Student Year Abroad

scattersong

Bernice50 wrote: »

My daughter has been informed she MUST open a German Bank account -when she starts her year abroad - she will do this once she is there. She has tried to transfer her student account (Santander) and they have said they cannot do this. ?Prepaid cards - have no experience how they work!

When I did my year abroad in Germany, I opened an account with Sparkasse. They're all over Germany.
No fees if you open a student account, you just need to bring some sort of student ID or proof.

I also used Metro Bank for fee free withdrawals etc. Handy for the first week or so as you're getting accomodation, banking etc sorted.

Best of luck to your daughter!

Anthorn

Probably sensible to open a bank account in the country of residence. I've done it in France and saved quite a lot of money in fees. All that is really necessary in EU countries is to walk into a bank branch with evidence of EU residence - your passport.


In prepaid cards not very well known is Veritas: Available in 4 currencies of which Euros is more significant for this thread. More pertaining to the EU than specifically to U.K. The card itself is free but an annual fee of 29.90 Euros and other fees for ATMs and loading are expensive when compared to U.K. cards. Most significant here is E.U.-wide SEPA transfers.
http://www.veritascard.com/
http://www.veritascard.com/fees.htm

Bernice50

Hi! Would you PM about which type of travel insurance you had as am a bit confused over the travel insurance for one year/versus the health insurance needed in Germany.
Many thanks to you!

Maggie

Hi
Its a while since anyone posted here, but my son finishes in Dublin next week. He has managed his money using a Nationwide Credit card ( on my account!) and a Caxton Fx cash card. The only down side is that his Erasmus money was paid into his UK bank account, so charges attached, but on balance its has been Ok. Shame Erasmus cannot pay Caxton Fx to top up monthly.