During recent years I’ve used many different providers for different types of services.

Banking in Spain

If you speak Spanish, the best option is to open an account with ING Direct – you can do this very easily online if you know some basic Spanish (there is no English language version of their Spanish banking website). ING Direct have no bank charges (including the provision of the account, transactions within Spain and the EU, issuing debit card), and you can do all your money transactions and view balances online – www.ingdirect.es. They also have a handy 24-hour helpline (in Spanish only).

They currently have only one branch in Valencia city centre which is open all day from 8am to 8pm (no siesta!) including Saturday. Most of the traditional Spanish banks only open their branches in the mornings.

To open an independent current account you should select cuenta nómina, however this can only be set up if you receive your salary directly into the account (nómina means wage). If you are self-employed or have income from other sources, you can have exactly the same terms and conditions with cuenta sin nómina. The only requirement is that you should monthly deposit a minimum of 600 EUR or maintain the balance of 2,000 EUR on your bank account.

In my experience, I can say that you are obliged to meet the mentioned requirements only when opening the bank account – you can maintain it even if you later cancel the payment of your salary into the account or you stop having income of a minimum 600 EUR.

If you regularly need to deposit cash in your bank account the only inconvenience with ING DIRECT is that – they do not have their own ATMs (they collaborate with other banks instead). At the moment the only place to do it is at their facilities in the centre.

Banco Sabadell

I have never had an account with them myself, but I’ve heard lots of good comments about Banco Sabadell, including how easy it is to open an account with them and how helpful the branch staff have been. They have recently taken over Lloyds Bank International in Spain. Unlike most Spanish banks, Banco Sabadell have branches all over the Spain.

The Banco Sabadell website is in English, and they have a UK-Spain free and direct account which is aimed at UK expats living in Spain. This Regular Transfer Plan account states that transfers from your UK bank will arrive within three days with no charges.

They also have a Prestige Care Account. With a quarterly charge of €24, you will have no other charges on transactions, credit card admin fees or cheque fees, and there is access to English internet and telephone banking.

Free banking for young people (between the ages 13 and 25) is also offered.

Mobile phone

I used to use Orange and Movistar prepaid cards and contracts before I switched to Simyo. Several years ago prices for mobile services were going over the roof and I was relieved when Simyo came into the Spanish market.

Simyo has a very simple but smart concept – it´s cheap as mostly everything is done online, it´s got a great coverage and the service is of a high quality. At any time you can easily change your rate online or tailor a new one based on the minutes of outgoing calls and the data you plan to use. If you don´t use your Spanish mobile phone for some period (for example, if you temporarily leave Spain or you barely use your phone at all), they do not charge you for having an operating mobile number and at the same time there are no restrictions for its use – Simyo will charge only based on what you consume, and if it´s nothing you pay nothing; this rate is called sin cuotas.

The downside of Simyo is that they have no English language version of their web site http://www.simyo.es/ and their customer service is provided in Spanish only. But if you speak some Spanish then this website comes in handy as it allows you to create your rate based on how much you are planning to use and order your SIM card online.

The above list is by no means comprehensive and I’ll be adding information based on your needs and inquiries. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions, they are highly appreciated!