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Saving Accounts for non UK residents??

nondom_3
nondom_3 Posts: 13 Forumite
in Savings & investments
Does anyone know of any savings accounts open to non-resident UK citizens, preferably with decent interest rates? So far, HSBC is the only bank I've found, but their rates aren't very competitive.

Thanks in advance!
«1

Comments

  • gozomark
    gozomark Posts: 2,069 Forumite
    Do you mean £ accounts ? If so,

    offshore - loads

    on-shore UK - Investec and Halifax
  • nondom_3
    nondom_3 Posts: 13 Forumite
    Yes, £ accounts on-shore, thank you gozomark!
  • Jonbvn
    Jonbvn Posts: 5,562 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    IIRC, Investec High 5 is open to non-residents. It pays the average of the 5 highest interest rates on the market.You require £25k and have to give 90-days notice for withdrawals. PM me if you decide to open this account, and get a £50 referral bonus.

    Other than this, I think you may be limited to offshore accounts.
    In case you hadn't already worked it out - the entire global financial system is predicated on the assumption that you're an idiot:cool:
  • nondom_3
    nondom_3 Posts: 13 Forumite
    Thank you Jonbvn, I just spoke to Halifax - apparently they don't offer any accounts for non-uk citizens. They referred me to Lloyds-TSB-Bank-Of-Scotland International (I'm waiting for the call centre to open there to find out more).

    What would be the pros and cons of an offshore account? Presumably I wouldn't be insured for the first 50k pounds?

    I'll check out Investec next - yes will PM you if it looks good. Thank you!
  • Jonbvn
    Jonbvn Posts: 5,562 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    nondom wrote: »
    What would be the pros and cons of an offshore account? Presumably I wouldn't be insured for the first 50k pounds?

    The cons of an offshore account would be that you are not covered by the UK FSCS compensation scheme. This was clearly demonstrated by the Icelandic bank problems. All the account holders in the UK did not lose any money. AFAIK, most of the account holders with Isle of Man Icesave accounts have only received around 50% of their money.

    The other thing with offshore accounts in places like Jersey & IOM is that if you reside within the EU, your account will fall under the EU savings directive, and you may have to pay tax on the interest.
    In case you hadn't already worked it out - the entire global financial system is predicated on the assumption that you're an idiot:cool:
  • daedana
    daedana Posts: 151 Forumite
    I don't know if this helps, but me and my wife have an account at natwest. This isn't certainly the best choice and I'm kind of afraid cause £ isn't the most stable money right now.

    We have another account at Finland then. We keep our little savings there. Cause at least I think € is more stable than £ at the moment.
  • nondom_3
    nondom_3 Posts: 13 Forumite
    Jonbvn - the Investec deal looks good, and as you say, it seems to be covered by UK FSCS - the £50 pounds sound nice too. I tried PM'ing you - I'm new to this site - not sure if it went through okay, but if you can, please PM me your info and I'll apply.
  • Jonbvn
    Jonbvn Posts: 5,562 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    nondom wrote: »
    Jonbvn - the Investec deal looks good, and as you say, it seems to be covered by UK FSCS - the £50 pounds sound nice too. I tried PM'ing you - I'm new to this site - not sure if it went through okay, but if you can, please PM me your info and I'll apply.

    Rec'd your PM and have responded.

    Thanks!!:beer:
    In case you hadn't already worked it out - the entire global financial system is predicated on the assumption that you're an idiot:cool:
  • nondom_3
    nondom_3 Posts: 13 Forumite
    daedana wrote: »
    I don't know if this helps, but me and my wife have an account at natwest. This isn't certainly the best choice and I'm kind of afraid cause £ isn't the most stable money right now.

    We have another account at Finland then. We keep our little savings there. Cause at least I think € is more stable than £ at the moment.

    Thanks daedana - I tried Natwest, the bonds seem only for UK residents (did you find out something else?) maybe the website is wrong. When I called Halifax they told me their own website was incorrect.

    Yes, the £ is really low right now, but I guess from an expat's perspective, the £ is cheap right now - maybe a good time to move money over? I don't know.
  • gozomark
    gozomark Posts: 2,069 Forumite
    edited 15 March 2010 at 12:09PM
    nondom wrote: »
    Thank you Jonbvn, I just spoke to Halifax - apparently they don't offer any accounts for non-uk citizens.

    you didn't say you weren't a UK citizen in your OP.... They offer them to UK citizens abroad

    http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/nonukcustomerrates.asp

    Non-UK Customer Rates

    These rates apply to customers classed as 'not ordinarily resident in the UK' for tax purposes and who can register their UK accounts to receive interest paid gross. This means British expatriates living or working abroad, non-British nationals, or foreign students or nationals temporarily living in the UK
This discussion has been closed.
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