Entering a payroll every month is one of our best weapons to negotiate the conditions of a checking account with the bank. Many entities undertake to eliminate the costs associated with the operation of their accounts and their cards if the client domiciles their assets in the entity. But what happens if we don’t have a payroll or if, suddenly, we are unemployed and cannot enter it? Are we doomed to pay commissions? The answer is no.
Until recently, the current accounts without commissions that did not require the direct debit of a payroll were the exclusive assets of online banking or were reserved only for young clients. However, in recent years traditional banking has launched accounts without payroll for digital profiles that do not require assuming any link and that not only lack maintenance fees, but also allow free transfers and at least one debit card without cost. This new trend has opened a range of possibilities for all those clients who either do not have payroll or do not want to tie up with a bank. But which ones are the best? According to the ranking of the best payroll accounts of the financial comparator HelpMyCash.com, Openbank, BBVA, N26, Bankia and Abanca offer the best options.
Openbank, the Santander online bank
The Open Current Account of the Santander Bank online bank does not charge administration and maintenance fees and does not require the holder to domicile or payroll or receipts or assume any other type of bonding. It allows free transfers and is accompanied by a free debit card with which to get free money from more than 7,500 ATMs in Spain. It allows you to use Bizum as well as pay with your mobile through the Openbank wallet, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
BBVA bets on virtual accounts
The BBVA Online Account, despite belonging to one of the main banks in Spain, is a checking account without commissions and without linking, which does not require the holder to domicile or payroll or receipts. It is accompanied by a debit card with no annual fees and allows you to make transfers online without cost. Bank customers can withdraw money from more than 6,000 free ATMs.
BBVA account holders can make mobile-to-mobile payments through Bizum and pay for purchases with Apple, Google and Samsung wallets, as well as with the bank’s own app. The account is available only for new customers who hire it through their website or their app.
N26, the bank for those who travel
In the ranking of the best accounts without commissions and without payroll could not miss the fintech banking. The German challenger bank N26 offers an online checking account with Spanish IBAN without transfer fees with a free card with which cash can be withdrawn up to five times a month at any ATM in Spain and the free eurozone. Also, payments in another currency have no surcharges and if cash is withdrawn at an ATM located outside the euro area, the commission is only 1.7%, much lower than that applied by traditional banking (most Spanish banks charge around 4% with a minimum of about three euros for using a foreign ATM). N26 customers with an Android mobile can pay with Google Pay and those with an iPhone, with Apple Pay; the entity does not allow using Bizum.
Bankia and your account for digital profiles
The Bankia ON Account is free and, like the previous ones, it is designed for clients with a digital profile. Does not charge maintenance fees or transfers made through digital channels. It includes a debit card with no fees with which to withdraw money from the more than 5,000 ATMs owned by the entity. It allows using Bizum as well as associating the card with Bankia Wallet, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay to pay for purchases with the mobile. To hire it, it is not necessary to link, but you have to maintain an online profile: the correspondence will be paperless and the account must be managed only by Internet, the bank’s app or ATMs.
Abanca, also for online customers
Abanca Clara Account closes the ranking, which, like the rest, is an online checking account without commissions. Transfers issued by the app or online are free and the associated debit card has no annual fees. With it, you can withdraw money at any ATM in the entity and, outside Galicia, up to five times a month at the ATMs of Bankia, Banco Sabadell, Bankinter, Caja de Arquitectos, Caja de Ingenieros and Euro 6000. Credit card It is free during the first year (if the client does not need it, you can unsubscribe it). From the second year on, if the card is still active, a minimum consumption in purchases of 3,000 euros will have to be made to keep it free of fees or meet the conditions of the premium level of the Zero Commissions program.
Customers can pay with the mobile with Abanca Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay as well as use Bizum. As with the Bankia account, in order to maintain the conditions it is necessary to perform the usual operations by Internet or app.
Also published on Medium.