Advice on Best banks in Portugal

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Member since 07 June 2023

kiransidharNew member15 June 2023 23:14:38

Any suggestions on the best bank that might be right for an expat? My son who bought the property in Madiera managed to open a bank account with Santander purely based on his NIF, UK address and financial /income statement. I as his father who was involved right from the beginning in selecting and buying the property for him am having either a joint account or an independent account for myself. I have been living off and on in the property since October 22 and I have a letter stating from the property owner/company that I have been residing at the property but the bank now insists I must have proof of address in the form of bills in my name at the property address in Portugal. Unfortunately, all the bills are in my son's name and my submission to the bank how can I have bills if I do not have a bank account to pay these bills? That logic does not seem to get through to them. They keep insisting it is the rule that you must have proof of address in the form of bills before they can offer me a bank account. My NIF is in UK address because I have nothing with a Portuguese address. Any advice?

boutdechou39 Contributor

Member since 15 March 2023

boutdechou39Contributor16 June 2023 06:47:21

115

Hi,

I guess you can still open a bank account with your former address in UK, no?

Advantage in Portugal, you can still talk to responsible persons in bank's offices, the best then would be to present them the situation and ask what they could accept as proof of address.

If they are unable to help you then try to visit other banks and ask them frankly, I would suggest you to start with banks like

NovoBanco
BankInter
Caixa Credito Agricola

belliou Serial expat

Member since 16 February 2021

belliouSerial expat16 June 2023 07:47:25

250

En Algarve, BPI est parfaite.

A éviter à tous prix *** et particulièrement agences de Loule, Olhão, Tavira et Faro et ***

Translation : In the Algarve, BPI is perfect.

To be avoided at all costs *** and particularly agencies of Loule, Olhão, Tavira and Faro and ***

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JohnnyPT Portugal Expert

Member since 23 May 2020

JohnnyPTPortugal Expert16 June 2023 08:49:04

4491

Open a bank account in Portugal as a non-resident

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=933658

And remember, it's MADEIRA, not Madiera.

kiransidhar New member

Member since 07 June 2023

kiransidharNew member16 June 2023 17:54:10

@boutdechou39

Thank you for you quick response. My son managed to open his account with Santander using his UK address. However now Santander are saying the riles have changed and even tough I have a NIF, it is on UK address and they can not open a bank account for me unless I show proof of address in Portugal in form of bills. I will try other banks

MrFitz New member

Member since 11 June 2022

MrFitzNew member16 June 2023 20:41:58

@kiransidhar

****

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bettinakozlowski Active member

Member since 13 January 2022

bettinakozlowskiActive member17 June 2023 05:10:16

@belliou ca tombe bien, car c’est ma nouvelle banque et BPI de Almancil a ouvert mon compte à distance, même si nous allons vivre à Porto!

That's good, because it's my new bank and BPI of Almancil opened my account remotely, even though we're going to live in Porto!

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boutdechou39 Contributor

Member since 15 March 2023

boutdechou39Contributor17 June 2023 07:08:31

115

@MrFitz

Sorry but the mentioned bank also require a proof of address, so your advise, which sound more after advertising, doesn't help the author of the initial post

boutdechou39 Contributor

Member since 15 March 2023

boutdechou39Contributor17 June 2023 07:10:12

115

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JohnnyPT Portugal Expert

Member since 23 May 2020

JohnnyPTPortugal Expert17 June 2023 08:07:29

#10

4491

@boutdechou39,

All suggestions are welcome. This forum is in english, but @Bettina's reply follows on from another post in french and for kindness she also replied in french. Banks in Madeira and Algarve are the same ones...

In the context of applying for a visa, you can open an account at any branch as long as the bank is in Portugal. The branches have local directorates, and each of them can make things easier, just to achieve business goals. it shouldn't be like that, but that's the way it is. Because all banks and regional directorates should be governed by the same rules defined by the bank regulators that are the Bank of Portugal and the ECB...

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