Living Abroad with UK Bank Account

montySweden

Hello

I live abroad in Sweden and have a UK bank account which receives UK income. To date, I have found it difficult getting money out of the UK using my Switch card with RBOS without getting penalised from wherever I use it in Sweden to the bank charges in the UK.

Now and again I use Royworld Express and pay a fee for transferring to my Swedish account but I have to send a letter to the bank every time I wish this to be done. It's a crap system of working and I can't see any other way round it.

Does anybody have any suggestions or advice.

MontySweden

Marty_J

How about a Nationwide account? They don't charge for overseas withdrawals.

Jamp

Nationwide Flex Account is what you want. When you use it abroad the exchange rate used is the interbank rate with no fees added.

montySweden

Hi, thanks for the info...The biggest problem I face when living abroad is to be able to open a new account in the U.K: Most companies, maybe all, stipulate that I can only open an account with a U.K. address.

I've just contacted the Nationwide and got the same story, so I'll have to figure another way of transferring dosh.

Of course, I could say that I'm staying at a friends or relatives address but that wouldn't be a good idea I don't think.



Regards

MontySweden

alanrowell

montySweden wrote: »

Of course, I could say that I'm staying at a friends or relatives address but that wouldn't be a good idea I don't think.

Wouldn't work, you have to provide proof of address as well as proof of identity

nico26

Have you spoken to RBOS about an offshore account. You can transfer money over the internet. Am speaking to them just now about it as i am going abroad for a year and will be getting paid in dollars. The money will go in there and will transfer it over the internet to bank.Still have to pay transfer charges but would save you the hassle of having to write to them all the time.

montySweden

Thanks for your posting. I would be interested in finding out about an offshore account. Maybe you could keep me posted on your progress, it certainly sounds like the kind of setup that would suit my situation.

Thanks

montySweden

nico26

montySweden wrote: »

Thanks for your posting. I would be interested in finding out about an offshore account. Maybe you could keep me posted on your progress, it certainly sounds like the kind of setup that would suit my situation.

Thanks

montySweden

Monty if you look on the RBOS website it gives you some information about the accounts. I already have one with Bank of Scotland but they dont do internet banking in dollar currency at the moment and have no banks in malaysia.where the RBOS have. If you contact RBOS somebody will give you a ring and speak to you,It will be a bit easier for you to set up as you are a customer with them Where I have to start from scratch. But will keep you posted what happens.

montySweden

Yes, I'll definitely call RBOS about this service.

Many thanks for the info.

Monty

:T

Nomad_10

Hi Monty,

I was in your exact situation a few months ago. I was looking for an offshore bank account that would allow me to put some money aside in different currencies and away for the nosy tax man. I also want an account that would be easy to use as I work/live abroad but my salary is paid in the uk.

I started looking into using HSBC and RBOS offshore but then I found that they seem to have information sharing agreements with most governments, which was very off putting. I also was not keen on their levels of customer service.

I was then recommend by a co-worker to look into using a private bank and they pointed me in the direction of a company called AES International (www.aesfinance.com). They were absolutely great and took all the hassle out of setting the account up.

Within a week I was set up with an account in the IOM and the account was set up to hold Sterling, Euros and NZ Dollars. I was then offered the choice of a Gold Visa card in either Sterling, Euro or Dollars. However, the best bit is that I am able to speak to my account manager and he is able to sort everything out. What a change from the call centres .

Anyway I could go on and on but I would recommend that you get in contact with them as they are always happy to help.

BernadetteN

I know it's too late for the OP but I can also highly recommend the Nationwide current account, plus the Nationwide Visa and Post Office Mastercard (usefull to have a visa and mastercard for when only visa or mastercard is accepted for purchases), all without commision and excellent exchange rates. I even used my Nationwide credit card for a cash withdrawal by accident the other day, mistaking it for my Nationwide current accounr card and when you pay off the cash advance amount, you clear that first before purchases so avoid the interest for the whole period unlike other credit cards. So if you are thinking of moving abroad, or just going on holiday abroad, Nationwide is so so useful. We transfer €300 amounts from our UK account out of the Belgian bank till and immediately back into the same till into our Belgian account. We just wait for the best time in the month, as much as we can predict, then do the transfer. It's cheaper than a £20 IBAN UK to Belgian transfer and better than a set monthly transfer using a currency broker, as you can easily control when the transfer happens and hope to get a good rate.