Last Updated on March 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question about the non lucrative Spain visa renewal
Bank Question:
This will be our 2nd month in Spain on non lucrative Spain visa and so far we are doing fine with just having Wise account. I am paying my rentals, hydro bills, day to day items with Wise. I read many posts about Spanish banks on the monthly fees and the hassle to open an account. My question are:
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Start the Moving to Spain Hub →– For the NLV renewal, is it mandatory to show the funds in a spanish account or is it ok with Wise Euro account ?
– What are the things that can be done with spanish bank accounts and cannot be done by Wise or N26?.
I am trying to figure out if I need to open a spanish bank account in the very short term (1-2 years).
Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
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Explore Cities →“Not sure about the NLV but I don’t think it has to be in a particular account — just available to you. One circumstance when you absolutely need a Spanish account is if/when the state needs to pay you anything, as they will only pay to one. So any benefits at all. Covid caught out a lot of people who were entitled to benefits.”
“I renewed using bank statements from US bank account“
“You will be asked got a brick and mortar Spanish bank when renewing in many places. Not all the money has to be in it but they will ask to see it. However, it does vary place to place and the criteria change pretty often”
“Separate from renewal . I think you will need a Spanish account tied to your NIE# for paying your Spanish taxes.”
“I opened an N26 account and used it only for paying taxes. When I did my first NLV renewal, all my money was in US banks except a small amount in N26 (as explained above).”
“A Spanish bank account is helpful for electric/gas/water/internet payments. I also have found it’s cheaper to just transfer money into a Spanish account and pay the transfer fee once than to pay an international fee each time I use my US card or withdraw from an ATM.”
“The virtual banks don’t do mortgage”
“We have lived here for 4 years and never had a Spanish account. We have an N26 account though.”
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