Free banking revisited

[morlandg]

My daughter in law is considering opening an account with ING. She understands that it will be commission-free with no charges for debit card, maintenance, transfers etc and that she will have online banking also.
Has anyone first hand experience of ING and be prepared to give me all the details?
Graham

[chrissiehope]

I assume this is in Spain, as ING no longer exists in UK - it has been swallowed up by Barclays !

In UK I had an ING direct account, which is now a Barclays account - there were the usual problems when the final stage of the transfer took place - wrong passwords/ log in details, letters not received etc

[morlandg]

Thanks Chrissie. Yes it is a spanish account. Their website says they are Dutch. I wasn't aware of the Barclays connection. So yours is a UK account I presume. My DIL needs a Spanish account.
Graham

[chrissiehope]

Yes, they are Dutch, and yes mine is in UK. They only did online accounts in UK as far as I am aware, and first the accounts were transferred to Barclays Direct, and then to Barclays, all of which involved a ridiculous amount of paper (letters advising every little stage of the process etc)

[swerve]

We use banco sabbadel and as long as we pay in €700 in a month by direct debit through a currency broker we have no charges and unbelievably get a bit commission on bills that are payed ie mortgage Basura /electric and stuff.

[morlandg]

Thanks Swerve but I really need info on ING....
Graham

[Terry Tibbs]

We opened accounts with ING Direct (in Spain) fairly recently. We did it at their (only) branch in Malaga, which is in Avda. de Andalucia. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the whole set-up is much more modern that the traditional (read: Victorian) approach of most Spanish banks and Cajas I've seen. For example, there is very little actual paperwork involved - signatures are made on an iPad, etc. This is obviously all done to keep their costs down, but I have been impressed with their efficiency.

We've been back into the branch a couple of times and have always been treated very well; the last time was in relation to a problem that wasn't really the bank's fault (it was Renfe double-charging us for some train tickets), but the lady there spent some time investigating from their side and advising us on how to best follow up with the dreaded Renfe bureaucracy. This was a refreshing change from the dismissive attitude I've seen in other cases like this in the past.

So I would recommend ING Direct, provided that your daughter-in-law is happy to conduct most of the transactions online. Their internet portal works well and as regards getting money out of the account you can use any ATM in the '4B' group (which includes Santander) to withdraw cash without any charge being applied. They have two types of current account - the 'Cuenta Nomina' for those who will have a regular monthly income going into the account, and the 'Cuenta Sin Nomina', which is also free of charges provided that you maintain a balance of at least €2000 in the account. We also have a 'Cuenta Naranja' for savings.

Hope this helps - let me know if you need any more info.

[nevillewillmott]

Hi

Is there any competition between Spanish banks on Current Accounts for non-residents?

With Sabadell I pay 85 euros per annum for the operation of my current account. 60 euros - maintenance and 25 euros - payment card

Pointless to compare this with UK, but is this the going rate to service a Current Account in Spain?

Saludos

[dxf]

Hola

Deutsche Bank is free banking if you put 600€ a month in and have at least two standing orders

Davexf

[Enrique]

Hi,
I'm guessing Neville got sucked along with the Halifax ->Lloyds International -> Sabadell "scam" ...sorry takeover..........
Me too, took nine (9)months to "close" the account having closed it nine months earlier...
As the Question is for Non-Resident.........try the Caja Rural Group....depending where you're located.

Works OK for me, no eye watering charges.............

Local Branch too.

[nevillewillmott]

Hi Enrique

Actually the Spanish estate agent recommended Sabadell during the process of buying the flat. With so much going on we simply went along with it

So you think it is worth shopping around for a current account? There are no sums going in regularly, only as and when necessary. There are a few standing orders going out

Need a bank in Almunecar/La Herradura

Saludos

Saludos

[alisonb]

The ING Account looks good, and I'm thinking of changing since Cajamar charge what they like nowadays. Just a couple of questions

1. Is there a Spanish equivalent of the bank account transfer service here, rather than having to do everything manually?

2. One for Terry - how do you pay money into the account, short of going to Malaga?

[Terry Tibbs]

Hi Alison,

I'm not aware if any 'transfer' service from your current account, but there may well be one; best to ask them directly. I suspect you'd be better off going into the Malaga branch to get everything sorted out, although I do realise that's a bit of a trek for you. I've always found the people there very friendly and helpful.

As regards paying cash into the account, I've only ever done that once a machine in the Malaga branch, as all my other transfers in and out have been done via online banking. Possibly you can pay in cash at other banks' branches, but the ING website is unclear about this. Again, a question for them by phone or in person methinks.

Another point to mention - there's a bit of a bun fight been going on between various banks about charges for ATM terminal usage. Previously I could withdraw cash without paying a fee at any 4B machine, but now some banks (e.g. Santander) make a charge, at least for smaller withdrawal amounts. I now use Banco Popular and they show a charge of €0.60 for the transaction, billed to ING but not passed on to me. You might want to check the website for details of which banks' ATMs in your area would work for fee-free withdrawals.

Overall I'm still very happy with ING Direct, they've helped me with various account related questions and in some cases shown me how to avoid having to go into the branch for (e.g.) paying taxes, etc.