Hi Joy, there is no additional cost to "domiciliar" the bills of any contract, be it a cell phone, rent, electrical bill, etc...

A standartd bank account in Spain pays very poor interest (less than 2%) and is simply a savings account. You can request a checking account and a checkbook but checks are not used often here what with credit cards, "domiciliaciones" and cash existing.

La Caixa also has a young peeps account as does BBVA and almost all other banks here. Personally, I prefer La Caixa over Caja Madrid for courtesy and general professionalism.

Saludos,
jer...

hey all,
well about this carta thing from the police. maybe it is required on paper, but as with oh so many things in this wonderful lant, practice is a whole nother wad o cash.

i opened my non-resident checking account with BBVA in january using my american passport and that was it. no one requested a carta anything or even uttered the word policia. they needed both my address in the us and my current spanish address and that was it.

i got a lovely visa debit card in the mail about a week later. i can use it any bbva machine (of which there are a zillion) without charge. if i have to use a servi-red machine, the charge is ,30 centimos. outside of servi-red the charge is 3% with a minimum chg of 3 euros, and outside of spain the charge is 4%.

the annual fee on my account is 21 euros, which is more or less what i paid in the us.

now i know some of you financially savvy folk out there will no doubt want some better deal, some higher percentage thingy or whatnot. for me, as this is my first account in spain and i am mainly using it so that my internet provider and cell phone company can take their money right from there, I am happy. most likely, when my spanish moves from garbled goo to smooth flow AND my cash flow increases, i will probably shop around. for now bbva rocks (and did i mention there was no need for a police office visit?????)

Candela

Thanx Candela!! That's awesome!!!! hahaha, what branch!?!? hahaha just kidding, I will try it definitely, thank you!!! -Joy

Just wanted to chime in with what Candela wrote. I became a member of La Caixa last May and all I used was my passport and local address here. The tellers were very patient with all of my questions (and language mistakes, I�m sure) and now we have established a relationship and converse all the time when I�m in there.

Very easy

just a quick note to echo what candela said. i opened my account at bbva with just my passport and a madrid address. i went to the branch in tres cantos, as that is where i work and get paid and it was convenient. the teller was very friendly and very patient with my halting spanish- i am sure it took her a lot of extra time to get my information. never was asked for more paperwork. i never have enough in my account to worry about interst and what not.
desha

Way cool ladies, looks as if the letter is not needed as it was last I opened an account as a non-resdent.

I will try to find out when this was changed just for infos sake.

Saludos,
jer...

Hey all, sorry this took so long.

I have "officially" confirmed the Candela, Rachel and desha have said ablve.

As of 2 years ago, it is no longer necessary to have that annoying "carta de no residente" (letter of non-residency) to open a bank account if one is not al "resident" here in Spain

All one needs now is their passport and some money to open the account with.

I got this from my bank (La Caixa) and they said it is the case at all banks now.

So, good news all in all.

I guess I have been out of the banking loop for a while as I have not opened a new account in a while.

Just goes to show how this community works so well as I never would have know that they changed the rules if Candela, Rachel and desha had not chimed in as newly arrived "Madrile�as"

Thansk so much for helping make this board so great and current.

Saludos,
jer...

Thanks so much for finding out Jer! Good detective work everyone! Thanks guys! -Joy

Here to please

Saludos,
jer...

Hey all, I did a search on this but didn't find anything, I may have missed it though. My new question is this: I have a lot of money saved up for when I move over, and when I open my new bank account in Spain, what is the best method of getting a lot of money from the account in the states to there? Travellers checks? Wiring money? something else that I don't know of? Any tips? I definitely might have missed this if it is already on the board, I apologize. Besos, Joy

Hey Queensita, good question. I do not think that has been covered on the board yet so here goes.

Spanish banks are not the most lucrative banks on earth for nothing.

You will pay commission no matter how you get that money into the bank here. It is not all that bad though as rates are reasonable. I know for sure that there is a .04% commission on incoming foreign funds, so, if you transfer $10.000 (USD), you will lose $40 in the deal. You will also pay the transfer fees which are usually set fees and vary from bank to bank (on the sending end).

The international bank transfer from U.S.A. to Spain can take between 2 days and 2 weeks, depending on the rush you put on it. I have had urgent transfers from clients in the States arrive to my account in 2 days.

I think the commission on travellers checks is higher

I am heading off to the bank this morning before I open the office so I will ask them the best way to get the $$$ into an account here for you

Stay tuned!!!

Saludos,
jer...

I know for sure that there is a .04% commission on incoming foreign funds, so, if you transfer $10.000 (USD), you will lose $40 in the deal. You will also pay the transfer fees which are usually set fees and vary from bank to bank (on the sending end).

I am heading off to the bank this morning before I open the office so I will ask them the best way to get the $$$ into an account here for you

Thats 0.4% and not 0.04%, of course. Uno-e quoted me 0.5% with a floor, but even 0.4% could be expensive. I wonder if there�s any free advice
out there.

You would probably lose more money with the Travelers checks. Keep in mind that there is a fee to get them, and another to cash them in. But its a good question, because the % you're charged to wire the money, well you'd have to do the math both ways... Queencita, you need to find out what bank you're planning on using when you get to Spain, find out how much they'll charge you to cash the travelers checks, as well as how much your bank at home charges.

Here's a tip for wiring money: if you go this route, see if you know anyone (whom you trust obviously) who uses a credit union instead of a bank, often times their rates to wire money is less than what a bank charges.

Another option: if you have family over there already, or go with cash on you.. open an account with some money, and write a check to deposit the rest you want from your bank at home. It will take up to 10 days to clear, and yes, they do charge you some money, but its less than wireing or doing it by travelers checks (you just have to wait a few days) again, you'd need to figure out which bank you want to use in Spain and ask how much the fee is for a customer to cash a foreien check. (I think its something like $10- which isn't much at all! I've done it with my boyfriend, but he's also got inchufe at the bank, so they don't charge him as much or anything depending on the service) Either way, its still cheaper than the other options.

Yes, travellers checks are USELESS here, do NOT go there!!!

Looking forward to hearing what they told ya Stephen.

I think the bank transfer is best.

Saludos,
jer...

>> Looking forward to hearing what they told ya
>> Stephen.

> Thats 0.4% and not 0.04%, of course. Uno-e
> quoted me 0.5% with a floor, but even 0.4%
> could be expensive. I wonder if there�s any
> free advice out there.

That�s odd, I only wrote the last paragraph but it
all seems to have been shown as mine, maybe I
edited the �quote and reply� bit too much.

I remembered reading that it�s the law here that
the Banco de Espana has to be notified of all
tariffs and changes thereto. Each financial institution has to lodge a copy of its tariff sheet with the B de E. These can be found at:

http://www.bde.es/tipos/comisiones.htm

The ones I�ve looked at all show the date they were written, but I�d suggest checking that the info is current before doing anything.

The only remaining problem is to work out what it all means.