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Banking in Portugal

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swayee
  11/14/2017 14:55 EST

I've been researching bank accounts and was wondering if anyone had any best practices they can share. Specifically this is what I was thinking.

I want to have a bank account that will allow us to hold some funds that are easily accessible in Portugal. By easily accessible I mean that I won't have to pay high ATM fees, I won't be gouged for exchange rates, and if I decide to buy a car, it will be easy to get money from the US into this account.

I was wondering if opening a US bank account with Santander (who has offices where I live) would be a good option. There are quite a few Santander branches in Portugal, so I was wondering if that would work.

If not, is the only other option to just open an account with a local bank there?

croonerjim
  11/14/2017 15:04 EST

I don't think it will matter that a bank has branches in each country since legally they are separate companies. We kept our Chase account and opened an account with a PT bank (Millenium). We use transferwise.com to move money to PT...low fees no exchange fees. And they use actual current FX rates. We use PT ATM for cash from our PT account....no ATM
fees and no fees on bank transfers within PT. Works for us!

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swayee
  11/14/2017 15:50 EST

Thanks croonerjim.

That's good to know. I had heard of transferwise so I'll check them out.

SummerFest
  11/15/2017 07:15 EST

Avoid Transferwise for anything more than you are ready to loose...
Do your homework first.
Names of big investors are theirs the loss will be yours

croonerjim
  11/15/2017 07:19 EST

Why do you say that? It is a large, well funded company backed by major venture capital. Your funds do not actually enter their accounts. More information please.

Countga
  11/15/2017 07:50 EST

SummerFest
How about an explanation of what you mean? I have used Transferwise for over a year & have never had a problem with them. They guarantee the rate for 24 hours and their cost is low for transfer amounts under $5000. There are sites that compare which are the best sites for transferring funds. So, please expand on what you are trying to say here so that everyone understands. Thanks,
countga

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AnchorLess provides services to help you settle into your new life in Portugal. you are guaranteed to have access to a convenient, quick and reliable service, with a team always ready to answer all of your questions about your new adventure.

Click connect to have our partner contact you via e-mail and/or phone.

AnchorLessAnchorLess

AnchorLess provides services to help you settle into your new life in Portugal. you are guaranteed to have access to a convenient, quick and reliable service, with a team always ready to answer all of your questions about your new adventure.
Connect

Click connect to have our partner contact you via e-mail and/or phone.

pksolomon
  11/15/2017 10:36 EST

Hello croonerjim,

Question: Do you currently have to pay any banking fees when you keep a minimum amount in your PT account in Euros? Also, did the bank require you to have some type of healthcare when opening an account? Did you use the bank's suggested healthcare or did you go via someone else, e.g. Afpop/Medal?
Thanks in advance for your input.
Philomena

JAfan333
  11/17/2017 13:50 EST

We have an issue opening a bank acct. We are in a short term residence (3 mo, next one will be 6 mo). This means we can't provide a utility bill or similar proof of current residence, even though we did get FIN numbers and my wife (an EU citizen) got a five year resident visa both using the temporary address. A tax accountant advising us said this is only to ensure that new accounts aren't set up for money laundering and the like, and suggested we just bring in a recent tax return. The address on that is a house we've now sold, but he seems to think the issue for the bank is who and not where. Will let you all know if that works.

drewmckee
  11/18/2017 08:48 EST

I use Novo Banco for the past two years without a problem. The process to open the account was rather straight forward, their website is in English, their iPhone APP works great, and I have a local ATM/Debit/Credit card(s) linked to the account.

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Learn More

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