Getting a bank account in Gran Canaria is a doddle if you have an NIE or residencia. Just pick a bank and give them your NIE number, passport and a proof of address (utility bill, rent contract).
Then sign a lot of bits of paper and you have an account.
In theory, you can open a non-resident bank account with a passport. You may have to try several banks as some won’t do it without a NIE certificate. Commissions are high, so swap over to a resident’s account as soon as you can.
There isn’t much between them, but bear these factors in mind.
Smaller banks have few cashpoints and charges for withdrawing money can be eye-watering.
Some banks, such as Santander, don’t charge monthly commissions if you pay in your salary or pension.
Queues in bank branches get long, so pick a bank with a decent online banking system.
Here’s a selection of the main banks in Gran Canaria
La Caixa
La Caixa took over Bankia and now has more offices and cashpoints than any other Gran Canaria bank. Big branches have English-speaking staff and there is English speaking telephone support and English internet banking.
Santander Central Hispano
The same company as Santander in the UK, but you can’t transfer an account or anything convenient like that. Santander has plenty of Gran Canaria branches, a decent network of ATMs, and offers commission-free banking if you have a salary.
Santander has plenty of Gran Canaria branches, a decent network of ATMs, and offers commission-free banking if you have a salary. It even pays interest on your current account balance.
ING Direct
Dutch bank with a couple of Las Palmas branches. ING has an excellent online bank system and even decent queue management in its branches. A good mortgage option.
EVO Banco
A specialist online bank with a handy branch on Mesa y Lopez.
Bank Inter
A bank that does offer good mortgage terms to non-resident buyers
BBVA
Like Santander, but blue instead of red.
Barclays
The same company as Barclays in the UK, but you wouldn’t know it. If you have a UK Barclays account there is no advantage opening a Spanish Barclays account.
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The single most common question we get in the Gran Canaria Info group is...
What is the weather going to be like during my holiday?
The answer is almost always the same: If you are going to south Gran Canaria's resorts, it is very likely to be sunny every day. Yes, even in the winter. Yes, even though your weather app says it is going to be cloudy. Yes, even in January. And in February, etc.
Obviously it does sometimes rain in Gran Canaria, even in the sun-baked south, and there are occassional cloudy days.
To check for these rare rain and clouds there is no point using generic weather apps because they use data that averages out the weather and temperature across Gran Canaria.
This means that the forecast for Puerto Rico and other resorts includes weather and temperatrure predictions for inland and highland areas that are cooler and cloudier.
So, instead of believing your current weather app use the Spanish weather service website called the AEMET. It's website has detailed and very accurate forecasts for individual resorts, town and even beaches.
Here's the forecast for the Mogán area including Puerto Rico.
The mobile website works very well in English although the app is only in Spanish at the moment.
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