Want to start an account in Madrid as not to have to use my credit and personal bank card to pull out money from ATM and get charged up the wazoo everytime. Can anyone tell me the best way to go about it?

I presume you start an account at a reputable bank (I'm thinking Caja Madrid), have them pull a large sum out of your personal account at home and they issue you their own ATM card. From then you just replenish it as need from your home account, which I imagine can be done at the ATM but don't know for sure.

Hey Rocinante, ooooh if it were only so simple!

Your idea to open an account here is a good one if you will be here a while. In order to do so you have 2 choices depending on your situation:

1) Non-resident accounts (this is the way you will go at first since you are not a legal "resident" here). You must get a "carta de no residente" (proof of non-residency letter) to be able to open an account at a Spanish bank. You get this letter at the "comisar�a" (police station) that deals with foreigners here of the "direcci�n general de la policia" (I will try to get the address of the specific police station and get back to this thread). You must submit 2 photocopies of your passport and solicit the letter, then go back within 10 days and pick up your letter. With the letter in hand you can go to the bank and open the account. You must also deposit the $$$ in the account when you open it and not just expect the bank to take the $$$ out of your U.S. account. You could put a bit in the account and then, having it open, get the rest trasfered in from abroad.

2) Resident account: easier, go to the bank with your residency card in hand and open the account.

Also, non-residents pay 2X the account maintenance fee as residents which is between 3 and 4 Euros depending on the bank.

I will confirm this info if I can get my hands on it but this is what I had to do (1 above) befroe I was a resident here.

Saludos,
jer...

Rocinante. Great name!

As a non-resident that has an account at CajaMadrid...Jeremy is absolutely correct and right about the process. I opened my account 2/01 and that is exactly what I had to do. And I believe they need a Spanish address. Good luck.

you can also check out www.cajamadrid.es.

LA

Hey, I too love that screen name. Now all we need is for Dulcinea, Sancho Panza and Don Alonso Quijano (AKA Don Quijote) to join and we are well on our way

Thanks for the confirmation on that bank thang LA. Good point on that needing to give a Spanish address as well, it had slipped my mind.

I also opened a non-resident account at Caja Madrid and La Caixa when I first came here to study. When I got my residency a few years ago I closed one and changed my La Caixa (www.lacaixa.es) account over to a resident account to pay the lower monthly maintenance fee. I basically had to close the account and open a new one as a resident but it was easy and they just transfered the funds instantly.

In my opinion "La Caixa" is the best Spanish Bank (if them Catalans know one thing well it is money ) although Caja Madrid is good as well.

Saludos,
jer...

Hey Roicinante, long time no hear! You have been in Spain for a while now so I was wondering if you could let us know how the Spanish bank account went? Did you open one? What was the process like?

Saludos,
jer...

Questions on banking...
For a resident account, Jer, you said that you like the Caixa best and then Caja Madrid. Why? Is Banesto no good? Do you find Caixa atm's easily when you travel throughout Spain? Have you left spain and had to make a withdrawl? What are the fees like.

jejej! As you can tell I'm getting info ready to go, I still have awhile, but also need to take advantage of having easy access to internet!

I took up Jeremy�s recommendation and am now a member at La Caixa. I find it easy to locate branches all over Spain. The employees have always been abnormally friendly (for Spain) no matter which branch I�ve gone to. However, I didn�t research fees for withdrawal outside Spain and they really surprised us. Can�t remember how much they were, but they were a percentage of how much you�d take out. I think it charged about 4% as it was about 8 euros for every 200. Can�t comment on the other banks.

Good luck!

Hey espe3, it is simply a personal preference. I have an account at Caja Madrid as well but my main account is with La Caixa. They simply treat me better

I had a bad experience at Caja Madrid way back and it has affected my banking preferences. You see, there is an office on Cally Mayor just across the street from the Plaza de San Miguel and they are always in a super bad mood. Opened an account there before I found that out and closed it soon thereafter. It was a 2 min walk from my apt. here in the Plaza so it seemed the vest choice.

I have been with La Caixa for years and have a good relationship with the employees at my branch.

Had an account at Banesto for a week or so a year ago (opened it for an online merchant account) and they were nice. I closed it right away since the merchant account was not going to be needeed.

As for ATM's, loads of both La Caixa and Caja Madrid ones everywhere. Some other banks use "4B" ATM's which are equally as easy to find. Having access to your money in Spain is never a problem, soooooooo many bank machines.

Ena (my gal ) on the other hand, had a bad experience with La Caixa and changed over to Caja Madrid where she is pleased with the service.

As far as commissions and interest go, the difference is really null when you are talking about a savings account, 6 of one & half dozen of the other.

Rachel, that 4% is new to me, last I knew it was a flat fee for those things. Maybe you are thinking of the .04% they take out for receiving foreign funds into your account? You see, they (all banks) get you for everything here, when I wire $$$ in from my U.S.A. account I lose .04% of the amount transferred (that would be only 80 cents on every $200). I will ask at my bank again when I go by to confirm.

I highly recommend ING Direct ( www.ingdirect.es ) and their "Cuenta Naranja" as a second bank (the sell themselves as "your other bank"). They give you 4% interest when regular banks give you about 1% on a savings account. It is "su otro banco" ("your other bank") because they do not have branches and you can only withdraw and deposit funds by transfering it to and from a normal account at a Spanish bank (La Caixa, Caja Madrid, Banesto, BSCH, BBVA, etc...). They charge NO commission EVER on these transactions and everything can be easily done on their website. Patagon ( www.patagon.es )also offers a similiar account.

As for fees on using my ATM card outside of Spain, never really do it since plastic is the best way to pay but when I was in NY 2 yrs. ago I used it once and was charged a $3 fee

I now have 2 accounts in regular banks (La Caixa and Caja Madrid) and a 3rd in "mi otro banco" (ING Direct) and that works for me.

Also share a seperate joint account with ena at La Caixa for mutual expenses (rent, car payments, etc...).

Saludos,
jer...

Thanks Jer!
When I was studying there I actually had an account with Banesto-I had a truly amazing experience with them, as the corporate office in NY did me a HUGE favor when I was getting my student visa and having trouble- and the office near my apt the people were always very helpful, one gentleman in particular But as it was a non-resident account... but I never got much information as to % rates and all that.

I also have a cousin that works for Banco Santander... so I guess there's lots of investigating to do... but this is a good start. I like your idea for ING- that sounds like a very good idea. I'll be sure to find out more!

Thanks for the help! I'll be sure to share input later once I've gotten more info!

Hey espe3, glad I could help.

I think it is less tha bank name you go with than the people that work there.

By the way, Banco Santander is now BSCH that I mentioned in my post above. The Banco Central Hispano and Banco Santander merged a few yrs ago to make "BSCH" ("Banco Santander Central Hispano").

Just a little FYI

Saludos,
jer...

Jeremy,

I too am now confused about La Caixa�s international withdrawal fees, so I checked my records. Looks like we took money out twice in Germany and once in Switzerland and got charged 4% each time. It�s not a flat fee as we took out different amounts. Seems a bit high to me, I wonder if Caja Madrid is similar.

Hey Rachel and all.

I asked at La Caixa yesterday and they confirmed that the fees for withdrawing cash at an ATM abroad are indeed 4% of the amount withdrawn with a minimum of 2.40 Euros. They used to only charge a 500 peseta (3 Euros) flat fee but they had to up the fees due to foreign bank policies which began to charge them more when their clients take out funds abroad.

Moral: use your credit card instead.

Saludos,
jer...

Hola! Now on the question of Spanish banks. I read jer's comments about non-residents needing to get some document or other "carta de no residente" from the police.
Well, I am not sure if things are different in Andalucia, but when I opened a bank account with BBVA having transferred some money from England, everything worked out smoothly. I never needed any 'police' carta or any other proof except my passport details. Maybe it is different but have heard that 'carta de no residente' is not strictly required. Maybe it is different for NON EUROPEAN EEC residents?

Also I am using BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vitalicio Argenteria) and can use the web facilities for checking balances (oh no not again !) www.bbvanet.com or transferring money. I also get a Debit Card (VISA). The account does cost something to run if the balance is below Euros 300. But it is working smoothly. Essential for regular payments.

Nige

Hi Nige, thanks.

I did neglect to mention that the account I opened many moons ago as a "non-residente" was as an American with an American passport, hence the necessary "carta de no residente". I am pretty sure it is still needed but, as you say, for non EU residents.

Just a minor detail, BBVA = "Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria", formed by the fusion of "Banco Bilbao Viscaya" (BBV) with "Argentaria" (A) a few years ago.

As far as I know, "Vitalicio" is a monster insuracne company here, hence the "Edificio Vitalicio" that towers above most in central Madrid.

Saludos,
jer...

Just wanted to say, this is a fabulously helpful thread!!! do most standard bank accounts come with checks, a debit card, and an attached savings account or just checking? does it cost to have the movil contrato attached to the account or no? I'm thinking of going with the caja madrid joven account!! No fees until age 25 yay!!! If anyone knows, let me know! Thanx, Joy