International transfers with Caixa Bank guide

Caixa Bank®¹ is one of the largest banks in Spain, and also offers multilingual services for international clients through its brand HolaBank®².

If you’re a customer of Caixa Bank you may be wondering about how Caixa Bank international transfers work.

This guide covers all you need to know, including the Caixa Bank international transfer fee and the average Caixa Bank international transfer time.

We’ll also look at how to send overseas payments with alternative services, like low cost money transmitter Wise, so you can compare your options and find the best fit for your needs.

What is Caixa Bank?

Caixa Bank is the third largest bank in Spain, operating through a large branch network, online and mobile banking platforms, and also offering English and multi-lingual services for international customers, through HolaBank.

HolaBank has services online in 22 languages, and operates through a branch network spanning 170 branches.

International transfer with Caixa Bank: step by step

If you’ve got a Caixa Bank account you’ll be able to send an international transfer online or in a branch.

If you’d prefer to send your money in a branch you’ll be guided through the process by a member of staff, including the information that’s required to send your payment, and the fees and exchange rates that apply.

Sending a payment online or in the Caixa Bank mobile app is usually a more convenient option compared to sending money in a branch.

There’s no need to even leave home — and you certainly won't have to wait in line.

Here’s a quick step by step guide to sending money overseas with Caixa Bank online, assuming you’re making a payment to the US³:

Step 1. Log into Caixa Bank’s online or mobile banking system

Step 2. Select International Transfers

Step 3. Enter the amount you want to send, and the currency it should be received in

Step 4. Choose between an OUR, SHA or BEN payment depending on who will pay the fees

Step 5. Enter the recipient’s details

Step 6. Check, confirm and your money will be sent

When sending money from Spain to the US you may be offered different payment types depending on who will pick up the costs of the transfer.

This option isn’t always available — it’ll depend on the country you’re sending to.

Where available your choices are:
OUR: all costs paid by sender SHA: costs shared between sender and recipient BEN: all costs paid by recipient

What information do you need for an international transfer with Caixa Bank?

The exact information needed to send a Caixa Bank international transfer depends on where you’re sending money to. In Europe you’ll usually need:

• Recipient name
• Recipient IBAN
• Recipient BIC/SWIFT

And to send to the US you’ll probably need:

• Recipient name
• Recipient’s bank name
• Recipient account and routing number
• Recipient BIC/SWIFT

You’ll be guided through the process of sending your transfer — including confirmation of the information required — either by a member of staff in a branch, or via on screen prompts if you’re sending online.

Send money to Caixa Bank with Wise

Sending money to and from other countries can get expensive — especially if your bank charges high fees.

Wise, a specialist money transmitter platform, provides a simple solution to large transfer fees and poor exchange rates, letting you send money to and from Brazil with ease.

At Wise, you can always expect a fair exchange rate, with the opportunity to send payments to 70+ countries using the mid-market exchange rate.

Their simple online calculator breaks down the whole process for you, including transparent and upfront fee information for every transaction*.

With the Wise Account, you can also:
Get paid like a local in 9 currencies Hold, send, spend and convert 40+ currencies at once Send money overseas with low and transparent fees, Order a Wise card for a one time fee of just 9 USD — for use in 150+ countries Get the mid-market exchange rates on all transactions.

It’s quick, easy and free to open a Wise Account online. And there’s even a handy Wise app, so you can manage everything from your phone.

Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up-to-date pricing and fee information

Transferring money to the US with Caixa Bank

If you need to transfer money with Caixa Bank to the US you’ll need to look out for the terms and conditions, as well as the fees and delivery times, for non-SEPA payments.

We’ll cover SEPA payments with Caixa Bank in more detail a little later. Here’s what you need to know.

How long do Caixa Bank international transfers take?

Caixa Bank transfers to the US (and other non SEPA payments) are likely to be processed through the SWIFT network, which can mean they take 3 — 5 business days to arrive. The final delivery time will depend on the exact payment route, value and currency.

Caixa Bank international transfer fees and limits

Caixa Bank international transfer fees vary depending on the account type you have and where the payment is being sent.

Some accounts may have a certain number of SEPA or international transfers included as part of the maintenance charge, or may have preferential rates based on meeting eligibility criteria.

As an example, let’s look at the Caixa Bank/HolaBank fees for sending money to the US, with the Living Solutions account:

Service	Caixa Bank/HolaBank fee⁴
All non-SEPA payments	SHA payment — 0.6%, minimum payment of 15 EUR OUR payment — 0.7%, minimum payment of 27 EUR
Currency conversion fee	2.5%

How safe are international transfers with Caixa Bank?

Caixa Bank and HolaBank are safe, reliable and fully regulated.

Can you track Caixa Bank international transfers?

Depending on your account type you may be able to track your Caixa Bank international transfer by logging into your online or mobile banking service and looking for the pending payment.

SEPA transfers with Caixa Bank

Because Spain is part of the SEPA area, which allows euro transfers to be made to other SEPA countries as easily as a domestic payment, Caixa Bank transfers within SEPA have different fees compared to sending to the US.

SEPA transfers are cheap or even free, while payments in other currencies and outside of the SEPA area have higher costs.

Caixa Bank transfers to other SEPA countries, in euros, are also fast. In fact, they can arrive on the same day, and will take no more than 1 business day to be deposited⁵.

Here’s a look at the Caixa Bank SEPA fees:

Service	Caixa Bank/HolaBank fee (Living Solutions Account package)
SEPA transfer online/ATM	24 transactions per year, to a maximum of 20,000 EUR, included in account package After that, transfers under 20,000 EUR in value are free Transfers of 20,000 EUR+ cost 0.4%, minimum payment of 3.95 EUR
SEPA transfer in branch	0.4%, minimum payment of 3.95 EUR

Alternatives to Caixa Bank for international transfers

Sending money from Caixa Bank or HolaBank in Spain to the US can come with fairly high fees, thanks to the minimum transfer fee of 15 EUR or 27 EUR depending on payment type.

There’s also a 2.5% currency conversion fee to consider. Compare the costs of sending your transfer with Caixa Bank against a couple of alternatives.

If you want to send your money online or in an app, Wise can help. Send payments funded by local bank transfer or card in euros, for deposit in the US in dollars.

All currency conversion uses the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees from 0.43%⁶. Your funds will be deposited in your recipient’s bank account automatically for convenience, and can even arrive quickly or instantly⁷.

You’ll see a delivery estimate before you confirm the transfer, and the fees and exchange rate is easy to check and compare before you get started.

Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information

Another convenient alternative is Western Union®⁸. If you prefer to send your payment in person you can do so via a Western Union agent — or use their online and in-app service instead.

Pay for your transfer conveniently online, in app or in person using cash, and choose to have the money deposited in the recipient’s bank or collected in cash in the US.

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Caixa Bank is a popular and trusted Spanish bank which offers international payments in the SEPA area and internationally.

If you need to send a Caixa Bank international transfer — or if you bank with their multilingual international arm, Hola Bank — this guide has all you need to know to get started.

Compare the costs of your payment with Caixa Bank against alternative services like Money Transmitter Wise, to see which is the best value for you.

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1. Caixa Bank
2. HolaBank
3. Caixa Bank - transfers to the US
4. HolaBank fees
5. Caixa Bank - SEPA
6. Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information
7. The speed of transaction claim depends on funds availability, approval by Wise's proprietary verification system and systems availability of our partners' banking system, and may not be available for all transactions
8. Western Union

Sources checked on 07.19.2023