New monthly fee: CitiBank foreign currency current accounts (EUR & USD)

Porcupine

jrusso wrote: »

Got an email from DKB today! Hurrah!

That's good to know. How feasible do you reckon it is if you don't speak German?

@Porcupine

The interest rates available with Euro Zone banks are much better than what Citi is offering, as are some rates offered by offshore providers. A&L International & LloydsTSB International had offers last I looked but with high opening deposit requirements.

Indeed. But the trouble is getting the money in and out... if you have cash, you need to visit a branch of that bank. If you have bank transfers, it gets messy transferring money to/from the UK (given how lame British banks are, and Euroland banks unused to doing transactions to non-Euroland). At least with Citi it's relatively easy.

One other option is I have a Barclays 'Personal Euro Account'. It's run by Barclays business banking in Poole. It's like a 1980s current account. You get a cheque book in Euro (!!!!!!?) but no debit card. Not sure about internet banking. Transfers out of the UK are charged for (including cheques). I've never actually used my account, but presumably you can pay in/withdraw at Bureau de Change desks in Barclays branches. Interest, ha ha. But if you need to push around Euro cash (sufficient to make the transfer fees worthwhile) you could use it as a funnel to your proper Euroland savings account.

gglaze

Hi guys, I was told I would get an email from DKB a week or two ago when we got those calls from the German speaking lady. I never did receive an email, but did receive a single page letter in the mail, of course again only in German. I haven't had time to sit down and try to read it yet, but it doesn't look promising! Will post again when I have a chance to go through it.

jrusso

@gglaze I could translate it if you like.

jrusso

Porcupine wrote: »

That's good to know. How feasible do you reckon it is if you don't speak German?

Yeah, it obviously makes things more difficult if you don't speak German but once the opening formalities are over it will matter less. Statements are statements in a sense.

Hazzanet

jrusso wrote: »

Got an email from DKB today! Hurrah!

They are saying that the account is now open and I will receive notification of the account number and cards over the next few days by post. :j

Have you had the cards, PINs and other stuff through yet?

Porcupine

Just had a very interesting phone call with Citibank telephone banking.

Apparently, it's Citi (and UK banking industry?) policy that account charges will not put customers into unauthorised overdraft. Additionally, the charges are per-account. That means if you have an account with $0, you can't be charged for it. I pressed him very hard on the question of offsetting, and he was not completely confident on the subject, but his belief was that offsetting did not apply - in other words, the charge levied on one account cannot be taken from another account. He was distinctly uncomfortable about me pressing, and did say they might figure out another way of charging somehow.

This means there's a loophole here... maintain an account with $0 balance and push cash into it only when you want to use it. If that amount of cash is >£2000, use of the account is free. In other words, the account goes $0 (dormant, no fee), $4000 (no fee), $3900 (card transaction, no fee), $0 (no fee). For example, you can ping cash back and forth from savings to current account and back again, and keep both accounts open if you don't have enough cash for all of them to be fee-free. Means you can easily reactivate an account if you know you're going to get a big payment soon.

Also, you can have a card on a currency savings account but it's only usable for ATMs, not for Visa transactions.

Anyone fancy confirming this story? Be good to find out what other people are told.

Jew

Porcupine wrote: »

Just had a very interesting phone call with Citibank telephone banking.

Apparently, it's Citi (and UK banking industry?) policy that account charges will not put customers into unauthorised overdraft. Additionally, the charges are per-account. That means if you have an account with $0, you can't be charged for it. I pressed him very hard on the question of offsetting, and he was not completely confident on the subject, but his belief was that offsetting did not apply - in other words, the charge levied on one account cannot be taken from another account. He was distinctly uncomfortable about me pressing, and did say they might figure out another way of charging somehow.

This means there's a loophole here... maintain an account with $0 balance and push cash into it only when you want to use it. If that amount of cash is >£2000, use of the account is free. In other words, the account goes $0 (dormant, no fee), $4000 (no fee), $3900 (card transaction, no fee), $0 (no fee). For example, you can ping cash back and forth from savings to current account and back again, and keep both accounts open if you don't have enough cash for all of them to be fee-free. Means you can easily reactivate an account if you know you're going to get a big payment soon.

Also, you can have a card on a currency savings account but it's only usable for ATMs, not for Visa transactions.

Anyone fancy confirming this story? Be good to find out what other people are told.

Wow, that sounds like a good idea. So, for example, if I have a USD account, I could potentially withdraw all the money, and keep it charge-free? Then, whenever I need to use it (like receiving USD, cashing a cheque), I can just do so, and then withdraw the money in cash if it's below £2000 in value? No charge at the end of the month?

What questions did you ask exactly?

BeachNut

Porcupine wrote: »

This means there's a loophole here... maintain an account with $0 balance and push cash into it only when you want to use it.

Nice idea, but what's to stop them instantly deducting the fees you owe them as soon as you make a deposit (and before you can make the withdrawal) ?

Porcupine

They could instantly deduct the fees, but my guessing is that they won't have set up the system like that... it'll try and fail to deduct the monthly fee on 1st of the month, not deduct 6 months 'arrears' the millisecond it sees some cash in the account. That might happen if there was a debt owing on the account (eg an account in overdraft where payments out are blocked until the overdraft is paid off) but I can't see how to have a debt that's recorded elsewhere but not on the statement.

The guy actually volunteered this information when I rang up to enquire about charges, and told me I wouldn't be charged for my USD account which has precisely $0 in it.

I asked specifically about offsetting, where (I presume, not having the Ts&Cs in front of me at the time) they have the right to take money from one account to pay off a debt on another. He said that it was 'his belief' that charges are only related to a particular account and do not offset. He went away for a bit and talked to someone else, and confirmed this line (but still in a vague way).

I pressed him again, specifically asking who I could get this from in writing, and he went away again, and reiterated the same in a slightly more uncomfortable way, and did state that it was Citi policy to get people to close accounts that they didn't use (or sign up for Plus, or maintain £2000 in each account, all the things mentioned here before). And did suggest they might work out some other way of charging.

So this is a high risk strategy, but I'm wondering if it's worth trying out at the risk of one month's charges?

BeachNut

I called them and they confirmed that they cannot charge on a zero balance AND that the fees due would not accumulate. They did say the charge would be made if funds went into the account, so the risk is if they flag your account to prevent instant withdrawals ("security call back required" ?).