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Currency
Opening a bank account
Bank branches
Bank hours
Payment methods
Main Spanish banks
The currency in Spain, as in most EU countries, is the euro. 100 cents equals 1 euro, and the coins and the notes are easily recognisable after a short while. The largest of the coins is EUR 2 and the smallest of the notes is EUR 5. The notes are distinguished from each other by both size and colour and are the same throughout the EU.
There are two types of banks in Spain: a savings bank and a regular bank. Savings banks offer the same services as a regular bank but do not have shareholders — instead, they invest their profits in social, educational, scientific and cultural projects. To find one of these look for the sign outside saying Caja de ahorras.
To open either a savings or a current account with any bank in Spain you will need either your passport or a residency/ID card (NIE). There is very little form-filling, and most of this is done by the manager or a member of staff at the bank.
It is not usual for the officer of the bank to ask you which type of account you want as it is assumed at most banks that you will be opening a cheque account. So if you wish to have a savings account instead of or as well as a cheque account then you must ask.
The day you open a cheque account you will be given a temporary chequebook and within about ten days you will be able to pick up your personal chequebook from the branch at which you opened your account. Do not expect a new chequebook to be automatically sent to you as the number of cheques gets low — you must ask at the bank for a new one. It is wise to do this about two weeks before you think you may run out of cheques.
Before you head out to explore the new city, make sure your paperwork's all done by referring to our guide.
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