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Although you will sometimes still hear Spaniards talking about house prices and other transactions in pesetas, Spain is now a Euro-zone, as are most EU countries.
Notes come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 500 - though few places are keen or able to find change for higher-value notes. BanksThere are a handful of national banks that you will find in every town and city (eg. BBVA, Grupo Banco Popular, Santander Central Hispano and - best for English-speaking staff - Solbank). In the Costa del Sol you will also find Barclays branches which for some people is a reassurance. Spain also has very large savings banks. They are very similar to the UK building societies. The savings banks are called cajas and the biggest are Caja de Madrid and La Caixa (in Barcelona). There are many local building societies. In Costa del Sol you will find Unicaja in many places. There are also regional banks such as Banco de Andalucia or Banco de Alicante. Internet-only accounts such as ING Direct (www.ingdirect.es, 901 020 901), Patagon (www.patagon.es, 902 157 213) and Uno-e (www.uno-e.es, 901 111 113) which offer higher interest current accounts and immediate access to your money. Many of the banks, such as BBVA, have very good internet banking facilities. Opening hours are usually 8am/9am-2pm on Monday-Friday and 9am-1pm on Saturday. You may find designated hours and days for paying bills (usually first thing in the morning). Most banks have English-speaking staff and all banks can cope with international transactions - though you will be charged commission. Changing moneyYou can also change money at the many bureau de change shops found in all resorts and cities, although their exchange rates may be worse than banks. Credit And Debit cards Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted in Spain and issued by most banks for a fee of between 10-25 euros a year or up to 60 euros for a gold card. If you lose your Visa or Mastercard in Spain, call 902 114 400 (Telebanco 4B) or 902 192 100 (Servi Red) to cancel them. Spainish debit cards operate as in the UK and are free. Of course your UK cards will work in Spain in just the same way as they do in the UK. But you will pay UK bank charges when you use them. It is a good idea to check how your UK card charges you overseas. Most Spanish retailers require photo ID whn you use a card, so a passport or residence permit is important when you are shopping. |
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