Hello forum,

I’ll be working for the University in San Sebastian starting in May. They have contacted me about some paper work that needs to be done. It looks quite simple so far and I think I’ll be able to do all that fairly easily.

There is one point, however, that I don’t understand and don’t like. They tell me that I need a SPANISH bank account. I argued that I have other bank accounts within the EU and that they can transfer the money to one of those accounts. As far as I know there is a law that money transfers within the EU must not be more expensive than money transfers within the respective country. So I don’t see the point in opening a Spanish bank account and paying extra just to have it and then transfer the money to another account.

Does anybody have experience with that kind of issue? Can an employer really demand that I have a Spanish bank account? I thought we have the free European market and I just want to benefit from that by choosing a bank that is most convenient for me.

Thanks a lot for your help.

I would imagine that there are more costs associated with them paying you to an account outside of Spain and possible other complications that they sound unwilling to undertake. In my opinion they are probably right in that they have a ‘process’ even if you are right on a technicality. The Spanish account need not cost you money as their accounts that are free if you receiving a regular sueldo.

But I don’t have direct experience of this situation.

Hi Rob,

Thanks for your reply.

I don’t know what you mean by “more costs”. As long as the account is within the EU there aren’t any extra costs associated with transferring the money. That’s what the BIC and IBAN are for. If I have an account in, say Italy, and transfer money to your account in, say Spain. I will pay exactly the same fee as I do when I transfer the money within Italy. That is EU regulations and any bank that has extra fees violates these regulations.

Note:
1. The transfer must be in EUR and not any other currency (there are EU countries that don’t use EUR)
2. The transfer must not cost MORE than a transfer within the country. So if there is a fee within the country the bank can ask for the same fee to transfer the money outside the country. But no more than that.

Hi - OK you have more knowledge than I of inter country Euro transfers (I move sterling to Spain) and was just generally thinking that even transfers within Spain now have bank charges so it would not surprise me if the banks manage to ‘create’ more charges for inter country charges.

Maybe standing your ground will work - depends on their administrators I guess and I expect maybe you are the first to request this - the Spanish don’t always like change!