Citibank closed my dollar account for no reason. Any alternative uk dollar accounts?

nickthenick

After 10 years, Citibank decided to close my dollar account, they gave me no reason. All they said is that it was a 'business decision'.

I am a sole trader and I receive most of my income in USD. I have searched a lot for an alternative to Citibank dollar account, but it seem like there is nothing decent around

Here is the result of my disappointing search:

• Santander offshore account requires to maintain a balance of at least £50,000 and do not even issue a chequebook,
• Cater Allen charges £15 to £25 for paying in and out and is known to have a poor conversion rate,
• Llodys requires an initial deposit of £25,000 + $10 monthly fee.
• HSBC international account is no longer available!
• Even Citibank itself does not offer basic dollar account for new customers, their website only offers citi gold.

Are there any other options for me out there, or do I really have to pay these hefty fees in order to protect my wage from currency fluctuations?

Are there any UK banks which would open a US bank account on behalf of me remotely?

Is it me, or availability of UK dollar accounts is getting less and less? It feels like banks are only interested in big earners these days.

keiran

This month, Citibank closed my ordinary(sterling) current account with them, too

I've been with them for 10+ years, although I only used the account to make foreign deposits/cheques

They said it was a business decision.

Certainly, I wasn't using the account much and not adding to their profits.

nickthenick

Good to know it's not only me. Not sure what's happening with citibank recently..

Thrugelmir

nickthenick wrote: »

Not sure what's happening with citibank recently..

Is your account profitable to them? Therein lies your answer. Days of free banking are drawing to a close.

nickthenick

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Is your account profitable to them? Therein lies your answer. Days of free banking are drawing to a close.

Why is that?

I'm not even looking for a free dollar account. An inexpensive account, like £10-£15/month would work for me. But I'm not looking for a dollar account with no debit card, or cheque book, where for each wire transfer or cheque pay in I need to pay them a fee.

Thrugelmir

nickthenick wrote: »

Why is that?

Technology. New challengers are emerging that don't have the overheads of expensive branch networks and legacy computer systems to support. The established banks have to change their business models in order to survive in the future.

thozza

Also just got a letter advising that Citibank are closing our sterling current account, which is very inconvenient as it is our main account. We've been with them for over 15 years, apparently we 'are no longer benefiting from our core services',

From the letter it looks like they are positioning themselves only for customers who use multiple currency accounts, forex and international investment services.

So long, and thanks for all the fish...

parist

i did not even get a letter! just found out it had been closedwhen i called them and they are now transfering my closing balance to me LOL!!!

The citibank telephone banking agent told me that the citigold current account is the basic entry account now.
to quote from their website:

Citigold is available free of charge if you have an average monthly balance of £75,000 (or currency equivalent) across all your Citi UK accounts, including investments, or if you hold an account with Citi International Personal Bank in London or Jersey. If you don't meet either of these criteria, a monthly fee of £25 will apply.
seems you need a basic £75k investment

had been them for years. Admittedly I used them less frequently recently - I guess its only for the cash rich LOL!!! :cool:

occamsrazor

parist wrote: »

Citigold is available free of charge if you have an average monthly balance of £75,000 (or currency equivalent) across all your Citi UK accounts, including investments, or if you hold an account with Citi International Personal Bank in London or Jersey. If you don't meet either of these criteria, a monthly fee of £25 will apply.
seems you need a basic £75k investment

They are now upping those figures even more. I got this email from Citigold yesterday:

Previously you did not have to pay a monthly relationship fee if you had a minimum average monthly balance of £75,000 (or currency equivalent) across all of your Citi UK accounts. Under the amended terms, this threshold will change to £150,000 (or currency equivalent).

Additionally, the fee for the Citigold Current Account will change from £25 to £75.

What this means to you
We appreciate that this is a change to your current situation and therefore, in addition to the two months’ notice we are required to provide you of this change, we would like to offer you a grace period up until October 2016 to allow you more time to consider the options available to you.

From 1 October 2016, if your average monthly balance falls below £150,000, a relationship fee of £75 will be taken from your account within the first five business days of the following month.

Needless to say, after being a customer for 20 years I am now looking elsewhere....