How to Bank when Travelling?

Sirplatt90

Hey,

I went travelling a few years back and found that the best way for me was to get someone at home to 'wire' cash from an English account to mine, as and when i needed it. I put the money in their account before i left and just sent a quick email saying how much i needed (usually in hundreds, not just the odd £10 here and there). It's a great little budget planner too as you don't have access to all of your cash at once!

HTH

heloid

Stuckon100forever wrote: »

Thanks Heloid - however a few questions....

• I wasn't planning on going to Ireland at any time before I leave. However I could make the trip if I thought I had a guarantee of opening the account. I have all the I.D./statements etc but the problem is my Credit Rating is not very good so I fear I would not pass their check. Do they use the exact same CRA's as in the UK?

• What reason do I give for wanting an EU account? Can I tell the truth (travelling) or will they find it strange/dodgy that I've gone all that way for a new bank account?

• How would I pay-in my Euros to my NIB account abroad, do they have branches?

With regards to making money on my travels, I should have made it clearer. I don't plan on getting a normal job, I'm a part-time musician and in the past have street performed etc.. I'm not being big-headed or anything but I am decent and have made good "buskin" in the past, occasionally with crowds gathering . I'd also be willing to do other work for money like fruit picking etc.

I'll be living in my van-conversion so the only costs on my travels will be fuel, food & occasional camping. I'll have my own money (debit card) but I'd ideally like to "pay-in" surplus Euro's/Coins in to an account. If all goes wrong I could use western union or moneygram etc but there fees are expensive (eg €7.90 for €100 Transfer to UK) plus never used before and not sure if I can even transfer to a Bank or an Agent shop etc.

Just had a look at the Barclays Euro account, it comes with a cheque book so I'm guessing I won't get that Euro account as they wouldn't give me one for my Sterling basic account. Was also thinking of perhaps an Instant Access Savings account with Santander, though not sure if I could use overseas branches hmm..??

Firstly, my friend did this back in May, they opened the account in about 15 minutes so I'm fairly confident you will be ok. I would however give them a call first, for sure.

Ireland most definitely has a different CRA system, its run by one organisation which is government I think. You'll have no Irish credit history. That doesn't mean you won't offer you an account with a card, their banking system is different and actually makes sense. I would take as many bank statements as possible to show you can handle money.
http://www.icb.ie/credit_rating.php

Reason for wanting a Euro account, just be honest, or say you're considering moving to Ireland, but I don't think they'll care. They get to hold on to your money, that's incentive enough. They get transaction charges and other fees. Using your debit card abroad doesn't cost them any more or less.
You're not a regulations risk as you're providing multiple forms of ID and proof of address and they're not offering you credit.

All euro countries are part of SEPA, so your Irish bank account number can be used in every euro country from my understanding. How you deposit cash, not 100% sure, but the bank you sign up with could certainly given you some options. Most likely MoneyGram, Western Union, FX brokers etc. but I'm sure you can find free/cheap services around.

fawinds

The citibank euro account is the way to go. Not only offers debit card with free cash withdrawals from most ATMs in the eurozone, they also give you an IBAN number where you can send money from the eurozone at the same rate as a domestic transfer.

Fizs

I have some AU dollars that I want to pay into an account in Sydney. I am in the UK and have UK bank accounts etc. How can I do this? Someone said I would have to convert it back into sterling first-is there a better way?

HappyMJ

It's up to you...post the money to a friend in Australia for them to deposit. Convert back to sterling and spend it here. Keep it till the next time you're in Australia. All options have a cost and it's up to you to choose one. Depending on how much you are talking about and why the need to deposit into an account then I'd just keep it as cash till the next time you visit even though I'd lose the interest on the money it's cheaper than sending through the banking system.