Euro Bank accounts

Cpu2007

Hi there
If I have some euros and want keep them in a bank account, is it possible to do so with the bank in the UK?

Instead of having to hope that the exchange rate is good, I would rather keep some euros in a bank and have the possibility to withdraw them when needed or use the car overseas.
can this be achieved?
thanks

Steve_xx

Barclays have one, but I note that it wants you to maintain a balance of 2k dollars. Yet there seems to be an alternative. Here's the link to it:


See our alternative accounts if:

• You're unlikely to maintain a minimum balance of $2,000 in your account
• You are looking for a currency deposit account 820 KB

Here's the link to the start page:


http://www.barclays.co.uk/Otheraccounts/Currencyaccounts/ForeignCurrencyAccount/P1242557963858

benjus

Does it have to be in the UK? There are banks in the Eurozone that will let you open an account with a UK address. Although making deposits in EUR would be problematic.

Cpu2007

I would prefer it in the uk as I believe transferring money will incur charges that I'm not prepared to pay.
After a superficial reading about barclays it looks like you're basically charged on everything but I'll go to the bank and ask them directly.
I want a bank account with benefits of a normal account such as no charges on the money in the account, no charges when withdrawing money from the bank or cashing in etc.

System

Normal for UK Sterling accounts where they can cross sell you a credit card or mortgage.

Not normal for foreign currency accounts in the UK or practically every other country where there are charges or strings attached liked minimum balances.

Cpu2007 wrote: »

I want a bank account with benefits of a normal account such as no charges on the money in the account, no charges when withdrawing money from the bank or cashing in etc.

benjus

Cpu2007 wrote: »

I would prefer it in the uk as I believe transferring money will incur charges that I'm not prepared to pay.

Transferring between accounts in different currencies will incur charges regardless of where the accounts are located. You can always use a 3rd party FX broker such as TransferWise to minimise these charges.

Steve_xx

You wouldn't want to be keeping huge sums in any account that wasn't fully FSCS covered of course.

rfyapbtl

You could keep a balance on CurrencyFair. I've been using CF for 3 years and have left up to 10k sitting with them while waiting for GBPEUR to move in my favour. You can read about their regulation and client account firewalling on their website.

Archi_Bald

rfyapbtl wrote: »

You could keep a balance on CurrencyFair.

Now that would be a dumb thing to do as they aren't even part of the FSCS, not to talk about paying any interest on your deposit.

They are a currency transfer service, not a bank or building society.

benjus

rfyapbtl wrote: »

You could keep a balance on CurrencyFair. I've been using CF for 3 years and have left up to 10k sitting with them while waiting for GBPEUR to move in my favour. You can read about their regulation and client account firewalling on their website.

That's how people lost a lot of money with Crown Currency Exchange. Fine if you want to speculate on the currency markets and can afford to lose the money, but not a replacement for a bank account.

Plus I think the OP wants standard bank account facilities like a debit card.

Peribanu

I was lucky to have opened a Citibank Plus account before they (recently) restricted new accounts to Gold customers only. This comes with USD and EUR accounts, and no fees for SEPA electronic transfers in and out. Their currency exchange rates across currency accounts are fine for small sums, but nowhere near as good as CurrencyFair for large sums. You also get free EUR debit card withdrawals. I don't know if Plus is temporarily or permanently withdrawn. Gold requires £25 monthly fee or a ridiculous £75,000 average balance.


Regarding CurrencyFair, I do have some money parked there on their market. If we can believe what they say, all client funds are fully segregated and held at Bank of America, and they are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland under EU Payment Services regulations. Was Crown Currency Exchange using segregated client accounts? If so, how did the money disappear?