PaulVazz Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Hi there, So I'm wondering if there's any bank in the UK who'll let you open a bank account without proof of residence? Ideally I'd like to open a UK account before moving there so I can move money across earlier, but it seems all banks require a UK address. Any assistance would be appreciated. thanks Paul.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Barclays and Santander both told me that the new money laundering laws prohibit banks from opening accounts for non-residents - and that any bank which still does so, is breaking the law. I was able to open an account the day I arrived by showing my passport, but all I could do was deposit money. They then told me to make an appointment with a "consultant" once I had proof of address to get the account fully set up. After the appointment, it was another week or two before I got my ATM card. So really, I might as well have waited until I had proof of residence anyway. If you use a money transfer service like Moneycorp, you can transfer your money to them (and convert it to GBP), then it can sit in your Moneycorp account until you've got the British account open. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 You can open a multi-currency account in Australia which is probably just as good if not a lot more flexible. I have an HSBC Everyday Global account. This can have up to 10 different foreign currencies linked to it. So you just have a GBP sub account and transfer money into that at the time of your choosing and get the exchange rate on that day. I have USD, EUR, GBP and NZD set up. They are great for travelling. When in an overseas country just use the card and it automatically takes the money out of the local account. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulVazz Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 44 minutes ago, Parley said: You can open a multi-currency account in Australia which is probably just as good if not a lot more flexible. I have an HSBC Everyday Global account. This can have up to 10 different foreign currencies linked to it. So you just have a GBP sub account and transfer money into that at the time of your choosing and get the exchange rate on that day. I have USD, EUR, GBP and NZD set up. They are great for travelling. When in an overseas country just use the card and it automatically takes the money out of the local account. Yeah I’ve thought about this kind of account. Do you know if Is it easy to transfer cash from the HSBC account to a UK account once you’re living in the UK? And if the money is in GBP in the HSBC account would you get charged fees for transferring to the UK account? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 23 minutes ago, PaulVazz said: Yeah I’ve thought about this kind of account. Do you know if Is it easy to transfer cash from the HSBC account to a UK account once you’re living in the UK? And if the money is in GBP in the HSBC account would you get charged fees for transferring to the UK account? I'm not 100% sure on that. It is fine to use with a debit card and for normal purchases etc. But don't know if you have £500000 in it how that would work. You might have to ask HSBC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortlepuss Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 On 12/02/2019 at 18:00, Parley said: You can open a multi-currency account in Australia which is probably just as good if not a lot more flexible. I have an HSBC Everyday Global account. This can have up to 10 different foreign currencies linked to it. So you just have a GBP sub account and transfer money into that at the time of your choosing and get the exchange rate on that day. I have USD, EUR, GBP and NZD set up. They are great for travelling. When in an overseas country just use the card and it automatically takes the money out of the local account. Don't suppose you know if you can receive payments from UK source into UK sterling component without paying currency transfer fees? If so, this account would be brilliant for me.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 7 hours ago, Chortlepuss said: Don't suppose you know if you can receive payments from UK source into UK sterling component without paying currency transfer fees? If so, this account would be brilliant for me.... Yes you can 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicedaniels Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Have you considered open banking apps like revolut and monzo? Haven't tried them myself but I've heard friends say they can be quite useful for this sort of thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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