Barclays closing accounts if non UK address

[formerlondoner]

Hi all, This is my first post here. I came here also looking for advice as I also got a rude text from Barclays saying they had to close my account, which I've had for more than 20 years.

As I get a regular GBP allowance into it and also use my debit card to pay for some UK based services fee-free, I need a new account with a UK sort code, and I would also need to transfer the GBP I already have in the account straight into GBP without incurring any exchange fees. Does anyone know if Wise does that?

There are international options with some very high minimum requirements which I can't meet. But do you think any would allow some flexibility if contacted directly?

Also - I've already sent Barclays my Australian tax details, so they aren't closing it because of that. It's just the 'too expensive/complicated basket' for them I think.  I always declare my allowance to the ATO.

[Marisawright]

2 hours ago, formerlondoner said:

Hi all, This is my first post here. I came here also looking for advice as I also got a rude text from Barclays saying they had to close my account, which I've had for more than 20 years.

As I get a regular GBP allowance into it and also use my debit card to pay for some UK based services fee-free, I need a new account with a UK sort code, and I would also need to transfer the GBP I already have in the account straight into GBP without incurring any exchange fees. Does anyone know if Wise does that?

It doesn't matter how long you've held your account.  As you say, it's just that complying with the rules has got too complicated and expensive, so international accounts just aren't profitable for them any more. 

If you're transferring GBP into GBP then there aren't going to be any exchange fees. 

[InnerVoice]

On 07/06/2023 at 08:01, Ausvisitor said:

The simple "work-around" is to use a family UK address as yours.

Yes technically it breaks their policy (but policy isn't law) and so if they did find out (and how would they?) the most they could do is close your account and they are doing that anyway so you would only be in the same position.

What this all does suggest though is that you certainly shouldn't be switching correspondence addresses to an overseas one with the banks anymore 

That isn't a simple work-around if you no longer have family in the UK. Most of those concerned about the closures are retirees with a UK pension income stream. Many are elderly, so their immediate family may have long since departed. And if you never change your address, then you will always run the risk that important mail will be sent to a location where you're no longer in contact with a trusted recipient. 

[Ken]

On 08/06/2023 at 20:12, Marisawright said:

If you're transferring GBP into GBP then there aren't going to be any exchange fees. 

It used to be that Wise charged a fee for Australian residents holding more than 13,000 GBP in their account (there was a separate limit for each currency so you could have a lot more than that provided it was spread across multiple currencies) due to the rules for a "Purchased Payment Facility" that Wise operate under in Australia requiring them to hold extra capital in excess of customer balances.

I'm pleased to say that fee has been scrapped as of June 2023. Basically, rising interest rates mean than Wise can now earn enough interest on your deposits (they don't pay you any interest) so they no longer need to charge any extra to cover that expense. So, you can keep any amount you want in your Wise account fee free - just be aware you'd be better off if it was in an interest-bearing account somewhere else!

Beyond the lack of any interest, the only remaining disadvantage of a Wise account over a traditional bank account that I'm aware of is that you can't deposit a cheque in it. Thankfully cheques are dying out, so it won't be the issue that it once was for much longer.

Edited June 10, 2023 by Ken

[Parley]

1 hour ago, Ken said:

It used to be that Wise charged a fee for Australian residents holding more than 13,000 GBP in their account (there was a separate limit for each currency so you could have a lot more than that provided it was spread across multiple currencies) due to the rules for a "Purchased Payment Facility" that Wise operate under in Australia requiring them to hold extra capital in excess of customer balances.

I'm pleased to say that fee has been scrapped as of June 2023. Basically, rising interest rates mean than Wise can now earn enough interest on your deposits (they don't pay you any interest) so they no longer need to charge any extra to cover that expense. So, you can keep any amount you want in your Wise account fee free - just be aware you'd be better off if it was in an interest-bearing account somewhere else!

Beyond the lack of any interest, the only remaining disadvantage of a Wise account over a traditional bank account that I'm aware of is that you can't deposit a cheque in it. Thankfully cheques are dying out, so it won't be the issue that it once was for much longer.

Don't forget the exchange rate risk of keeping money in a foreign currency account when you live in Australia. You may end up making money or losing money when you need it in Australia.

[formerlondoner]

On 10/06/2023 at 13:32, Ken said:

It used to be that Wise charged a fee for Australian residents holding more than 13,000 GBP in their account (there was a separate limit for each currency so you could have a lot more than that provided it was spread across multiple currencies) due to the rules for a "Purchased Payment Facility" that Wise operate under in Australia requiring them to hold extra capital in excess of customer balances.

If I am transferring money to a Wise account from my UK account will I pay a fee? Someone said it won't cost money to go from GBP to GBP but does Wise include a UK sort code?

[InnerVoice]

14 minutes ago, formerlondoner said:

If I am transferring money to a Wise account from my UK account will I pay a fee? Someone said it won't cost money to go from GBP to GBP but does Wise include a UK sort code?

No, you only pay a fee when you convert funds into another currency.

Yes, the UK Wise account includes a UK sort code.

[Ken]

47 minutes ago, formerlondoner said:

If I am transferring money to a Wise account from my UK account will I pay a fee? Someone said it won't cost money to go from GBP to GBP but does Wise include a UK sort code?

No fee for transferring from GBP to GBP (in either direction). Yes, Wise has a UK sort code for GBP.

There is a fee for transferring from AUD to AUD out of (but not in to) Wise. The fee is 57 cents.

PS: Sorry, I didn't notice that InnerVoice had already answered this.

Edited June 12, 2023 by Ken

[mxh]

Has anyone heard anything more on this? 

I received a text message from Barclays at the start of June saying that I'll need to close my account, but have heard nothing since. No letter, no messages when I log on to the online banking etc. And I'm continuing to use it without any issues.

So has anyone had their account closed yet? Or been given any indication of when it might happen?

[deanblb]

My wife banks with Barclays and her letter said her account would be closed in November. However, every time she tried to transfer her money to Wise, Barclays stopped the payment. Then followed never ending calls to there customer service who asked why she was doing the transfer.

[Dcw]

I’ve been told my account will close at the end of November. I’ve already moved completely to Wise, so my pensions now get paid straight into my Wise account using the sort code and account number provided. All working fine.

I also used Wise to convert the proceeds of a house sale to AUD. The sale proceeds were initially paid into my Barclays account and I then converted to AUD and transferred to my Ozzie account in 10k pound packets over the last 6 months. It’s all worked fine and my Barclays account is now empty.

[InnerVoice]

15 hours ago, Dcw said:

I’ve been told my account will close at the end of November. I’ve already moved completely to Wise, so my pensions now get paid straight into my Wise account using the sort code and account number provided. All working fine.

I also used Wise to convert the proceeds of a house sale to AUD. The sale proceeds were initially paid into my Barclays account and I then converted to AUD and transferred to my Ozzie account in 10k pound packets over the last 6 months. It’s all worked fine and my Barclays account is now empty.

Good move, and there hasn't been a better time to move money across. £1 = $1.90 - hasn't been that high for ages.

[Parley]

It is important to understand however that Wise is not a bank, it is a Financial Technology Company.

If it were to fail while holding a large amount of your funds, my understanding is you will not be covered by any of the government schemes that protect your money in a normal bank.

[InnerVoice]

16 minutes ago, Parley said:

It is important to understand however that Wise is not a bank, it is a Financial Technology Company.

If it were to fail while holding a large amount of your funds, my understanding is you will not be covered by any of the government schemes that protect your money in a normal bank.

That's a good point. I was chatting with someone earlier this evening who had been using Wise 'like a bank' and claimed to have been the victim of fraud. They said that the there was no recourse for compensation like you might expect from a regular bank, although I only have their word for this and limited information regarding the incident.

[Ken]

19 hours ago, Parley said:

It is important to understand however that Wise is not a bank, it is a Financial Technology Company.

If it were to fail while holding a large amount of your funds, my understanding is you will not be covered by any of the government schemes that protect your money in a normal bank.

If you live in Australia, it is an "Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (ADI) limited to providing Purchased Payment Facilities". The only other organisation with this same status is Paypal. Despite their ADI status neither Wise nor Paypal are covered by the Financial Claims Scheme.

[Tulip1]

Wise has good rates but that comes with a risk, albeit a very small one.  I suppose if you’re transferring huge amounts then the save on rates may be worth it although you have more to lose if it all goes wrong.  I recently transferred $46k to Australia and decided to check what I’d save if I used Wise and whether it was worth the hassle.   It wasn’t so I sent it via my own bank.  To use Wise I would have saved myself £36.  I couldn’t be bothered to spend time opening a new account and having the extra worry.  

[rammygirl]

19 hours ago, Tulip1 said:

Wise has good rates but that comes with a risk, albeit a very small one.  I suppose if you’re transferring huge amounts then the save on rates may be worth it although you have more to lose if it all goes wrong.  I recently transferred $46k to Australia and decided to check what I’d save if I used Wise and whether it was worth the hassle.   It wasn’t so I sent it via my own bank.  To use Wise I would have saved myself £36.  I couldn’t be bothered to spend time opening a new account and having the extra worry.  

Your bank must have given good rates then. Usually it would be hundreds different. 

[Tulip1]

1 hour ago, rammygirl said:

Your bank must have given good rates then. Usually it would be hundreds different. 

Does everyone check each time though or just use Wise on the assumption it will be much cheaper.  I checked several times over a period of a few weeks and it was always only just over £30 difference.  It had arrived by the following day too so for safety and no hassle it was a no brainer. 

[rammygirl]

1 hour ago, Tulip1 said:

Does everyone check each time though or just use Wise on the assumption it will be much cheaper.  I checked several times over a period of a few weeks and it was always only just over £30 difference.  It had arrived by the following day too so for safety and no hassle it was a no brainer. 

I check two fx companies, wise and my bank (who don’t guarantee the rate) when transferring large amounts. So far despite fees wise gets me more dollars in the bank here. On bigger transfers from pounds to dollars it was hundreds of dollars difference from worse to best. My bank usually at the bottom. 
the actual cost to transfer is immaterial it is the final result that matters. 

 

Edited July 24, 2023 by rammygirl

[formerlondoner]

As an update to this thread, I found out I could set up a new British HSBC account by applying at https://www.hsbc.com.au/international/overseas-account-opening/ and providing my Australian details. Some remote authentication methods ensued but it was all relatively straightforward. It may not be as fully featured as my old account but it will do the job. I had set up a Wise account prior to this but I learned that, as has been posted here, they don't have the same fraud protections as other banks.

[Ken]

19 hours ago, formerlondoner said:

As an update to this thread, I found out I could set up a new British HSBC account by applying at https://www.hsbc.com.au/international/overseas-account-opening/ and providing my Australian details. Some remote authentication methods ensued but it was all relatively straightforward. It may not be as fully featured as my old account but it will do the job. I had set up a Wise account prior to this but I learned that, as has been posted here, they don't have the same fraud protections as other banks.

I don't think there is anything lacking in the fraud protection offered by Wise compared to any other bank and I don't think anything has been posted here to say so. The one thing they do lack is a government backed compensation scheme in the event they go bankrupt. These are offered (up to certain limits) on mainstream bank accounts in both the UK and Australia.

[FirstWorldProblems]

On 14/10/2023 at 11:58, formerlondoner said:

As an update to this thread, I found out I could set up a new British HSBC account by applying at https://www.hsbc.com.au/international/overseas-account-opening/ and providing my Australian details. Some remote authentication methods ensued but it was all relatively straightforward. It may not be as fully featured as my old account but it will do the job. I had set up a Wise account prior to this but I learned that, as has been posted here, they don't have the same fraud protections as other banks.

Thanks for sharing this. As a U.K. HSBC customer your post got me wondering if I can set up a HSBC Australia account from the U.K.  I just did it online from my phone in 15 mins and thought I would share in case it helps anyone else. Very easy to do.  You need a form of ID that you can take a photo of, your employer address and your UTR (unique tax reference - will be on your tax return or tax code document). 

Edited October 15, 2023 by FirstWorldProblems

[formerlondoner]

On 15/10/2023 at 17:12, Ken said:

I don't think there is anything lacking in the fraud protection offered by Wise compared to any other bank and I don't think anything has been posted here to say so. The one thing they do lack is a government backed compensation scheme in the event they go bankrupt. These are offered (up to certain limits) on mainstream bank accounts in both the UK and Australia.

Thanks, that is good to know. I just had a contact elsewhere mention that they aren't as geared up to deal with fraud issues as a bank would and this could result in delays. I won't worry so much about it anymore but I'm glad I've had a workaround with the UK HSBC alternative to Barclays. The other thing with Wise is that it is taking me two business days for transfers out which in this day and age is an eternity.

[Ken]

20 hours ago, formerlondoner said:

Thanks, that is good to know. I just had a contact elsewhere mention that they aren't as geared up to deal with fraud issues as a bank would and this could result in delays. I won't worry so much about it anymore but I'm glad I've had a workaround with the UK HSBC alternative to Barclays. The other thing with Wise is that it is taking me two business days for transfers out which in this day and age is an eternity.

I think it did take a while for the first transfer, but every transfer I've done since has been instant even though they've given onscreen warnings that it may take longer.

[Ausvisitor]

8 minutes ago, Ken said:

I think it did take a while for the first transfer, but every transfer I've done since has been instant even though they've given onscreen warnings that it may take longer.

Depends when you do it, if it's over a UK weekend or public holiday it pauses until they are back in the office because of the potential for a big movement in exchange rates. But otherwise it's pretty quick