Money matters

[BexB]

Hello everyone, new to group but I’ve been following a lot of your posts over the last few months. So my fiancé has FINALLY been granted his travel exemption to move back to the UK and managed to get a flight in October, so excited! Anyway, we’re struggling to get our heads round setting up a UK bank account, transferring his money over to the UK etc. The exchange rate is terrible and the forecast for it is worse! So we could really do with some guidance. Has anyone moved back to the UK recently and have any sage advice for us please? Thank you in advance! 

[Marisawright]

You can’t open a British bank account until you get there. You can walk into one of the big banks the day you arrive and they’ll take your money and open an account, but they won’t allow you to withdraw a penny until you can provide proof of a permanent residential address in the UK, such as an electricity bill. Obviously that might take weeks. 

So, he shouldn’t close his Australian bank accounts and he should plan to use his Australian debit and credit cards for the first few months in the UK. 

Use Moneycorp or Wise to transfer funds when he eventually gets an active British account 

[BexB]

Thank you, we’ll check out those two companies today 

[Wanderer Returns]

14 hours ago, BexB said:

Hello everyone, new to group but I’ve been following a lot of your posts over the last few months. So my fiancé has FINALLY been granted his travel exemption to move back to the UK and managed to get a flight in October, so excited! Anyway, we’re struggling to get our heads round setting up a UK bank account, transferring his money over to the UK etc. The exchange rate is terrible and the forecast for it is worse! So we could really do with some guidance. Has anyone moved back to the UK recently and have any sage advice for us please? Thank you in advance! 

That's a bit of an exaggeration to be fair. For the last two years £1=$1.80 has been the average. Sterling is strong at the moment due to the UK having 'conquered covid', while Australia tries to get past first base. It's killing the economy over here. £1=$1.90 isn't the best exchange rate, but it could be a lot worse. If you open a Wise account you can transfer some of your funds to Sterling and hold it in Wise until your UK bank account is open. That way you've hedged your bets, regardless of exchange rate fluctuations in the near future.

[BexB]

Yes, that’s what we’ve been thinking too. It’s just depressing the amount of money it costs although Wise seem to have the lowest rates at the moment. The timing just sucks  it was 57p to the dollar when we first started looking, now it’s 52p. As you say though, could be worse I guess! 

[Cup Final 1973]

We moved back to the UK at the beginning of May and were able to get almost 56p for most of our money.  I’ve left quite a bit in our Australian account hoping the rate will improve.  I used Send and was very impressed with the service. I had to open an account and send evidence of where the funds had come from but there was no commission and the money was always deposited into our English bank account the same day.  We had kept our UK HSBC bank account with our Australian address for over 10 years which made life a lot easier.  We’ve since opened two more accounts with different banks and had to jump through hoops to do so.  As Marisa said you need evidence of a UK address which is not easy when you have no household bills.  You can apply for a UK driving licence online by submitting your Australian one and paying a fee and that will give you one proof of address.  Banks are often very particular as to what evidence they will accept - for example car insurance with the AA in my husband’s name was refused.  So be prepared for an extended period where you’ll be reliant on your Australian bank.  Credit cards are also very difficult to access if you have no credit history in the UK.  I have a limit on one of £250!!!   I am using it every day and paying it off every other day to establish what a fine upstanding person I am.. If you have evidence of no claims on house insurance and car insurance some UK insurance will accept them.

Good luck.  It is worth the hassle!

[Wanderer Returns]

I maintain 2 UK bank accounts and 3 credit cards, and I'll never close them unless I'm told they no longer support overseas customers. Unlike Australia, UK banks rarely charge an annual fee for account ownership, and owning a UK bank account long-term is also good for your UK credit rating, should you ever wish to return.

[Lavers]

Look at an online bank called Revolut, its one I use and it has better rates than all the other banks etc.

[Marisawright]

8 hours ago, Lavers said:

Look at an online bank called Revolut, its one I use and it has better rates than all the other banks etc.

Actually Revolut is not a bank.  It applied for a UK banking licence this year, I believe, but I don't know whether it's approved yet.  

It gets around that by taking your money and depositing it in a UK bank on your behalf, so it's basically a kind of middle man.  If something goes wrong, you are reliant on the deposit guarantee scheme with the bank the money is in, not Revolut.  

 

Edited August 24, 2021 by Marisawright

[Lavers]

4 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Actually Revolut is not a bank.  It applied for a UK banking licence this year, I believe, but I don't know whether it's approved yet.  

It gets around that by taking your money and depositing it in a UK bank on your behalf, so it's basically a kind of middle man.  If something goes wrong, you are reliant on the deposit guarantee scheme with the bank the money is in, not Revolut.  

 

Correct they use barclays or lloyds, can't remember which one now.

With not having branches they are able to give you the better deals.

[Marisawright]

18 minutes ago, Lavers said:

Correct they use barclays or lloyds, can't remember which one now.

With not having branches they are able to give you the better deals.

You just need to be aware if you have other funds with the same bank that the funds are covered by that bank’s guarantee not by Revolut 

[Wanderer Returns]

On 24/08/2021 at 22:51, Marisawright said:

You just need to be aware if you have other funds with the same bank that the funds are covered by that bank’s guarantee not by Revolut 

It seems unlikely that anyone would maintain a balance in excess of £85,000 in a UK bank account for any period of time, but I guess it's a consideration. The Revolut account would probably solve the OP's dilemma. I assume that Revolut issue customers with a bank card?

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, Wanderer Returns said:

It seems unlikely that anyone would maintain a balance in excess of £85,000 in a UK bank account for any period of time, but I guess it's a consideration. The Revolut account would probably solve the OP's dilemma. I assume that Revolut issue customers with a bank card?

Well, the point is that if you had $40,000 in Barclays Bank accounts (e.g. ISAs and an everyday account), and then you put $70,000 with Revolut and they put it in Barclays too, then you've got $120,000 with Barclays but you're only covered for $85,000.   

 

[Tulip1]

7 hours ago, Wanderer Returns said:

It seems unlikely that anyone would maintain a balance in excess of £85,000 in a UK bank account for any period of time

A great many do.  It’s good of Marisa to highlight it. 

[Lavers]

7 hours ago, Wanderer Returns said:

It seems unlikely that anyone would maintain a balance in excess of £85,000 in a UK bank account for any period of time, but I guess it's a consideration. The Revolut account would probably solve the OP's dilemma. I assume that Revolut issue customers with a bank card?

Yeah you get a card, you can use it just like any other high street bank.

I can't fault it, low transfer fees and the exchange rate is the best you will get.

You can even buy shares and crypto through it.

[Wanderer Returns]

15 hours ago, Tulip1 said:

A great many do.  It’s good of Marisa to highlight it. 

I find that hard to believe as it doesn't make any financial sense, unless you're in the process of a property transaction. The FSCS limit is still a consideration, but a minor one considering that UK banks are now required to keep their commercial and domestic banking operations separate.

[Marisawright]

9 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

I find that hard to believe as it doesn't make any financial sense

Where else would you put your money (unless you're investing in the share market)?

[Wanderer Returns]

7 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Where else would you put your money (unless you're investing in the share market)?

Well that's the obvious place, but there are also bonds, property investments, peer-to-peer lending - and now cryptocurrencies, for a more diverse portfolio. It would be fair to assume that most people are either working or living off a pension, so in either case there's no real need to have tens of thousands in a bank account. Given current interest rates, each day you are literally flushing a little more money down the pan.

[Marisawright]

29 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

Well that's the obvious place, but there are also bonds, property investments, peer-to-peer lending - and now cryptocurrencies, for a more diverse portfolio. It would be fair to assume that most people are either working or living off a pension, so in either case there's no real need to have tens of thousands in a bank account. Given current interest rates, each day you are literally flushing a little more money down the pan.

But you need to be financially literate and also not risk averse to get involved in those things.  There are thousands of retirees with money in term deposits, and especially ISAs in the UK.  

[ramot]

7 hours ago, Marisawright said:

But you need to be financially literate and also not risk averse to get involved in those things.  There are thousands of retirees with money in term deposits, and especially ISAs in the UK.  

Premium bonds, I won 500 pds last month, often win 50pds so was delighted to see the extra zeros. 

[ByoDurbsUKAus]

Hello,

Can I please ask about the process for a travel exemption? I'm exploring the process now.  We need to get out of here as soon as possible.

Thank you

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, ByoDurbsUKAus said:

Hello,

Can I please ask about the process for a travel exemption? I'm exploring the process now.  We need to get out of here as soon as possible.

Thank you

You don't need an exemption to leave Australia now.  No idea if there are any restrictions on entry to the UK.