Going Abroad

pinkmartini

Hi everyone!

I'm moving to Italy in September for a year as part of my university course. I currently have bank accounts with Halifax but I'm looking for an account which will not charge for cash withdrawals made in Italy. I'm a little confused by all the different accounts offered but it seems like Nationwide have the best account for going abroad, are there any other accounts which would be better?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Olipro

no account will be better because there is no fee levied by Visa within the EU and therefore no fee is passed onto you by Nationwide, you will receive spot rate on all transactions be they cash or purchases.

KathysBoy

Totally agree with this. I live in Spain, and use the ATM every week. As Olipro says you get virtually the market rate, with no charges, although be careful at the ATM machines. I don't know about Italy, but in Spain they ask you if you want to be charged in Euros or Pounds. You must select Euros to get the Nationwide rate. Also, you must open the account (Flexaccount) when you are in the UK. You can change the address to Italy once its open, but after you do this you will not be able to open any more accounts, unless you change it back to the UK.