Spanish banks have had five years to get their act together and they’re only getting around to it now: You only have until Thursday the 30th to make sure your bank has a photocopy of your ID.

As of the 1st of May (this Friday) you could well find your bank accounts blocked over the whole bank-holiday weekend.

Most people, when they opened their bank accounts, handed over their passports or ID for the bank clerk to take the details before handing it back. However, owing to a new law that comes into effect on the 1st of May 2015 – after a 5-year-period adaption time – if they didn’t make and file a photocopy of that document, your account will be automatically blocked.

You can take the risk that if you bank did not contact you before, it was because they had the necessary photocopy, but do you want to take that risk?

Do yourself a favour and pop into your bank branch with your ID/passport before the 1st so that they can make a copy if they do not already possess one.

If your account is blocked, which means all your associated debit and credit cards too, then when you take your ID in, it will be immediately unblocked – no problem.

The problem is that the 1st is a public holiday, followed by a weekend, meaning that you can’t do anything about it until Monday. Pass the word!

Your call!

(News: Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)