Bank Robber
Ask about accounts, fees and transfers precisely — and confirm every detail out loud.
The rule at a Latin American bank: never assume the fees — ask directly. The key word is la comisión; in Mexico the monthly charge is la comisión por manejo de cuenta, and the IVA is often charged on top, so ask about that too. Watch the regional vocabulary: a checking account is la cuenta corriente almost everywhere but la cuenta de cheques in Mexico, and for transfers Mexico doesn't use the IBAN — you'll be asked for la CLABE interbancaria, with SPEI as the instant option. &Be teaches this with no flashcards and no drills: you learn each term by using it out loud in a real bank conversation.
Below: the words each lesson gets you saying, the Mexico-vs-everywhere-else vocabulary that trips people up, and a way to rehearse the whole counter conversation before you're standing at one.
The warm-up pack
The questions that actually get answered at a teller's window, not a glossary of account types.
01 · Opening the account you actually want
Quiero abrir la cuenta corriente.
I'd like to open a checking account.
Say the account type plainly and the rest of the conversation moves fast — no guessing what you're there for.
02 · The one that pays you interest
Prefiero la cuenta de ahorros.
I'd rather have a savings account.
Prefiero does real work here — it tells the teller you've already compared your options.
03 · Both your names on the paperwork
Tenemos la cuenta conjunta.
We have a joint account.
One clean line to explain why two people need to be on the same form.
04 · Confirming whose account this is
¿Quién es el titular de la cuenta?
Who's the account holder?
A fair question to ask before you sign anything on someone else's behalf.
05 · The question worth asking before you sign
¿Cuánto es el cargo mensual?
How much is the monthly fee?
Ask this before you agree to anything — a monthly charge is easy to miss until it's already been taken.
06 · A short question worth confirming
¿Sin comisiones?
No fees?
Two words, and you've made the bank say it back to you instead of just assuming.
07 · Spotting the extra charge early
¿Cuál es el recargo?
What's the surcharge?
Recargo is the word for the extra charge that isn't the main fee — worth naming before it appears on a statement.
08 · What's actually left in there
¿Cuál es el saldo?
What's the balance?
The plain, direct way to ask — no need to dress it up.
09 · Getting it in writing
¿Me puede dar el extracto bancario?
Can you give me the bank statement?
A record you can actually check later, instead of trusting what you were told at the counter.
10 · Where a transfer conversation starts
Necesito hacer la transferencia bancaria.
I need to make the bank transfer.
State what you need first, then answer the follow-up questions — that's the order that actually moves things along.
11 · Before the money crosses a border
¿Cuál es el tipo de cambio?
What's the exchange rate?
Ask this before an international transfer, not after — it changes what actually arrives on the other end.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/bank-robberRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Most of Latin America |
|---|---|---|
| checking account | la cuenta de cheques | la cuenta corriente |
| PIN code | el NIP | el código PIN |
| bank statement | el estado de cuenta | el extracto bancario |
| to withdraw cash | sacar dinero | retirar efectivo |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Olivia
Your vocabulary teacher for this pack
No flashcards, no worksheets — in the Bank Robber lessons you talk your way through the bank. Olivia plays out the scenarios with you: opening or changing an account, pinning down exactly what la comisión covers, and setting up a transfer abroad — she'll ask for the amount, the beneficiario, and when it needs to arrive, and you confirm each detail back out loud, the way a careful customer actually does. By the end, asking cuándo le llega is reflex, not translation.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Bank Robber is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
Ask directly — assuming is the classic mistake. Use la comisión for a fee and el cargo mensual for the monthly charge; in Mexico that's usually called la comisión por manejo de cuenta, and the IVA is charged on top, so ask about it separately. An account advertised sin comisiones is fee-free.
La CLABE is Mexico's 18-digit interbank account number — it's what you give for transfers instead of a European IBAN. A SPEI transfer is the instant kind; otherwise you're sending a normal transferencia.
La cuenta corriente (checking) and la cuenta de ahorros (savings) — though Mexico says la cuenta de cheques for checking, and in Mexico and Colombia you'll hear the singular cuenta de ahorro. A joint account is la cuenta conjunta, or more formally la cuenta mancomunada.
The textbook phrase is retirar efectivo; in everyday Mexican Spanish it's sacar dinero — or the very casual sacar lana. To ask your balance, skip the formal el saldo and just ask cuánto tengo.
The formal term is el plazo de llegada, but in conversation people just ask cuándo le llega. If it's urgent, ask for la transferencia inmediata — in Mexico that means SPEI — and check los gastos de envío for international transfers.
