Spanish Bank Account

One of the mysteries of moving to Spain was opening a Spanish bank account.  Part of the reason for that is that there are so many obstacles for Americans to open foreign bank accounts due to the restrictions that have been put into place by the US on owning off-shore accounts in order to prevent money laundering, financing terrorism, and  tax evasion.  So even though there are Spanish banks which have branches here in the US and there are US banks that have branches in Spain, there is an impenetrable barrier to bank in both countries from one account.

A friend of mine who is also moving to Spain soon decided to go with Citibank and opened a "Gold" account, which requires a minimum of $50,000 remaining in the account to avoid a number of bank transaction fees when transferring money from a US Citibank account to a Spanish Citibank account.  I considered this, but I was put off by the high balance that I would need to maintain.

My Spanish Real Estate agent recommended to me a Spanish bank called NovaGalicia that have local branches in Barcelona.  She used to work for the bank and helped me to obtain favorable conditions with the bank manager.  Spanish banks generate many more fees than US banks for its clients, so I was appreciative of this offering.

I also learned from a book on buying property in Spain about "Foreign Exchange Specialists" that can provide one with the ability to transfer money to foreign banks with favorable exchange rates and minimal fees - much better than banks.  I decided to go with USForex and opened an account with them.

Over the last few days, I provided the bank with my NIE number (it's a number that I received with my visa, like a social security number, and allows me to make financial transactions, including opening a bank account and buying a house) and other information showing my work status as retired with a pension.

Just this morning I received confirmation about my new Spanish bank account!  That with a US accountant to ensure that I am in keeping with US tax laws, I believe I now have my basic financial structures in place for my upcoming move.