BANKIA

Yes Bankia are useless & their website is appalling.

After getting their letter about 6 weeks ago I closed my account with them.

Very grumpy faces in the branch when I closed it !!

I opened a Cajamar Werrent online bank account.

You will have to open it in branch I think as it's not quite as simple to open online as they make out for non residents.

Take with you NIE certificate, passport AND proof of income ( I took a P60 UK tax certificate).

Read the T & C's but it is a no charge account & you can have a debit card.

I have asked my solicitor to set up my direct debits ( I only 4 or 5 ) with Tranferwise but I thought a Spanish bank account might be sensible to have given all the Brexit changes that may come about.

I think it is always sensible to have a backup bank account these days given the systems failures that seen to happen on a regular basis. 

I have not had a DD paid through Transferwise yet so I will wait & see what happens.

https://www.cajamar.es/es/particulares/productos-y-servicios/ahorro-e-inversion/cuentas-a-la-vista/pack-wefferent/nuevo-cliente/

Hi

Does anyone know if you actually have to go into a branch to close your Bankia account or whether it is possible to do so by other means? As we are not out in Spain for another few months.

I suspect Bankia will want to make it as difficult as possible and insist I must go into a branch!

Thanks

Ryan

I think you will have to go into a branch to close your account.

They will most likely demand a signature to close the account 

You could try doing it by email & use Google translate ??

I never managed to get Bankia to reply to any emails though.

Thanks Roland - much appreciated.

We are also bankia customers and having been in the Torre Pacheco branch last week, they will commence charging 14 euros per month unless you have 700 euros being paid in every month. They are also blocking accounts without warning unless you have been into the bank to sign identification forms which is apparently a money laundering matter.

I will close my account with them next months.... you are really getting very little for the charge in any case. I am about to investigate the possibility of using STARLING BANK which is based in the UK but offers a euro account. At this stage I don't know whether I can pay my direct debits from there however.

I have set up my direct debits with TransferWise.

As long as your account is a euro account you should be able to set up a direct debit with Starling bank.

Roland- thanks for your update. I have spoken with STARLING BANK and they have confirmed that they will pay Spanish direct debits.

Sounds like there are a number of opportunities to remove our business from these expensive and not very good quality banks, but as the original poster asked I suspect we will have to take time and energy working through the morass of bankia forms in person  to escape their ridiculous charges. 

I closed my Bankia account but opened a Cajamar Werrent account.

No fees if you abide by their T & C's.

Although I have set up my direct debits with TransferWise. I thought it might be best to have a back up bank account.

Always best to have a second option.

I have just had a response from my Bankia branch regarding their high banking fees, they have also offered to phone me, to talk about the option of free banking, as I threatened to close my account.This is extremely rare, as they never reply to any of my emails. Perhaps they now realise how many of us are closing their accounts, and moving elsewhere.

They know have a account called ONE you have to pay in your salary, also you have to take out one of their insurance policies. Or apply for their credit card,and use it 2 times a year.

You would have thought they would be more competitive, as there are many banks that are cheaper, as Roland pointed Cajama have their Werrent account that has free banking.