Opening a bank account in spain

In some EU countries, you need a physical address in that country to open an account. And you would have to transfer the money anyway, so you still wouldn't avoid the foreign transaction fee.

ATM operators do not determine the foreign transaction charge, your own home bank does that. The ATM operator only charges a flat fee for withdrawing out of network.

I believe there is no fee charged by the ATM operator when you withdraw funds in Europe. If there is an ATM charge, it's done by your local bank, for using a foreign ATM.

I have an account with Citibank in Barcelona. If you want to open a Spanish account, I think this is a good choice.

I don't know if they will open an account by mail. I opened mine in person. All I had to do is show my passport and deposit a few Euros. You don't have to live in Spain to have an account.

There is a 3,000 Euro minimum balance requirement on the "cuenta nomina" (current account). Otherwise, they charge you 7 Euros a month maintenance fee. The fee is also waived if you deposit over 600 Euros in any given month.

If you visit the Euro Zone frequently, this account would be convenient for you. It includes a Euro-denominated VISA debit card that you can use at a lot of hotels and restaurants, as well as online.

To get Euros into your account from abroad, you can use a wire transfer, but Citibank charges a fee to receive wire transfers. Plus, if you send the money in Dollars, Citibank will convert it to Euros at a not too good rate.

A better option is to open an account with Xetrade, a Canadian company that does foreign exchange at a good rate -- about 3 cents over the interbank rate. Using Xetrade, you can do an EFT transfer to your Citibank account, at no charge on either end.

If you want further info, I can give you a person to contact at Citibank in Barcelona. I think she speaks some English.

Its somewhat uncertain how much money you would save with a Spanish bank account. The main way to save money would be to buy a lot of Euros in advance of your trip, using Xetrade, hoping that they will go up in value before your trip, thus saving you money.

I find the VISA debit card useful, and you can also use it in the USA -- your U.S. Dollar charge is simply converted to Euros. If the Euro has gone up substantially since you bought your Euros, you win!

This is called currency speculation. Similar to playing the stock market.

Nancy, "I believe there is no fee charged by the ATM operator when you withdraw funds in Europe." Of course there is. "There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"...

European ATM operators just charge the card issuing institution, not the account holder directly.

Jim
check some of the Credit Unions near you.
I bank at the Orange County's CU and they give me 5 non CU ATM transactions for free.

On a prior 2 week trip, I was able to keep my withdraws under 5 transactions, and that's even when we went into Switzerland.

PM me if you want to see the bank info.

Nancy,

"If there is an ATM charge, it's done by your local bank, for using a foreign ATM."

my point is that having a European account won't help with that: because this charge really isn't something your home bank (European or American) charges, it's what the ATM operator charged your home bank, handed down to you.

I agree with Michelle. Definitely check with local Credit Unions. My bank wanted almost 4% transaction fees and would charge $3 for each non-bank ATM withdrawal. I checked with a local credit union and they offered 4 free ATM withdrawals and a 1% conversion fee (which they said is what VISA charges them and they just pass along). After the 4 free ATMS it was only like a $1.50 or $2.00 charge (but I got way more than 4 free, they only charged me a couple of times for the extra fee). Since I changed banks prior to my trip over 2 years ago I have stayed with the CU and couldn't be happier.

Yes, Mark, I'm aware of that. I meant that there is no direct charge to the person using the ATM. People often ask about fees for using the ATM in Europe and there are none charged to the customer. I wasn't suggesting that no one was charged.

I don't think having a European account would help either.
But the fee charged from the Euro bank to the US one isn't necessarily passed down, either. In my case, if I make withdrawals from any ATM outside my own credit union's machines, my own credit union charges me a one-time "foreign ATM" fee, whether I'm in the US or not, no matter how many withdrawals I make. On some local ATMs that are out of network for me, they actually do charge me a small service fee, directly, in addition to what my credit union charges me. There is no additional fee added to me when I withdraw money from an ATM in Europe. That's all I was saying. Whether or not a European bank charges my credit union is of no concern to me -- I pay the same one-time "foreign ATM" fee as if I took money of an ATM down the street that doesn't belong to my credit union.