How to open a bank account in Spain

You can open a Spanish bank account without a residence permit: a non-resident needs a passport, a non-resident certificate and proof of where the money comes from, and usually visits a branch. With a TIE card it is more often opened online.

For a large sum — buying a home, moving a family, capital for a residence permit — the order matters more than the choice of bank: what your status is, how you will prove the origin of the money and how much to keep in one bank. Below is what banks ask for, which rules are set by law and what people actually saw in 2025–2026.

Why you need a Spanish account and an ES IBAN

Without a local account, life in Spain gets difficult from the first month. It is used to pay rent, utilities, taxes and autónomo contributions, and to receive a salary. A landlord will ask for a statement as proof of income — see our guide to renting a flat in Spain. When you buy a home, the notary records in the deed which account the payment came from, and without a local account a bank will not consider a mortgage for a foreigner.

Legally the account does not have to be Spanish. EU Regulation 260/2012 (Article 9) bars a company that receives a payment from you or collects it by direct debit from requiring an account in a particular EU country: a euro IBAN from a Lithuanian, German or Irish bank must be accepted on a par with a Spanish one. If a company refuses, the Banco de España advises complaining to the consumer protection authority of your autonomous community, and if a bank refuses — to the Banco de España itself (the bank’s explainer). In practice, arguing with every supplier takes time, so an IBAN starting with ES is more convenient for everyday payments.

Which bank to choose

There is no universally best bank: the terms depend on whether you are a resident and whether you have a TIE. Below is what major banks and neobanks with a Spanish IBAN say about accounts for foreigners. Fees change, so before signing ask for the fee document (documento informativo de comisiones) — the bank is required to provide it.

BBVA’s terms are from the bank’s page: accounts are opened from age 18; a foreign resident with a TIE can open one on the website, in the app or in a branch, while with a passport and no NIE or TIE — only in a branch. Online registration requires a Spanish mobile number; an international one will not work. The bank may ask for a payslip, an employment contract or a tax return.

Neobanks: N26 and Revolut

Both operate in Spain through branches entered in the Banco de España register and issue ES IBANs: N26 to all new customers in Spain since April 2019, Revolut on accounts of its Spanish branch. For utilities and taxes such an IBAN works just like a traditional bank’s. The difference is deposit protection: money at Revolut is covered by the Lithuanian deposit insurance scheme, not the Spanish FGD, also up to €100,000. A traditional bank is the safer main account for contributions and taxes; a neobank works as a second one.

How much to keep in one bank

The Deposit Guarantee Fund (FGD) repays up to €100,000 per depositor per bank. A joint account of spouses is split between the holders, and each gets their own guarantee. Above the limit, one-off large inflows such as proceeds from selling a home are protected for three months — the list of cases is on the fund’s website. Example: after selling a flat you have €600,000 in the account. The guarantee covers €100,000 per holder; the rest depends on the bank’s stability. That is why capital after a move is usually spread across two or three banks, or part of it is held in securities in custody — the FGD has a separate limit for those. If you keep accounts abroad as well, a Spanish resident with balances over €50,000 files Modelo 720.

How a non-resident can open an account

A bank checks a non-resident more strictly than a resident, and the decision is the bank’s: the law does not oblige it to open a regular account for someone living outside the EU. Timing depends on the bank and on how clear your documents about the money are: from a single visit to several weeks of checks.

NIE or a non-resident certificate

The NIE (número de identidad de extranjero) is a foreigner’s personal number in Spain. It also serves as the NIF tax number and does not change when you get a residence permit: for a resident, the same number is printed on the TIE card. Where to book and what to write in the application is covered in getting an NIE in Spain.

For a non-resident account, banks more often ask not for an NIE but for a non-resident certificate (certificado de no residente). It is issued by the foreigners’ police by appointment, or, if you are abroad, through a Spanish consulate. The certificate is paid: fee 790-012 — €7.31. It is valid for 3 months from issue, so get it for a specific bank visit. The police reply within 5 days; no reply means the application is refused (National Police website).

What documents you need

Each bank has its own list, but it usually includes:

• passport;
• a non-resident certificate or NIE, and for residents a TIE card;
• proof of address — a rental contract, a utility bill, municipal registration (empadronamiento);
• a tax residence certificate from the country where you live — asked for, for example, by Abanca and Cajamar;
• documents on the origin of funds: proof of income, a tax return, a property sale contract.

The bank checks the origin of funds by law: Ley 10/2010 on anti-money laundering requires it to find out what the client does, verify it with documents and then monitor transactions, “including the origin of funds” (articles 3–6). Documents in another language will need a Spanish translation; check in advance whether the bank wants a sworn translator (traductor jurado) or an ordinary translation.

Checks and the contract

The bank verifies the documents, screens the client against sanctions lists and decides whether to open the account. If the answer is yes, you sign the contract and framework agreement, get online banking access and, where applicable, a card. Even after opening, the bank may restrict the account and request proof of income — this happens with the first large incoming payment. It is best to answer at once and in full: without documents the restriction is usually not lifted.

An account after the permit is approved, before the TIE card

The most common question in relocation chats: the residence permit has been approved, the TIE card is weeks away, and an account is needed now — to register as autónomo and pay contributions. The law does not say whether a bank must accept the approval resolution instead of a TIE; that is down to internal policy. So below is only practice confirmed independently by several people in 2025–2026.

• CaixaBank opens accounts with a passport, NIE and approval resolution more often than others, but not in every branch. Successful cases — Barcelona, Lloret de Mar, Asturias; refusals and weeks of delay — in Valencia, Salou and also Barcelona. It helps to bring a printed resolution and, if you have it, the fingerprint appointment confirmation, and after a refusal to try another branch.
• Santander opens with a resolution or NIE but often blocks the account until the client brings the autónomo registration (form 036 and social security alta).
• BBVA, by people’s accounts, usually does not open without a TIE; with the card, an account opens online within a day. In September 2026 two people independently described a restriction the day after opening, with a request for proof of income — it was lifted once they showed their autónomo registration.
• Until their own account is open, people often pay the first month’s autónomo contributions from a relative’s or friend’s account with that person’s written consent.

The TIE card is collected from the police after a fingerprint appointment — procedure and timing in TIE card in Spain. When the card expires while a renewal is pending, traditional banks, in the experience of several people, leave the account alone for months if you show proof of filing (resguardo) or the new approval.

Direct debits and transfers: what the law protects

Utilities, phone, insurance and taxes in Spain are usually paid by direct debit (recibo domiciliado): you give the supplier your IBAN once, and it collects the bills itself. The payment services law RDL 19/2018 protects the payer (BOE):

• a SEPA debit you authorised can be refunded without giving a reason within 8 weeks of the debit date (articles 48 and 49); the bank refunds within 10 business days;
• report a debit you did not authorise immediately, and no later than 13 months (article 43).

A refund does not cancel a debt: if the supplier billed you correctly, it will bill you again. Since October 2025, euro-area banks must send instant SEPA transfers at no more than the price of a regular one and, before the transfer, check free of charge that the payee’s name matches the account holder (EU Regulation 2024/886). If the name does not match, the bank will warn you — a safeguard against mistakes and fraud when paying a rental deposit or a down payment on a home. For everyday transfers between people in Spain, Bizum is used — it and other useful apps are covered in apps for living in Spain.

Basic account: when a bank must open one

If you live legally in any EU country, you have the right to a basic payment account (cuenta de pago básica). Spanish residence is not required; asylum seekers have the right too (RDL 19/2017, article 3). A person living outside the EU does not have this right.

• What it includes: an account with a debit card, cash deposits and withdrawals, up to 120 euro payments a year within the EU — transfers and direct debits.
• What it costs: no more than €3 a month for everything (Orden ECE/228/2019, article 4). Free for people in a vulnerable situation (RD 164/2019).
• When the bank must refuse: the client has not provided the information needed for anti-money-laundering checks; opening it would conflict with national security or public order; the client already has an account in Spain with the same services (article 4). There are no other grounds, and opening cannot be made conditional on buying insurance or another product.

The bank gives the refusal in writing. First complain to the bank’s customer service (servicio de atención al cliente): for payment services the bank replies within 15 business days. If there is no reply or it is unsatisfactory, complain to the Banco de España — online, by post or through any bank branch.

Business account for an SL

An account for a Spanish limited company (sociedad limitada, SL) is opened differently from a personal one: the bank checks not only the director but the company itself, its beneficial owners and its planned business. Major Spanish banks open accounts online for individuals, but for a new SL they ask you to come to a branch. Founders who tried to open a company account remotely in 2024–2025 heard the same answer: in person only.

If you are putting serious money into the company — say €200,000 earmarked for future investments — the SL account becomes a second source-of-funds check after your personal account. Gather the documents on the sale of assets, dividends or savings before paying in the capital, not after the bank’s first request. Money does not have to go in as capital: how capital, a contribution to account 118 and a shareholder loan compare on tax is covered in the article on funding your Spanish SL.

The order: from the name to activation

1. Name certificate. The Registro Mercantil Central issues a certificado negativo de denominación confirming that the name is free. The name is reserved for 6 months, and for signing the deed the certificate is valid for 3 months (articles 412 and 414 of the Commercial Registry Regulation).
2. Account and capital. With the certificate and the founders’ documents, the bank opens an account for the company being formed and takes the share capital. It then issues a deposit certificate (certificado de depósito), which the notary attaches to the deed; it is valid for 2 months (article 62 of the Capital Companies Act).
3. Notary. The deed of incorporation (escritura de constitución) and the beneficial owner declaration are signed; the company receives a provisional tax number (NIF).
4. Registration. The deed is registered at the provincial Registro Mercantil, after which the tax agency issues the final NIF.
5. Activation. The registered deed and the final NIF go to the bank. Until then the account is restricted: payments, cards and company online banking only work after activation.

Since October 2022 the minimum capital of an SL is €1 (Law 18/2022 amended article 4 of the Capital Companies Act). But while capital is below €3,000, at least 20% of profit each year must go to a reserve until reserve and capital together reach €3,000, and on liquidation the partners are jointly liable for the difference between €3,000 and their capital if the company’s assets do not cover its debts. That is why most founders still pay in €3,000 and the bank certifies that amount. The law also allows a route without the certificate: the founders declare in the deed that they are jointly liable to the company and its creditors for the cash contributions being real (article 62.2). Check with the notary in advance whether it works for you.

Weeks pass between paying in the capital and activation. Founders in business communities report activation taking up to a month after registration: the bank asked for extra documents, and in one case recorded the wrong line of business and asked for licences, fixing it only after an explanation. One founder warned that a bank may close an account that stays unactivated for too long, and you then start again. How the registration itself works is covered on our company registration in Spain page.

What the bank asks for

• the deed of incorporation with the registration stamp and the company’s NIF (formerly called CIF);
• beneficial ownership (titularidad real): under Law 10/2010 the bank must identify everyone who directly or indirectly owns more than 25% of the capital or votes or otherwise controls the company (article 4);
• the director’s passport, NIE or TIE and proof of their powers;
• a description of the business: what the company does, who its clients and suppliers are, which countries money will come from;
• expected monthly and annual turnover;
• a website, contracts, proposals — anything that shows a real business;
• the origin of the share capital and of the money that will fund the company.

What founders saw at Spanish banks in 2024–2026

These are individual cases described in business communities of foreign founders in Spain, not bank policies or a guarantee. The decision rests with the branch and its compliance team, so the same bank shows both refusals and quick openings: Sabadell refused two owners but has opened and financed other SLs; BBVA opened one SL account within an hour, refused another with Belarusian founders in two branches and in Barcelona said it would open an account “in a year, once we see turnover”; CaixaBank approved an SL account in two weeks in 2025; Global Caja opened one in 4 days; Santander asked one owner to first put €3,000 into a personal account. Things are easier where you are already a client and where the bank understands the business. If refused, try another branch or another bank. The same applies to card acceptance: what a bank checks before connecting a terminal or online payments is covered in the article on accepting card payments in Spain.

Why a bank refuses and what to do

A bank is not obliged to open a regular account and need not give a reason for refusing. The most common reasons are that the bank cannot verify the origin of funds, that the client lives in a country the bank rates as high-risk, or that a branch lacks a document another branch of the same bank would accept. What helps:

• come with a full set of papers on the money: proof of income, a tax return, a sale contract, a 3–6 month statement, translated;
• explain the purpose of the account — rent, autónomo contributions, buying a home — and show a document for it;
• after a refusal, try another branch or another bank: in the chats this is the most common working advice;
• if you live legally in the EU, ask for a basic account.

If you need the account for a specific goal — a residence application, autónomo registration or buying a home — describe your situation and we will go through the order in a consultation. Which statement and for what period the consulate or the UGE expects is covered separately: bank statement for a Spanish visa and residence permit.

The bank asks you to prove the origin of funds after the account is open

Checks do not end when the account is opened. A bank must monitor transactions for as long as the account is open and keep the client’s documents up to date (Article 6 of Law 10/2010 on anti-money laundering). So a request — «actualización de datos» or «justificación de origen de fondos» — may arrive the day after opening or several years later, after a large incoming payment or when the TIE card is about to expire.

• Why the bank may close the account. If the client does not provide the information, the bank must end the relationship (Articles 7.3 and 9.3 of the same law). Answering the letter is not a formality.
• Why the bank does not explain. A bank may not tell the client that a transaction is being examined or that it has been reported to the financial intelligence unit Sepblac (Article 24). The law sets no maximum length for a block.
• There is no threshold. In practice, questions come about €3,000 and even about an empty account: no amount is guaranteed to pass without questions.

What to do if you receive a request or the account is blocked

1. Reply within the deadline in the letter — in practice banks give about two weeks. Taking the documents to the branch or your relationship manager is more reliable than sending them through the app.
2. Prove this specific amount. A flat sale contract with proof of transfer of title, a share sale agreement, proof of income or dividends, tax returns, an employment contract, a notarised gift agreement — with a sworn translation.
3. Clear a large transfer in advance. In practice it is better to see the manager with the documents before the money arrives rather than after a block.
4. If your TIE card is expiring, bring the receipt for your renewal application.
5. If the bank stays silent or closes the account, complain to the bank’s customer service: up to 15 working days for payment services, up to a month for other matters. Then to the Banco de España; the bank is not bound by its opinion, but it often moves things along (Banco de España).

Since 2025 the Banco de España and Sepblac share criteria for such blocks: the bank assesses each client individually rather than whole categories, acts proportionately and tells the client in advance the general reason, the documents needed and the deadline, what happens without a reply and the right to complain (Banco de España). These are good-practice criteria, not law, but you can cite them directly in a complaint. Online banks such as Wise and Revolut, in many people’s experience, block without explanation more often, especially for payments from crypto exchanges.

Frequently asked questions

Can you open a Spanish bank account with a passport?

Yes. A non-resident usually needs a passport, a non-resident certificate from the police or a consulate, proof of address and documents on the origin of funds. Such an account is usually opened in a branch. The decision is the bank’s.

Do you need an NIE to open an account in Spain?

Not always: banks often open accounts for non-residents with a non-resident certificate. A resident needs an NIE — it is printed on the TIE card.

Can you open an account with a permit approval before getting the TIE card?

The law does not cover this; the bank and the branch decide. In practice in 2025–2026, CaixaBank and Santander opened accounts with a passport, NIE and approval resolution, with Santander often blocking the account until autónomo registration. BBVA usually refuses without a TIE.

Can you open a BBVA account online without an NIE?

No. BBVA opens an account online for a foreign resident with a TIE card; with a passport — only in a branch. Online registration requires a Spanish phone number.

Is a bank obliged to open a basic account?

Yes, if you live legally in any EU country — this right is set by RDL 19/2017. The fee is no more than €3 a month. The bank can refuse only on legal grounds: missing information for anti-money-laundering checks, a security threat, or you already have such an account in Spain.

Must a company accept a non-Spanish IBAN?

Yes. EU Regulation 260/2012 bars a payee from requiring an account in a particular EU country if it is reachable for SEPA payments. If a company refuses, the Banco de España advises complaining to the consumer protection authority of the autonomous community.

How do you get back money taken by direct debit?

An authorised SEPA debit can be refunded through your bank without giving a reason within 8 weeks, and the bank returns the money within 10 business days. Report an unauthorised debit immediately, and no later than 13 months. If the debt is real, the supplier will bill it again.

What should I do if my bank blocks the account and asks me to prove the origin of funds?

Reply within the deadline in the letter and bring documents for that specific amount: a sale contract, proof of income, tax returns, a gift agreement — with a sworn translation. If the bank stays silent or closes the account, complain to the bank’s customer service and then to the Banco de España.

Can you open a bank account for an SL online?

As a rule, no. Major Spanish banks open accounts online for individuals, but for a new SL they ask the director to come to a branch: the bank checks the deed, the beneficial owners, the business and the origin of the capital. After the company is registered, the account still has to be activated — in practice this takes up to a month.

Official sources

• EU Regulation 833/2014, version of 24 July 2026: Article 5b
• EU Regulation 260/2012 (SEPA), Article 9; amendments by Regulation 2024/886
• RDL 19/2017 on the basic account; Orden ECE/228/2019; RD 164/2019
• RDL 19/2018 on payment services, articles 43, 48, 49
• Ley 10/2010 on anti-money laundering
• Deposit Guarantee Fund (FGD); Banco de España: complaining about a bank
• Capital Companies Act (RDL 1/2010), articles 4 and 62; Commercial Registry Regulation, articles 412 and 414

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