Best bank account for receiving salary from Canada

1880orso

I'm going to be working remotely for a company based in Canada who will be paying me bi-weekly into my British bank account (currently NatWest).

As it currently stands I'd be subject to NatWests £7 per transaction fee, plus their (not very good) conversion rate.

This situation is hopefully temporary as I will be planning to move out to Canada. But that could be 6 months or a year away.

So I'm trying to find the best bank account to have for a high amount of incoming international payments (both in terms of rates and fees).

I know such a thing might not exist and I might just have to suck it up for now, but let me know if you have a suggestion!

glider3560

Have you considered opening an account in Canada? I've heard of TD opening accounts to non-residents. Then use something like Transferwise to remit money that you need in GBP back to the UK?

Alternatively, there are some UK providers (e.g. Metro Bank and Nationwide) who don't charge for incoming overseas payments. Not sure what exchange rate they choose.

My employers pays me from an account in Germany. Many (and I mean a large number) of my colleagues are paying this £7 fee to receieve their salary. No idea why they don't change banks, maybe £84 a year doesn't seem like much to waste?

grumbler

glider3560 wrote: »

Alternatively, there are some UK providers (e.g. Metro Bank and Nationwide) who don't charge for incoming overseas payments. Not sure what exchange rate they choose.

All banks/BSs charge ~3% for conversion. Some do charge a fixed fee on the top of this.
Also, in some cases intermediary banks get involved that take their cut.

With regard to Transferwise suggestion, see this thread: regular transfers CAD to GBP