How safe is your money in a Spanish bank?

Key rules

• Limit: Spanish-licensed banks guarantee deposits up to €100,000 per person per bank.
• Joint accounts: A joint account is split equally between holders, so each holder's share counts toward their own limit.
• EU branches: A branch of a bank from another EU country is covered by its home country's guarantee, not Spain's.
• Fintech apps: E-money providers are not covered by a deposit guarantee; your money is only held in separate safeguarded accounts.

How much is protected?

If you hold more than the limit in one bank, the extra is not protected by the guarantee. The guarantee is €100,000 per depositor per credit institution, provided by the Fondo de Garantía de Depósitos de Entidades de Crédito (FGD), and applies to banks, savings banks and credit cooperatives with a Spanish licence. It protects you on the same terms whatever your nationality or residence status; what counts is the bank's licence and your name on the account.

The limit counts all your accounts and deposits in the same bank together, in any currency, converted to euros. Three accounts at one bank still share one €100,000 limit.

If a Spanish-licensed bank fails, you do not apply for a refund in advance. The FGD contacts depositors or publishes how to claim, and repays by transfer to an account you name. It must make the repayment available within 7 working days of the bank being declared unavailable.

Joint accounts

A joint account is split equally between its holders. Two holders with €150,000 in a joint account are each treated as holding €75,000 there. Any other money either of you holds in the same bank is added to that share before the limit is applied.

Which banks does the Spanish guarantee cover?

It depends on the legal entity you are dealing with, not on the brand on the app.

• Spanish-licensed bank, or a Spanish subsidiary of a foreign bank: covered by the Spanish guarantee.
• Branch in Spain of a bank licensed in another EU country: covered by the guarantee of its home country, not the Spanish one. The limit and the process for claiming are set there.

To find out which applies, read your contract. See whether it names a Spanish-licensed company (a subsidiary) or a foreign company operating through a branch. You can also look the entity up in the Bank of Spain's register of entities.

Fintech and e-money apps

Apps such as Wise are e-money or payment institutions, not banks. Your money is held in separate safeguarded accounts, which protects it if the company fails, but it is not a guaranteed deposit. Fintechs that hold a banking licence, such as Revolut Bank UAB and N26, are banks: their home country's guarantee covers up to €100,000 per person, not the Spanish one. Use e-money apps for moving and spending money, not for storing large balances.

How to split a large balance

1. Keep no more than €100,000 per person in any one bank.
2. Use joint accounts to add room. Each holder gets their own share of the limit, but remember the equal split.
3. Open accounts at different banks, each with its own licence. Two brands owned by the same licensed bank share one limit.
4. Check each bank's legal entity before you count it as separate or as covered by Spain.
5. Keep large balances in banks, not in e-money apps.