Opening a Basic Payment Account in Spain: Your Right to a Bank Account

Covers: all of Spain (national rules). Where a step is run by your region or city council, the guide says so.

This guide is for internationals who have just moved to Spain and do not yet have a Spanish bank account. By the end, you will know who has the right to a cuenta de pago básica (basic payment account), what a bank may charge for it, when it is free and how the application works.

• Who has the right to a basic payment account
• What a bank can and cannot demand
• The maximum fee and what it covers
• When the account is free
• Applying, deadlines and complaints
• FAQ

Who has the right to a basic payment account

Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, through the European Consumer Centre in Spain, states that every consumer without another payment account in Spain has the right to a basic payment account. According to the Banco de España, the account exists to promote financial inclusion in the European Union by giving consumers access to basic banking services. This is a national rule and applies in every region.

To apply, you prove your identity with a DNI (Spanish national identity document), a passport, a residence card, a tarjeta roja (the card issued to applicants for international protection) or a TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, the foreign national identity card). You must also meet at least one of three conditions. You can be legally resident in the European Union, even without a fixed address. You can be an asylum seeker. Or you can be without documents in order but in an exceptional situation that prevents your expulsion from Spain, and the ministry gives pregnant women as an example.

The account handles everyday money. It covers depositing funds, withdrawing cash, paying direct debits, paying by debit or prepaid card and making transfers within the EU. The ministry adds that these accounts can be used to contract basic services such as water, electricity and gas, to receive public aid and to apply for benefits such as the Ingreso Mínimo Vital (IMV, Spain’s minimum income benefit).

What a bank can and cannot demand

A bank cannot make a basic payment account conditional on taking out other products or services, such as insurance, a credit card or a loan. Banks also have to tell you about the account’s features.

The ministry lists only three grounds on which a bank can refuse to open the account. The first is that you already hold a current account in Spain. The second is that opening the account would go against national security or public order. The third is that you do not provide the information the bank needs to meet its obligations on money laundering and terrorist financing. The pages do not list which documents a bank requests for those checks, so each bank sets its own list within the law.

The Banco de España’s guide for first-time account holders also points to its online comparison tool, which lets you compare the offers of different banks.

The maximum fee and what it covers

Under the Banco de España’s rules on fees, the maximum a bank can charge is a single, combined fee of 3 euros a month. The Banco de España can update this amount every two years.

That fee includes unlimited use of the following services:

• opening, using and closing the account
• cash deposits in euros
• cash withdrawals in euros from ATMs
• payments by debit or prepaid card

It also includes 120 payment transactions a year in euros within the EU, meaning direct debits and transfers made at a branch or online. If you make more than 120, the bank cannot charge more per year than the average fees it applies to each type of transaction. Banks report these averages to the Banco de España every quarter, and the Banco de España publishes them. There is one exception: if you withdraw cash from another bank’s ATM, your bank can pass on the fee that the other bank charges it.

When the account is free

Banks must offer the account completely free of charge to people in a situation of vulnerability or at risk of financial exclusion. The Banco de España’s explainer on who can open the account without fees sets out two conditions, on top of the general right to the account.

The first condition is that your household’s annual income stays within limits set in a Royal Decree. The limits are based on the IPREM (Indicador Público de Renta de Efectos Múltiples, a public income index), published every year in the State Budget Act. The limits vary with the number of people in the household. The pages do not give the actual euro figures.

The second condition is that you have no rights over any property other than your usual home, and no rights over any commercial company. Both conditions apply to you and to any other holders or authorised users of the account.

Once granted, the free status lasts two years. It is extended for further two-year periods as long as your situation stays the same.

Applying, deadlines and complaints

To show the size of your household, you present the libro de familia (family record book) or proof of registration as a pareja de hecho (registered unmarried couple). To show your income, the ministry lists these options: an income certificate for the last tax year, your last three nóminas (payslips), a certificate of unemployment benefit or allowance, a certificate of social wages or social assistance, or a certificate of benefits for the end of self-employed activity.

If you have none of these, you can present a report from the servicios sociales (social services) of the ayuntamiento (city council) where you completed your empadronamiento (registering your address). This report comes from your city council, not from the national government, and it confirms that you qualify. Your bank may also ask for your permission to obtain the information electronically from the relevant authorities, and it cannot charge you for this.

The bank has a maximum of 30 days from the date you hand over the documents to accept or refuse. It must tell you its decision in writing and free of charge. If it does not reply within 30 days, your request counts as accepted. If you disagree with the decision, you can file a complaint with the Banco de España.

FAQ

Do I need a Spanish address to open a basic payment account?

No fixed address is required. One of the qualifying conditions is legal residence in the European Union even without a fixed address. However, the city council’s social services report used for the free account comes from the council where you are registered on the padrón.

Can a bank insist that I take out insurance or a card to open the account?

No. Banks must offer the basic payment account without making it conditional on any other product or service. They can refuse only if you already hold a current account in Spain, for reasons of national security or public order, or if you do not provide the information they need for anti-money laundering checks.

What happens if I make more than 120 transfers or direct debits in a year?

The 3 euro monthly fee covers 120 payment transactions a year in euros within the EU. Beyond that, the bank cannot charge more per year than its average fees for each type of transaction, which it reports to the Banco de España every quarter.

I already pay for my basic account. Can it become free later?

Yes. If your situation changes and you meet the requirements, you can ask for the account to be made free. If the bank grants the request, the account is free from the date you applied.

Sources: clientebancario.bde.es · clientebancario.bde.es · clientebancario.bde.es · portal-cec.consumo.gob.es

Last verified: 7 November 2026 against the pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the responsible authority always has the final word.

This is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. For your own situation, ask the office that handles your case (the Oficina de Extranjería, your ayuntamiento, the Seguridad Social or the Agencia Tributaria), a lawyer (abogado) or a gestor administrativo.