Euro Bank Accounts?

chrestomanci

Hi,

I have a bank account set up in Malta, and I frequently transfer money to my Halifax account in the UK, which 1) takes a while; 2) has charges. I'm looking for a "euro account" in the UK where I can do the following:

1) Transfer Euros from Malta into it for no charge;
2) Transfer money from "Euro Account" to my UK account with minimal charge, if any;
3) (Most important) Be able to withdraw cash from European cash points for free (no charges).

I've looked at Citibank but apparently you get charged if you try to withdraw cash from a non-Citibank ATM. Some people at work mentioned Barclay's too, but I'm not sure...

Furthermore, does having several current accounts impact your credit rating at all?

Thanks for your help..

opinions4u

Do you work for nothing?

I think you are an optimist for expecting all these services for nothing.

chrestomanci

Thank you.

1) I know I can transfer Euros for minimal charges/free/£1 using SEPA transfers;
2) I just want the lowest charge on transferring from a Euro account to a UK account;
3) Free ATM withdrawals in Europe from a Euro account would be a nice bonus.

I thought the whole point of this forum was to save money... so yes, I'm going to ask questions related to getting the best deal possible.

Joe_Bloggs

@opinions4u
Any idea when the UK banks will get around to addressing SEPA.
Will they just keep on pretending that it does not apply to them.
J_B.

Arg

opinions4u wrote: »

Do you work for nothing?

I think you are an optimist for expecting all these services for nothing.

Do you work for a bank?

opinions4u

Joe_Bloggs wrote: »

@opinions4u
Any idea when the UK banks will get around to addressing SEPA.
Will they just keep on pretending that it does not apply to them.
J_B.

Which specific elements did you have in mind (I have to profess to a major lack of knowledge on the subject)?

Some of the "requirements" are not compulsory, although I believe the banks' view is that legislation will follow if they aren't implemented.

So the case for gradual progress to stave off legislation has probably been taken on by the banks, who could realistically claim fair delay caused by the financial consequences of the Credit Crunch. I would also expect many of the building societies to simply not invest in building such infrastructure. It's another example of how external regulation undermines the ability of the small players to compete - cost of compliance for a giant is a much smaller share of spend than for a minnow.

There are also a number of PSR requirements that are legislative that come in to place in 2012 (or more likely towards the back end of this year) which are SEPA compliant, such as all funds sent electronically arriving by close of business the next working day. One irony here is that Halifax savings accounts aready comply with this for transfer overseas, but not within the UK - yet!

Arg wrote: »

Do you work for a bank?

I've never hidden the fact that I spent 20+ years working for Halifax.

buglawton

I have a wish along similar lines to OP and am wondering, when do we join the Euro? That would solve all issues.

Need to accept Paypal payments (get them from all over the world) in a well-known international currency (the £ does not qualify... ) and currently use USD, which is subject to various Paypal charges - I'd love just go all-Euro.

Might even solve the issue of high UK inflation too!

opinions4u

buglawton wrote: »

I have a wish along similar lines to OP and am wondering, when do we join the Euro? That would solve all issues.

I think the Irish, Greeks and Portugese would pinpoint their lack of control over interest rates due to being in the Euro as the sole reason for them being up the creek without a paddle now. They were unable to cool their booming economies because Eurozone rate policy is massively skewed towards the needs of Germany and France.

Pre-credit crunch the Irish were pushing for higher rates that they were never going to get.

Might even solve the issue of high UK inflation too!

No. It would just change the cycle of UK inflation. It certainly wouldn't solve it.

buglawton

Current UK bank of England rate = 0.5 percent
Current EURO zone equivalent rate = 1.25 percent.
( http://www.tradingeconomics.com/euro-area/interest-rate )

I wonder who has got the more sensible long-term policy to control inflation?

opinions4u

buglawton wrote: »

Current UK bank of England rate = 0.5 percent
Current EURO zone equivalent rate = 1.25 percent.
( http://www.tradingeconomics.com/euro-area/interest-rate )

I wonder who has got the more sensible long-term policy to control inflation?

Well if you're in Ireland, inflation isn't the biggest threat. Extended recession is the risk - best managed with lower interest rates.

In Germany it's clear that the inflation risk is a bigger problem. Best managed with higher interest rates.

Both countries are in the Eurozone. Ireland is small so gets well and truly shafted to benefit the Germans and rates rise.

If I'd been in charge of Eurozone interest rates I'd have made the same decision. But it doesn't really help Ireland, Portugal or Greece ... does it?

System

qwertymz wrote: »

I've looked at Citibank but apparently you get charged if you try to withdraw cash from a non-Citibank ATM

Citibank don't (currently!) charge euro account holders for withdrawals in euro from any VISA cash machine in the eurozone. (Though they don't make this clear on their website.) In practice, you probably need both a euro account and a sterling account with them. You can then move euro to and from GBP instantly on-line, with only a small spread (1%, I think). You get one VISA debit card. You phone to have it linked, at any one time, to either your euro account or your GBP account.