Spain (ES)

Monthly fee: €0 (Cuenta Online, no conditions) / €14 (standard)

Requirements: Passport/NIE + empadronamiento or proof of income. Video-identification available.

• + Strong mobile app
• + English support in branches and chat
• + Bizum natively
• + Good expat onboarding

• - Branch service primarily in Spanish — English available at major city branches (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville) and large tourist areas but not guaranteed at all locations
• - NIE required for account opening — expats must apply for NIE at the Extranjería office or Spanish consulate; allow 2–4 weeks for NIE processing before full account opening
• - International SWIFT fees: €15–30 per outbound transfer plus FX spread — Wise is considerably cheaper for regular transfers to non-EU destinations
• - Standard account fee €14/month applies without conditions — Cuenta Online (€0) requires accepting digital-only service; confirm which product matches your banking needs before opening

Monthly fee: €0 (1|2|3 Smart cuenta with income domiciliation) / €15

Requirements: Passport/NIE + proof of address or income

• + Extensive branch network (4,000+ ES)
• + International transfers
• + Strong English service in Madrid/Barcelona

• - NIE required — foreigners must obtain NIE from Extranjería or Spanish consulate before account opening; same requirement as all Spanish banks
• - International SWIFT fees: €15–30 per outbound transfer — Wise or Revolut are considerably cheaper for regular non-EU transfers
• - Branch service primarily in Spanish — English available at main city and tourist-area branches but variable at smaller provincial offices
• - Monthly fee €15 applies without salary domiciliation or qualifying conditions — confirm 1|2|3 Smart cuenta eligibility requirements before opening to ensure fee waiver

Monthly fee: €0 for under-30s / €12 standard

Requirements: imaginBank: passport + selfie for under-30s, no branch visit. Standard CaixaBank: branch visit + NIE.

• + imaginBank has excellent app
• + Gen-Z targeting
• + Free ATM in CaixaBank network

• - imaginBank app is in Spanish only — no English interface; functional Spanish required for full self-service use of the app
• - imaginBank age restriction (under 30) means standard CaixaBank account required for older expats — standard account requires in-person branch visit and NIE; less convenient than digital onboarding
• - International SWIFT fees at standard CaixaBank: €15–30 per outbound transfer — Wise is considerably cheaper for regular non-EU transfers; imaginBank less suited to international banking
• - Monthly fee €12 applies for standard CaixaBank account without qualifying conditions — imaginBank free but restricted to under-30s; over-30 expats pay unless conditions met

Monthly fee: €0 (Standard) / €4.90 (Smart) / €9.90 (You)

Requirements: Passport + video-selfie. No Spanish address initially required.

• + Can open from abroad
• + German IBAN (DE) accepted for Spanish payments
• + English app
• + Free virtual card

• - DE IBAN occasionally rejected by old-school Spanish employers or landlords — while IBAN discrimination is illegal under EU law, some employers and landlords still expect an ES IBAN; supplement N26 with a Spanish bank for IBAN-sensitive transactions
• - Limited Bizum functionality in the past (improving since 2024) — verify current Bizum availability before relying on N26 for peer-to-peer payments in Spain
• - Customer service online only — no branch in Spain; all issues resolved via chat and email; complex problems take longer to resolve than at traditional Spanish banks
• - International SWIFT fees for non-SEPA transfers — N26 Standard users pay per-transfer fees for non-EU wires; check current plan limits; Wise is cheaper for regular transfers outside Europe

Monthly fee: €0–13.99 depending on plan

Requirements: Passport + selfie, instant

• + Multi-currency
• + Best FX rates for international use
• + Budgeting tools

• - LT IBAN (Lithuanian) — some Spanish employers and Hacienda (AEAT) refuse non-ES IBAN for direct debits, though EU law forbids IBAN discrimination
• - Bizum integration has been limited — Revolut's Bizum compatibility is improving but historically unreliable; verify current functionality before relying on Revolut as your primary Bizum account in Spain
• - Not covered under Spanish Fondo de Garantía de Depósitos (FGD) — Revolut operates under Lithuanian banking licence; deposits not insured under Spanish deposit protection scheme (€100,000 per depositor)
• - Customer service quality variable — primarily chat-based; complex disputes or fraud resolution can take days without in-branch escalation option

Monthly fee: €0 (no conditions)

Requirements: NIE + online video-ID

• + Truly free current account
• + Decent mobile app
• + Bizum
• + ES IBAN — universally accepted

• - Spanish-only interface and customer service — not suitable for expats with limited Spanish language skills; all banking communications, app, and customer support in Spanish only
• - NIE required — must obtain from Extranjería before account opening; same requirement as all Spanish banks
• - International SWIFT fees apply — Wise or Revolut are cheaper for non-EU international transfers; EVO Banco not designed for cross-border banking
• - Smaller branch network than BBVA or Santander — EVO Banco is primarily an online bank with limited physical branch presence; complex in-person banking or document-heavy processes require visiting Bankinter parent branches

Monthly fee: €0 for Cuenta Nómina (direct income deposit) / €3 standard

Requirements: NIE + video-ID or branch

• + Good interface
• + ES IBAN
• + Free ATM withdrawals worldwide with certain cards

• - Spanish-only interface — no English version of app or website; not suitable for expats unable to navigate Spanish-language banking
• - NIE required — must obtain from Extranjería or Spanish consulate before account opening
• - International SWIFT fees apply — Wise is considerably cheaper for non-EU international transfers; ING España not optimised for cross-border banking
• - Salary domiciliation required for free Cuenta Nómina — requires direct deposit of income ≥ €600/month; otherwise €3/month charge applies; confirm conditions before opening

Monthly fee: €0 (Cuenta Nómina)

Requirements: NIE + video-ID, fully online

• + 100% online onboarding
• + Robo-investing platform included
• + English support

• - NIE required — like all Spanish banks, full NIE required for account opening; purely online bank without assisted navigation of this process
• - Spanish-language customer service primarily — English support exists but is not always available for complex issues; some escalations require Spanish-language communication
• - International SWIFT fees apply — despite 100% online positioning, Wise offers better rates for non-EU transfers
• - Investment products (robo-advisor) may have tax implications for non-Spanish tax residents or digital nomads on special visa regimes (Beckham Law, non-habitualresidence) — confirm tax treatment before using the investment platform

Monthly fee: Depends on product

Requirements: Online

• + High-interest savings
• + Credit card specialist

• - Spanish-only interface — no English support; not suitable for expats unable to use Spanish-language interfaces for credit and savings management
• - WiZink is primarily a credit card and savings specialist — not a full current account; cannot serve as primary bank for salary receipt, Bizum, direct debits, or day-to-day transactions
• - NIE required — same as all Spanish financial providers; standard documentation requirements apply
• - International wire transfer capabilities limited — WiZink not designed for SWIFT international transfers; use a full bank or Wise for international remittances

Monthly fee: €0

Requirements: NIE + video-ID

• + Free account + competitive mortgages
• + Investment platform with free ETFs
• + Strong English onboarding

• - NIE required — same as all Spanish banks; online onboarding still requires valid Spanish tax ID
• - Investment platform complexity — MyInvestor's core strength is ETF investing and mortgages; expats seeking simple day-to-day banking may find the interface investment-focused and potentially confusing for basic current account needs
• - International SWIFT fees apply — Wise is cheaper for non-EU international transfers
• - Smaller customer base — MyInvestor is a newer bank with less established infrastructure; complex disputes, fraud resolution, or mortgage complications more challenging to resolve than at Santander or BBVA