Ex-pats - Bank, Buiklding Society & Credit Card accounts being automatically closed by more UK banks

[Minxy]

Quite a few MH owners live abroad and mention has been made previously about some banks no longer providing accounts to those non-resident in the UK, but it appears that a few more have now decided to do the same including savings and credit card providers ...

More UK banks to shut British expat accounts – what to do if yours is closed (moneysavingexpert.com)

 

[The Wino]

I suspect it's a bit of a surprise for some. I won't get into the political stuff but I can't recall it being mentioned before the event in 2016

 

[Minxy]

I suspect it's a bit of a surprise for some. I won't get into the political stuff but I can't recall it being mentioned before the event in 2016

Probably because at that time the banks likely didn't even know that they'd have to get 'agreements' with each country and don't want to do so for whatever reason, nothing to do with the 'public vote'.

 

[Jim]

I won't get into the political stuff but I can't recall it being mentioned before the event in 2016

Thats like saying between bites of an apple that you don't want to eat an apple.

Keep your politics out of threads please. Thanks

 

[Nasher]

I love the expression 'Expat'

Brits go to live in other countries and they are called 'Expats'

Foreigners come to live in the UK and they are called 'Immigrants'

And yes, I'm an immigrant - born in England, live in Wales

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[Minxy]

I love the expression 'Expat'

Brits go to live in other countries and they are called 'Expats'

Foreigners come to live in the UK and they are called 'Immigrants'

And yes, I'm an immigrant - born in England, live in Wales

But those from other countries living in the UK may also be called 'Ex-pats' by their country-folk and Brits living abroad may be called immigrants by them too ...

 

[David and Sally]

'scuse my higorance. but why not open an account in their adopted country? Or do they anyway?

 

[EuroTrotters]

'scuse my higorance. but why not open an account in their adopted country? Or do they anyway?

Tax reasons is one reason.

 

[Minxy]

'scuse my higorance. but why not open an account in their adopted country? Or do they anyway?

Part of the reason I believe is the abysmal conversion rate for having your UK pension paid in and it being converted to the local currency, and also some banks charge fees for doing 'normal' stuff that we don't in the UK, such as DDs, cheques etc ... I'm not sure what each country's banks charge but its not free for everything.

 

[Bolti]

The charges are an arm and a leg in Spain and any other bodily parts they can manage to screw you for.

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[Vanman]

Excuse me if this is wrong but I seem to remember some rule being discussed that Govt. Pensions would no longer be paid into foreign bank accounts ... that would get tricky.

 

[BreweryDave]

The solutions are very simple.
Either, put the U.K. account in a friend or family members U.K. address, or use a boatmail address. ( I do the latter)

The reasons are simple, to benefit from the U.K. banking laws guarantees of deposited funds should a bank go belly up, and to have funds transferred at preferential exchange rates at the time of your choosing.

same applies to pensions, they can be paid to EU accounts, but the FX rate is pants. Better into. U.K. account in GBP and transfer when it suits.

I use TransferWise as and when I want funds, direct into my Portuguese bank, and at a far better FX rate than the banks.

Its also usefull when making online purchases from Amazon etc.

 

[Nasher]

Part of the reason I believe is the abysmal conversion rate for having your UK pension paid in and it being converted to the local currency, and also some banks charge fees for doing 'normal' stuff that we don't in the UK, such as DDs, cheques etc ... I'm not sure what each country's banks charge but its not free for everything.

The charges are an arm and a leg in Spain and any other bodily parts they can manage to screw you for.

Rip Off Spain

 

[Minxy]

Revolut might be the answer as you can have an account with them, different levels depending on what you need/want to pay for the privilege and can now pay DDs with it:

Free Account in seconds | Revolut

 

[Carpmart]

It’s really not a difficult challenge to resolve these days with virtual banking via apps. I personally use Starling. Hold funds in GBP and Euro, have a joint account as well and can pay with card in Euro or GBP and the same card in virtual wallets too. Very very simple.

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[Minxy]

It’s really not a difficult challenge to resolve these days with virtual banking via apps. I personally use Starling. Hold funds in GBP and Euro, have a joint account as well and can pay with card in Euro or GBP and the same card in virtual wallets too. Very very simple.

I thought about Starling too but hadn't checked on the Euro account info yet as we've not been abroad since I got mine so haven't needed euros.

 

[spitfire]

I love the expression 'Expat'

Brits go to live in other countries and they are called 'Expats'

Foreigners come to live in the UK and they are called 'Immigrants'

And yes, I'm an immigrant - born in England, live in Wales

Me too . I am an immigrant but folks think it’s posher to call themselves expats lol

 

[spitfire]

'scuse my higorance. but why not open an account in their adopted country? Or do they anyway?

Yes of course I have a french bank account as how else do they take my income tax and pay my bills lol But all income is paid in U.K. then transfer when it suits

 

[spitfire]

Tax reasons is one reason.

?

 

[nicholsong]

The solutions are very simple.
Either, put the U.K. account in a friend or family members U.K. address, or use a boatmail address. ( I do the latter)

The reasons are simple, to benefit from the U.K. banking laws guarantees of deposited funds should a bank go belly up, and to have funds transferred at preferential exchange rates at the time of your choosing.

same applies to pensions, they can be paid to EU accounts, but the FX rate is pants. Better into. U.K. account in GBP and transfer when it suits.

I use TransferWise as and when I want funds, direct into my Portuguese bank, and at a far better FX rate than the banks.

Its also usefull when making online purchases from Amazon etc.

Dave just about sums it all up there.

Those are all the ways I do it, except Boatmail because I still have a house there which is rented out, but I can validly give the address and have the mail forwarded.

The decisions are commercial by individual banks, not law, and my bank does not stop overseas residents having accounts because they are licensed in most countries.

Geoff

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[Pete5996]

To the French, I'm an immigrant. To my countrymen, I should correctly be referred to as an emigrant. 'Expat' to me has always seemed to be a somewhat derogatory term, conjuring up images of squiffy Brits, rich or otherwise, idling their time away in sunny bars, either on the Costa del Sol or on some steamy or dusty oil-field, or perhaps fugitives from the law or anyone they've upset big-time. The reality is somewhat different for most of us.....

Charges for current accounts have been the norm here for many years and some banks offer the option in the UK now. I pay €6/month for my French account and an extra €42/year for the privilege of having a debit card - I think that's why the French love affair with the cheque book continues, much to my frustration at the checkout

My UK bank account receives the payments from my Govt and State pensions, although I do have the option of having them paid directly to my French account, at no cost and, I understand, near-mid-market rates, but so far I prefer to transfer funds when exchange rates suit - although I almost always get it wrong

I used a currency transfer service for many years but realised, a year or two ago, that I would save about £30/month by using Transferwise and that has worked fine so far.

I have children and grandchildren in the UK and still spend a not-insignificant proportion of my income there, so having a UK account is essential. That account now has the Sword of Damocles hanging over it, as Nationwide, with whom I've had an account since 1987, has yet to decide whether to continue its service to French account holders - they've already given notice to Dutch and Italian residents. Ho-hum....

 

[The Wino]

To the French, I'm an immigrant. To my countrymen, I should correctly be referred to as an emigrant. 'Expat' to me has always seemed to be a somewhat derogatory term, conjuring up images of squiffy Brits, rich or otherwise, idling their time away in sunny bars, either on the Costa del Sol or on some steamy or dusty oil-field, or perhaps fugitives from the law or anyone they've upset big-time. The reality is somewhat different for most of us.....

Charges for current accounts have been the norm here for many years and some banks offer the option in the UK now. I pay €6/month for my French account and an extra €42/year for the privilege of having a debit card - I think that's why the French love affair with the cheque book continues, much to my frustration at the checkout

My UK bank account receives the payments from my Govt and State pensions, although I do have the option of having them paid directly to my French account, at no cost and, I understand, near-mid-market rates, but so far I prefer to transfer funds when exchange rates suit - although I almost always get it wrong

I used a currency transfer service for many years but realised, a year or two ago, that I would save about £30/month by using Transferwise and that has worked fine so far.

I have children and grandchildren in the UK and still spend a not-insignificant proportion of my income there, so having a UK account is essential. That account now has the Sword of Damocles hanging over it, as Nationwide, with whom I've had an account since 1987, has yet to decide whether to continue its service to French account holders - they've already given notice to Dutch and Italian residents. Ho-hum....

The question with the UK accounts is how can they really be "free". They obviously cost money to administer the cash points alone must have pretty big costs. Where are the account holders being subsidised from I suspect its people who borrow,businesses (and therefore all of us) etc. I think it was probably at one time selling of PPI!!!!!.

 

[nicholsong]

The question with the UK accounts is how can they really be "free". They obviously cost money to administer the cash points alone must have pretty big costs. Where are the account holders being subsidised from I suspect its people who borrow,businesses (and therefore all of us) etc. I think it was probably at one time selling of PPI!!!!!.

The answer to that is that many like me have accounts with several £ 000s sitting in them for which we get no interest, but the banks can lend out the money at rates upwards from 6%.

I have already given my UK bank notice that if they start charging fees on my account I shall be seeking to charge them interest at commercial rates on my credit balance, or they will suffer the consequences.

Geoff

 

[The Wino]

The answer to that is that many like me have accounts with several £ 000s sitting in them for which we get no interest, but the banks can lend out the money at rates upwards from 6%.

I have already given my UK bank notice that if they start charging fees on my account I shall be seeking to charge them interest at commercial rates on my credit balance, or they will suffer the consequences.

Geoff

If they decide to charge they'll just say go on then find somewhere giving good interest!. People are leaving cash in current accounts because there's nowhere to get much interest not because there's no fees. You might have a big balance I bet the average isn't that high.

 

[SmithsInFrance]

Thanks for that Minxy Girl, very interesting. We spoke to Barclays weeks ago and they said there were no plans, but when I asked them to check with a manager was then told that they would be closing current accounts in France. Since then no news and not according to your info, so fingers crossed. In the meantime we are in the process of opening an account with HSBC just in case...
Agree with Pete5996 that french banks charge a lot for their accounts/cards!

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[gus-lopez]

Everyone charges except it would appear ,the UK.

'scuse my higorance. but why not open an account in their adopted country? Or do they anyway?

Yes I have had one or two or three here for the last 19 years. they charge for anything excpet cash transactions. Pay via internet you pay a fee. draw out 200,000eurs in cash no notice, walk in & no charges same paying it in. Ludicrous systems.
I've just shut all mine & pay all the dd's via revolut with its Lithuanian licence. Soon going to be changed again to Eire I believe?
I also still have 2 x Uk accounts with different banks but don't expect problems with them.

Me too . I am an immigrant but folks think it’s posher to call themselves expats lol

Same here.Expat to me is a worker in another state until they go home.

Yes of course I have a french bank account as how else do they take my income tax and pay my bills lol But all income is paid in U.K. then transfer when it suits

You don't have to. Under the rules of the Single European Payment Sysyem ( SEPA) no entity can refuse payment from any european bank using a European IBAN /BIC. It is an offence to do so under Article 9 of the SEPA Regulations.
IBAN discrimination is a violation of Article 9 of the SEPA Regulation and refusal to comply should be reported to the relevant authority.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:094:0022:0037:en:PDF

Most local businesses have no idea of the rules here but once aquainted & speak to their banks they always comply & accept the new account..

 

[Langtoftlad]

Have I got this right...
Residents living in another country are complaining they can no longer benefit from some of the advantages of the country they've abandoned?

Having your cake & eat it comes to mind.

 

[gus-lopez]

Have I got this right...
Residents living in another country are complaining they can no longer benefit from some of the advantages of the country they've abandoned?

Having your cake & eat it comes to mind.

They need all the help we can give. i'm sure they don't want 00's of 000's of accounts holding large amounts that they use foc just shut & moved elsewhere ?

 

[Ridgeway]

When we left the UK in 2005 we informed Barclays and they stated very clearly that without a UK address we couldn't have an account with them, seemed reasonable.

The Halifax on the other hand didn't seem to mind although as we haven't used the account for years that became defunct.

Not sure now why i'd need an account in the UK ? The one i have here allows me to do all the things i need when back in the UK as a visitor. Of course this may change when it comes to pensions and inheritance etc but there's chuff all i can do about it now

 

[spitfire]

Have I got this right...
Residents living in another country are complaining they can no longer benefit from some of the advantages of the country they've abandoned?

Having your cake & eat it comes to mind.

You might not know but under the double taxation agreement we are obliged to pay tax in the U.K. as well as our adopted country .
You are very welcome to my tax for which I receive no benefit .
Cake and eat it is not at all appropriate . A remark made without knowledge

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