Finance
Choosing a bank
If you want to open a new bank account in Spain, you can choose between more than 100 financial institutions. These are split into two groups: the “cajas” and the “bancos”.The “bancos” are like normal banks in every other EU-country. The most popular banks in Spain are:
On the other hand, you also have the “cajas”. They are state owned and often rather local. Before you arrive in Spain, look for the most common one in your city. Three of the most popular “cajas” in Pamplona are:
Documents needed for opening a bank account
-
Proof of identity (passport). Foreigner identification number and certificate (número de identificación de extranjeros).
-
Proof of address.
-
Proof of employment status (student card, employment contract, unemployment documentation).
Attention: In some cases, documents that aren't in Spanish may need to be officially translated. Besides this, some banks also require that your documents have an Apostille stamp.
How to pay in Spain?
-
Credit and debit cards: They are the most used form of payment. They do require a chip and a PIN-code.
-
Contactless payment: This is not that common in Spain. People prefer the more well-known forms.
-
Cash: A lot of small businesses don't have card machines or don’t like to use them. You better have some cash to pay for a meal, public transport or other small purchases.
-
Cheques: They are still pretty common and often used to pay for services or deposits on housing and large purchases.
EU-member
-
Before going abroad, you should contact your home country bank for information about the extra costs they may charge you for using a debit and/or credit card in another EU-country. Normally this should be free, but you never know…
-
A credit card is always useful abroad, especially for emergencies. It can also be a good idea to take some foreign currency with you for when you first arrive.
-
The most popular card international students use is the pre-paid Currency Card, a card that you can preload with funds and is used in the exact same way as a normal bank card.
-
To get some more information about the different cards available, go to the Money Saving Expert website
Non EU-member
If you are not from the European Union, the chance of your debit or credit card working is small. The best option is to open a new account in Spain. To know how to do this, you can read the first part of this page “banking in Spain”.
!!! In Pamplona all foreign, non-EU students are sent to the Banco Santander Universidades office on Pío XII Avenue, no matter what bank they show up to. Any Santander office has the authorization to perform such an operation, but finding one that's willing to do it is a challenging task. The Universidades office is open between 9:00 and 14:00. Students interested in using these services should show up as close to opening time as possible. Lines begin to form in a flash and if you're still waiting by 14:00 the tellers throw you out. In order to get a phone, a Spanish (or European) bank account is necessary. !!!
If you want to get some practical tips by an international student, you can check out the blog of Liza Eaton Bullock who shares her experiences about banking in Spain.
