New bank account non primary

ROOTto

Hi there,

After banking with Barclays for quite a while, I decided to open a new bank account. Being a Barclays happy customer, I don't want to commit my salary on the new account, or move any direct debit. After going trough their online process, and speaking with one of their advisors in a branch, I was under the impression that this was possible, and that they only needed a 3 months worth of my statements. Well after going again to the branch I was refused the account, on the premise that they could not open it unless I move my salary.

Are you aware of any bank which lets you open a bank account without going trough the hassle of committing anything with them?

On a side note, the reason I picked HSBC was due to the fact that their international transfer fee's are low (9£). Do you know of any other bank which offers rates as good as HSBC?

Cheers

Nicola

anotheruser

Just say no to their switching service.
They will push it on you but say you will transfer when you are ready.

Or do it online, less face to face hassle as it's just a tick box.

Archi_Bald

ROOTto wrote: »

On a side note, the reason I picked HSBC was due to the fact that their international transfer fee's are low (9£). Do you know of any other bank which offers rates as good as HSBC?

The best deal depends how much money you want to send where, and when. Typically, money transfer specialists are cheaper than banks. Have a look at http://www.fxcompared.com/

leunger

you can apply for bank accounts without switch your main account over.
i have done that with NatWest, Nationalwide and LloydTSB.

are you sending money over for friend and family or for payment to companies?

i was looking into a bank account for transferring money internationally to my parents over in hong kong 2 years ago.

what i end up doing is that i open an account over here i nthe UK and just give them the debit card so they can get money out that way oversea. The charges for oversea withdraw + exchange rate are well lower than any bank's international transfer fee. So i would recommend to look into that if you are just send money oversea for friends or family.

Gels

Also Santander Everyday Account are fine with no salary or switching. No experience of their international transfer fees though.

rb10

Halifax international transfer fees are £9.50 if you make the payment online.

They don't have a requirement to switch your salary (although if you can pay in £750 to the Reward account and have two direct debits they'll give you £5 per month).