Banking System in Madrid
There are a number of international banks present in Madrid. The majority of bank branches have English-speaking employees, especially those banks with English or American branches, such as Santander, Lloyds TSB, Barclays and CitiBank.
Banks
CitiBank
C/ Miguel Ángel, 11
T: 91 319 32 38
http://www.citibank.com/ (English account section)
La Caixa
C/ Velázquez 4
T: 913 402 100
Bankinter
http://www.bankinter.com/www/en-es/cgi/ebk+home (English version)
Practicalities
The opening hours for Spanish banks are Monday-Friday 9am-2pm, Saturday 8am-1pm.
And on Thursdays they reopen in the evening: 9am-2pm and then 4-6.30 pm.
The banking system in Spain is safe, and internet banking is very common as it facilitates fund transfers.
It is fairly simple make an international transfer, as long as you have your IBAN and SWIFT code. Generally there are charges for both national and international transfers. However, banks such as Halifax, although not widespread throughout Spain, offer free transfers between all of its branches.
ATMs are plentiful and very easy to find. Four different companies manage the ATMs across Spain, and if the ATM belongs to a company that is not affiliated with your bank, you will be charged a fee for withdrawals. The name of the company with which your bank is affiliated is on the back of your bank card, and it is clearly displayed on all the bank’s ATM machines. The four ATM companies are:
- Servired
- Euro6000
- Telebanco
- 4B
