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

Jew

jen245 wrote: »

You can set it up automatically, but i do it both automatically and manually. For example, my main bank account is with Natwest. I have a standing order set up that goes into my Halifax account just after I get paid (for the free £5, and £5 cashback on my CC). I then log into Halifax and manually move it out Santander (for 5% interest) by FP, then manually from Santander back to Natwest. It only takes a few minutes. I'll be ditching Santander soon, and will just replace it with Citi.
You could do it totally automatically with standing orders, but with varying pay days and bank holidays, you'd have to keep changing the dates to avoid bouncing them and incurring charges, so I just have one SO, then move the rest myself, much easier.

Can't you just make the DD a few days after pay day, and then the following one a few days after that? Just as a buffer?

Oh, there's charges if a DD isn't met? By who?! If you're paying from one of your bank accounts into another one?!

jen245

You can do it that way, but as I already said, you have take into account weekends, bank holidays etc, as standing orders aren't paid on weekends, and I guess it takes a bit longer for the money to get back to where you want it to be, but if you want to do it that way, you can.
But, if any of your standing orders bounce, the bank its being paid from, will charge you, regardless of where and who its being paid to.
The way I do it, has worked for me, no bank charges in a very long time, and I'm totally in control, so if there's any mess ups its my fault.

gglaze

Well clearly the intention of the bank putting this requirement on their premium account type is to ensure some kind of salary or other regular income is being paid into the account. So presumably they have the ability to monitor your account activity and detect monthly transfers out to personal accounts, with amounts roughly equal to the monthly transfers coming in, also from personal accounts; and then to investigate further, and find that you are the owner of all of the involved accounts? Just saying, doesn't seem like it would be that hard to detect this situation, and then amend the terms with some small print saying they will charge you the fee if they detect it? I'm just wondering if this is already common practice, or if banks don't bother or care, or what. Looks like we have at least one person doing this already - so are lots of people doing this, and banks just don't realize it? Or why would banks allow it? Perhaps it is just the "more sophisticated" customers doing this, and so as long as the average customer is doing it the expected way, the banks don't mind?

Jew

gglaze wrote: »

Well clearly the intention of the bank putting this requirement on their premium account type is to ensure some kind of salary or other regular income is being paid into the account. So presumably they have the ability to monitor your account activity and detect monthly transfers out to personal accounts, with amounts roughly equal to the monthly transfers coming in, also from personal accounts; and then to investigate further, and find that you are the owner of all of the involved accounts? Just saying, doesn't seem like it would be that hard to detect this situation, and then amend the terms with some small print saying they will charge you the fee if they detect it? I'm just wondering if this is already common practice, or if banks don't bother or care, or what. Looks like we have at least one person doing this already - so are lots of people doing this, and banks just don't realize it? Or why would banks allow it? Perhaps it is just the "more sophisticated" customers doing this, and so as long as the average customer is doing it the expected way, the banks don't mind?

Actually a lot of people do this. I don't think the banks care. To them, it's money coming in that they can invest.

jen245

The banks don't care, I've been doing it for 2 years, plenty have been doing it longer than that

gglaze

Ok, very happy to see others are doing this successfully. I am going to get my Citibank switched over to Plus before the end of the month, to be ready well before these new charges on the Foreign accounts come in to play.

To them, it's money coming in that they can invest.

But not really, right? I mean if it comes in, and then goes right back out a couple days later...

I'm just a little surprised to see no one has ever had a problem with this. But that's very good news!

Jew

I think they get fees from other banks, and the DD scheme or something? In the end, they win.

jrusso

I was furious when I got the letter from Citi, just got back from Berlin where I'd been using the Euro account to withdraw cash. I also have a dollar account which I use because I have family there, it's great for the cash in birthday cards and for saving for holidays. It's not like I can just set up a standing order to my accounts in the US.

Anyway...

Are there any other UK banks with similar services. As far as Euro is concerned Bank of Cyprus seems to have a free Euro account. I might apply as I make SEPA transfers frequently.

Anyone else found dollar accounts or euro accounts with UK banks that might be of interest?

Totally not interested in the cycling thing. My NET salary doesn't even get to £1800.

ETA: On closer inspection Bank of Cyprus charge €8 for a SEPA transfer!!!

maimee_magic

Do you have to go into a branch to open a euro a/c with Bank of Cyprus or can it be done online?

jrusso

There is an online option on their website. Just seems odd that they want to charge for SEPA transfers in Euros to other Euro accounts. Is that even allowed?