure if that's still the case most seem to have caught on to unilaterally charging. 

Banca March is common in the Canaries but I didn't see one when I was in Malaga recently.

Deutsch Bank and Unicaja are also free from recent experience.

Yes they're far more common in the islands (both Canaries and Balearics) than the mainland.  Although their website does show a handful of ATMs/branches along the Costa Del Sol.

NoodleDoodleMan

There is one aspect of Santander branches that we've used in Spain that I like - they have an internal as well as external ATMs.

When the branch is closed there is a "buzz in" button to allow access into a monitored interior area to withdraw cash.

Not sure if that facility applies to all branches though.

greyteam1959

NoodleDoodleMan said:

There is one aspect of Santander branches that we've used in Spain that I like - they have an internal as well as external ATMs.

When the branch is closed there is a "buzz in" button to allow access into a monitored interior area to withdraw cash.

Not sure if that facility applies to all branches though.

Lots of the banks in Spain have this sort of access to their ATM's.
It is all a bit hit & miss though.