Studying Abroad Bank Account

metmer01

Hi there,

I am currently a student in the UK with a student account with Santander, which has been great for my time here but I am due to move to Tokyo, Japan towards the end of September and I am wondering which student account/current account would be best to have when it comes to transferring money from a UK account across to Japanese accounts (As my loan will be getting paid into a UK account), as I have learnt there are charges with most banks, along with potentially cheeky exchange rates.

Therefore, is there anybody out there that can help me in the search for a student account that would help in the avoidance of paying extortionate amounts just to transfer funds across to a Japanese account?

Also, if there is any advice regarding the best student accounts across in Japan, that would be much appreciated as well!

Ash

grumbler

Reportedly, HSBC is the best bank for international transfers.

However, there are better ways:
https://www.fxcompared.com/money-transfer/UK-Japan?amount=500&bType=1&aDir=0&ref=filter
http://www.mycurrencytransfer.com/money-transfer-to-Japan/500-GBP

MSE article: Sending Money Abroad

With a right card you can just spend ££ in Japan and even withdraw cash without any charges, but as a student you'll probably find it difficult to get such card(s): Top Travel Spending Cards

eDicky

No need to look for a different UK bank, they all charge for overseas transfers and give unfavourable exchange rates. Keep the account you have and use a broker such as 'Transferwise' or 'CurrencyFair' to transfer your funds to the account in Japan. They receive your money into their UK account (no charge), convert it at an excellent rate and deposit it in the foreign account from their account in the same country (usually no charge).

You can have a totally free first transfer up to £3000 with Transferwise by using this referral link:
https://transferwise.com/u/754a8f

Sorry I can't advise about banking in Japan for foreign students.