The new year will bring a welcome change for many banking customers in Spain, with a European directive meaning that bank transfers will be free and faster from 2025.
Immediate online transfers will be free at most banks in Spain from January 9th 2025. This is because Spanish banks are adapting to the new European regulations. The change is required by Brussels for the so-called ‘SEPA transfers’, standing for 'Single Euro Payments Area'.
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In March, the EU approved a regulation to standardise the rules on bank transfers. “In order to create an integrated market for immediate credit transfers in euro, it is essential that such transactions are processed in accordance with a common set of rules and requirements,” the regulation states.
Specifically, the Instant Payments Regulation demands that “in order to avoid conflicting requirements and taking into account the fundamental objective of guiding payment service users towards immediate credit transfers in euro,” banks must ensure that the fees charged for immediate credit transfers do not exceed the fees charged for non-immediate credit transfers.
"Any charges levied by a PSP for sending and receiving instant credit transfers shall not be higher than the charges levied by that PSP in respect of sending and receiving other credit transfers of corresponding type," it adds.
In other words, from January 2025 immediate bank transfers cannot be more expensive than ordinary transfers, something that most banks do not charge for anyway. Effectively, by levelling the charges for different types of transfers the regulation is lowering the charge for immediate transfers.
This will be welcomed by banking customers across the country. Currently, many banks in Spain charge fees or commissions for immediate bank transfers, even when done online or via a banking app. Making a normal transfer can take one or two working days, something far from ideal for those needing to transfer funds immediately.
In the case of Bankinter, for example, it charges 0.4 percent of the amount with a minimum of €12. Caixabank charges a fixed fee of €1.99 plus 0.4 percent of the amount transferred, with a minimum of €3.95.
However, following the change it will be possible to make instant, automatic and commission-free transfers.
The OCU, Spain’s main consumer watchdog, has praised the change and its impact on consumers: “Many Spanish banks have been offering immediate transfers for some time, but few consumers use them and prefer ordinary transfers, which are often free, while the others are generally not and can be expensive.”
Be sure to contact your bank for confirmation if you're unsure, or wait for a communication from them to confirm the change. Most of the major banks contacted by Spanish daily newspaper El Diario said that they will not charge for immediate transfers moving forward.
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