How do I get a € Euro bank account?

PaulS43

thanks for everyone's comments. I will try the German bank and see where that takes me - if anything interesting comes up I will post back to this thread

Michael_Corleone

Deutsche Bank have their online banking in English - If they'd let you open one. I guess you would need to open the account in person with all the usual stuff (Passport, proof of address etc ...). But, I suppose its a nice excuse for a weekend away in sunny Deutschland. Here is what their login page looks like (in English):

https://meine.deutsche-bank.de/trxm/db/

Deutsche Bank also operate in the UK (I think), so it might be worth visiting there also ...



Email them and ask them these questions, they will respond in English if you ask them nicely - link below:

http://www.deutsche-bank.de/pbc/ser-kontaktcenter-einstieg.html

PaulS43

A little tip for anyone else who doesn't speak German: I have found that by opening the site using Google Chrome, it is possible to have it auto translate.

Secondly. Can anybody give me an idea of whom I should go to see to ask and how much I ought to pay for having someone Certify me / that my passport belongs to me ? Would this be a solicitor (or anyone else)? And what sort of money should I pay for this service?

Many thanks, everyone

NFH

Michael_Corleone wrote: »

Deutsche Bank have their online banking in English - If they'd let you open one. I guess you would need to open the account in person with all the usual stuff (Passport, proof of address etc ...). But, I suppose its a nice excuse for a weekend away in sunny Deutschland. Here is what their login page looks like (in English):

https://meine.deutsche-bank.de/trxm/db/

Deutsche Bank also operate in the UK (I think), so it might be worth visiting there also

Deutsche are not cheap, charging a monthly fee and hefty cash withdrawal fees. Being a solid tier one investment bank with a strong retail presence in Germany, they can afford to charge such fees without losing business. They do not have any retail business in the UK.

NFH

PaulS43 wrote: »

Can anybody give me an idea of whom I should go to see to ask and how much I ought to pay for having someone Certify me / that my passport belongs to me ? Would this be a solicitor (or anyone else)? And what sort of money should I pay for this service?

If you ask HSBC to do this, they may do it for free if you ask them nicely. Equally a solicitor can do it. In either case, DKB will reimburse any fees up to €20. Another alternative is to go to a post office in Germany who will do it for free.

slopemaster

I have 3 linked accounts with Citibank, in euros, sterling, and US dollars.
No fees and no exchange loading.
You get one debit card, which can be linked to only ONE a/c at a time (tho you can phone up and change it as often as you wish). So long as your card is linked to the correct a/c, there should be no charges for withdrawing currency or for spending.
(I say *should be*, as I did have an issue where money I spent in euros on my euro a/c got charged in sterling - and they totally failed to sort it, which p!ssed me off. )
But still, very useful accounts.
I can pay sterling in, transfer it to the euro a/c when exchange rates improve, and withdraw in euros when in euroland. Also write dollar cheques, buy from Amazon.com, etc...

Re your tax Q.......... much of my OHs income from self-employment is in euros.
All I do is fill the tax form in with the figures in sterling, and put a note on the back page saying how much was in euros, and what exchange rate I used. I just use a sort of average one for the tax year, and HMRC have never queried it

NFH

slopemaster wrote: »

I have 3 linked accounts with Citibank, in euros, sterling, and US dollars.
No fees and no exchange loading.
You get one debit card, which can be linked to only ONE a/c at a time (tho you can phone up and change it as often as you wish). So long as your card is linked to the correct a/c, there should be no charges for withdrawing currency or for spending.

This is good advice. I've just noticed that they've abolished their recently introduced charge for SEPA payments. See page 8 of http://www.citibank.co.uk/personal/banking/customerinfo/otherinformation/documentlibrary/allrates.pdf?merchant=citi

OP, I suggest going for Citi in view of this, rather than DKB, unless you expect to have large EUR balances on which you want to earn decent interest.

MaccyDs

PaulS43 wrote: »

How can I recive the money?

DKB in Germany will gladly open an account for you... they require that your identity is verified however I am not sure how it is done without the embassy which refuses to do it now :S

Otherwise 2.05% interest, free account maintenance plus other benefits... it is better than my HSBC account :eek:

innovate

MaccyDs wrote: »

DKB in Germany will gladly open an account for you... they require that your identity is verified however I am not sure how it is done without the embassy which refuses to do it now :S

Their FAQ says you can take this form (together with your application form) to any UK bank or Solicitor, who can verify your identity (based on your passport & proof of address). I suppose that you can also have it done by a Post Office since they offer ID verification services. DKB reimburse up to €20 for this (not sure how you claim that).

They then have to send the form and your application form to DKB. What I couldn't figure out is where you find the application form - - - all I could find is the online application.

missile

I get very good free banking from Barclays.es. You can open a euro account from the UK, see here > https://www.barclays.es/publico/contents/clientesInternacionales/cuentas_SolicitudesUk.jsp?lang=en_UK