Best bank account for expat

Geeby

Hi Everyone

Basically,I am currently on vacation in the UK but have been living and working abroad for the last 10 years. I intend returning to the UK for good,however,within the next 12 months.

The whole of my savings are in a bank in the country in which I am currently working but I now need to start transferring those savings to the UK.

Can anyone suggest or recommend an appropriate account?


Thanks

guesswho2000

Geeby wrote: »

Hi Everyone

Basically,I am currently on vacation in the UK but have been living and working abroad for the last 10 years. I intend returning to the UK for good,however,within the next 12 months.

The whole of my savings are in a bank in the country in which I am currently working but I now need to start transferring those savings to the UK.

Can anyone suggest or recommend an appropriate account?


Thanks

Who do you bank with abroad? If it's HSBC for example, they might be a good option, as they offer international products in the UK, so I assume they do abroad too?

Geeby

Thanks for that guesswho2000.

HSBC is an option although they will charge me for taking my money!

I haven't really looked into just what HSBC have on offer exactly - guess I should,though - but I'm quite old-school and believe that banks shouldn't be charging me money for taking my money!!

Any other options,guys!?

Caladan

Old-school means quite the opposite, free banking is actually quite a new thing

I don't know about other banks, but HSBC could offer an Expat account held off-shore or on the mainland or, if you qualify and they operate in the country you're currently in, a Premier account allowing almost instant transfers between your international accounts free of charge (but don't expect the best exchange rates, although you'll get better than the average customer, you're probably still better off using a broker).

If you don't qualify for Premier you can still open an account before you return to the UK but it'll cost you between £50-£100.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by charging you for taking your money though, are you able to elaborate?

Kind regards,
Cal

Geeby

Thanks for your feedback Caladan.

Quite simply,what I meant by being charged for taking my money was just that! A couple of years ago,I went to a UK branch of HSBC to enquire about the availability of expat accounts and was given details of one which involved an £8.00 monthly fee.

Anyway,this is the second post which has recommended HSBC so it only makes sense to take a closer look at what they have on offer!

Regards

Caladan

Mm, if I remember rightly foreign currency accounts come with a £5/m (or currency equivalent) fee. Passport accounts (now off-sale, and designed for non-UK Nationals moving to the UK, NOT UK Expats) carried an £8 fee though, I reckon you were misinformed.

Expat accounts and normal bank accounts are free if you qualify, Premier accounts are also free and come with a much higher level of service (in theory, and usually in reality I reckon).

Archi_Bald

Geeby wrote: »

Anyway,this is the second post which has recommended HSBC so it only makes sense to take a closer look at what they have on offer!

Caladan is an HSBC employee. And who knows, guesswho2000 might be, too. So why think HSBC is some sort of front runner?

As a UK resident, you can open a current account with a plentitude of banks. Transferring money from one country to another is usually best done with a specialist currency transfer service, rather than with a bank which usually gives you a rather terrible exchange rate, and might levy other charges to foreign transfers.

For money transfers, use a currency transfer comparison website, such as http://www.fxcompared.com/. But there are others - - - Google is your friend - - - http://www.google.com/search?q=currency+transfer+comparison

Archi_Bald

Caladan wrote: »

Mm, if I remember rightly foreign currency accounts come with a £5/m (or currency equivalent) fee. Passport accounts (now off-sale, and designed for non-UK Nationals moving to the UK, NOT UK Expats) carried an £8 fee though, I reckon you were misinformed.

Expat accounts and normal bank accounts are free if you qualify, Premier accounts are also free and come with a much higher level of service (in theory, and usually in reality I reckon).

Never mind your fees - -- what exchange rates do you use, and how do these compare with the market?

Caladan

Archi_Bald wrote: »

Caladan is an HSBC employee. And who knows, guesswho2000 might be, too. So why think HSBC is some sort of front runner?

As a UK resident, you can open a current account with a plentitude of banks. Transferring money from one country to another is usually best done with a specialist currency transfer service, rather than with a bank which usually gives you a rather terrible exchange rate, and might levy other charges to foreign transfers.

For money transfers, use a currency transfer comparison website, such as http://www.fxcompared.com/. But there are others - - - Google is your friend - - - http://www.google.com/search?q=currency+transfer+comparison

I'll neither confirm nor deny that, and the information I've given is factual (to the best of my knowledge based on the public website) and I certainly haven't specifically recommended HSBC in the slightest, all I've done is provide details based on what I know.

Regardless, assuming you're right and I am an employee, why the devil would I give a damn if a random stranger on an internet forum uses HSBC or not? I highly doubt it would have any impact on my own performance reviews (which HSBC has to provide in accordance with the BASEL II rules) or the bottom line in HSBCs results.

I've also said already in this thread that currency exchange is best made through a broker.

Kind regards,
Cal

Archi_Bald

Caladan wrote: »

I'll neither confirm nor deny that

Why won't you confirm are an HSBC empoyee?

Everyone who has been on MSE for more than a couple of days knows that you are.

Caladan

Archi_Bald wrote: »

Never mind your fees - -- what exchange rates do you use, and how do these compare with the market?

To quote myself:

I don't know about other banks, but HSBC could offer an Expat account held off-shore or on the mainland or, if you qualify and they operate in the country you're currently in, a Premier account allowing almost instant transfers between your international accounts free of charge (but don't expect the best exchange rates, although you'll get better than the average customer, you're probably still better off using a broker).

I don't know how HSBC calculate their rates, but I know they are often beaten by brokers (although if you provide them with a quote from a broker they'll often try and match it, saving the hassle of having to send money via a third party).

Kind regards,
Cal