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Girlfriend is moving to UK, which bank to go with?

King_Mustard
King_Mustard Posts: 504 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
in Budgeting & bank accounts
My Estonian girlfriend is moving here from Estonia to work.

In order for the company to pay her, and in order to be able to get a 30-day phone contract etc., she'll need a bank account.

Which do you suggest for a first-timer?

It could be a silly question, but I'll only know that if I ask :)
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Comments

  • jonesMUFCforever
    jonesMUFCforever Posts: 28,898 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Most UK banks will open her a basic account.
  • King_Mustard
    King_Mustard Posts: 504 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    jonesMUFCforever wrote: »
    Most UK banks will open her a basic account.
    If that's the case, she may as well go with Barclays Bank for the Personalised Cards :P
  • jonesMUFCforever
    jonesMUFCforever Posts: 28,898 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I don't bank with Barclays but my card has my name on it - that is good enough for me.
  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Introduce here to your bank and with some references from the company she is going to work for and some proof of the address she will possibly get a better account than a basic one.
  • King_Mustard
    King_Mustard Posts: 504 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    grumbler wrote: »
    Introduce here to your bank and with some references from the company she is going to work for and some proof of the address she will possibly get a better account than a basic one.
    Such as?

    And what kind of difference is there between them? :)
  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    A basic account often comes with a cash card and without a cheque book. Nothing wrong with it if she is happy with such account.
  • Sparx
    Sparx Posts: 909 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Just get her a basic cash account with any decent bank. She can upgrade it at a later date if she wants.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,428 Community Admin
    10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Check that the bank has a convenient location for dropping in ID, paying in cheques etc.

    Also, if they offer a basic account, check they give her access to other bank's cash machines - Lloyds, BOS, NatWest and RBS only give access to group ATMs on basic accounts.
    This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com
  • King_Mustard
    King_Mustard Posts: 504 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Heng_Leng wrote: »
    Check that the bank has a convenient location for dropping in ID, paying in cheques etc.

    Also, if they offer a basic account, check they give her access to other bank's cash machines - Lloyds, BOS, NatWest and RBS only give access to group ATMs on basic accounts.
    Another +1 for Barclays Bank, then :)
  • GooliesOfFire
    GooliesOfFire Posts: 385 Forumite
    My wife is a foreigner from outside the EU and her first bank was Lloyds TSB. She got Classic Account with a Visa debit card and cheque book. She had a proof of address (one of the bills) and UK driving licence buy the time she applied for a bank account.

    Without proof of address and a few months in the country it will probably be a bit hard to get anything else than a basic account.

    Usual foreigner friendly banks are Natwest, Lloyds TSB, Barclays.
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