My family recently sent me money to my Santander account. I was expecting to receive €5000, but when I checked, only €4965 had arrived—a full €35 was missing! I asked Santander about it, and they said they didn’t charge me anything. It wasn’t until later that I figured out an intermediary bank had deducted a fee. It really catches you off guard; I had never even heard of this before and felt like I’d been silently ripped off.
I’m sure many newcomers to Spain have encountered similar situations with Spanish bank fees, or perhaps haven’t even noticed the amount was reduced. To put it simply, an intermediary bank fee occurs during international transfers when the sending and receiving banks for bank transfers in Spain don’t have a direct relationship. The money then has to pass through one or more ‘middlemen’ banks. Each middleman might take a cut for their service. This fee is typically anywhere from €15 to €50, and it feels like a total lottery as to how much you’ll be charged.
How to Avoid or Reduce These Fees?
After some research and learning from my mistakes, I’ve put together a few tips that I hope will help everyone:
1. Proactively Provide Intermediary Bank Information
This is the most direct and effective method. Before the transfer is made, ask your Spanish receiving bank for their ‘intermediary bank information’. You can usually find this in the international transfer guidelines on the bank’s website, or you can ask a teller at a branch for the routing details. Once you have this information, provide it in the designated field when initiating the transfer. This locks in the transfer route, preventing the system from randomly choosing an expensive intermediary bank. Some designated routes are even free.
2. Understand the Fee Structures of Different Banks
Not all intermediary bank fees are the same. I’ve compiled a general overview of Spanish bank fees, but please note that these costs change frequently and this is for reference only. It’s always best to confirm the latest fees yourself before making a transfer.
| Spanish Bank | Common Intermediary Bank | Approx. Fee Range (€) |
|---|
| Santander | J.P. Morgan Chase | 20 - 40 |
| BBVA | Deutsche Bank | 15 - 35 |
| CaixaBank | Barclays Bank PLC | 20 - 45 |
| Sabadell | Bank of America | 25 - 50 |
3. Consider Modern Transfer Services
If you don’t have to use a traditional bank wire transfer, there are many excellent online transfer platforms available today, such as Wise, Remitly, and others. Their advantages are transparent fees, better exchange rates, and usually no hidden intermediary bank charges because they operate with local accounts in many countries. For smaller amounts, these services are often much more cost-effective than traditional banks. For larger transfers, however, you should still calculate the total cost to see which method is cheaper. In any case, it’s always good to have more options.
I hope this post is helpful to everyone! Feel free to add your own experiences in the comments below. Share which bank you use and whether you’ve been charged intermediary fees—let’s help each other avoid these pitfalls! Don’t let the banks fleece us!
