Fineco Bank multicurrencies account

Rexxx

My account is open - I’m none the wiser regarding whether my card has actually been ordered as the card section doesn’t show anything in app & online it is allowing me to select a card again. Chatted them they said you have to call or email so I did the latter.

Test Euro sent from Revolut - instant ⚡️arrival into Fineco and the Revolut rate was marginally better lol. Sent £0.01 to the GBP details from the slowest possible sender Triodos to test out the timeframes there. Oddly Revolut reject the UK Sort Code saying it’s invalid…

The funds just show as £0.88 - how can I differentiate what I hold in Euros to Pounds?

Rexxx

Ignore the last part - I’ve just worked out how you can toggle to “multicurrency”

wmb194

SouthLondonUser said:

Am I the only one who has had good experiences with Fineco?

I have only good things to say about them and would recommend them.

If you want a EUR bank account, or need to send / receive payments in other currencies, I have found it to be a very good service. I use it mostly for the EUR account. I know a person who needs to receive payments in USD (his employer gives him sone shares and the proceeds from selling those are in USD) and he said Fineco was convenient to handle payments. Unlike Revolut, it is a real ban with deposit protection (although possibly it's the Italian and not the UK FSCS? Not sure)

No, for all its quirks*, I like it too. I mostly use it as a stockbroker for continental European listed shares and ETFs and its 'FinecoX' website is a useful, free way to see streaming live prices (also includes London listed shares). It offers good exchange rates, its stockbroking fees aren't too bad - €3.95 per trade with no ongoing account fee if you only hold shares/ETFs - and relative to a couple of years ago it's improved its transfer times to UK accounts.

British residents' accounts used to be covered by the Italian equivalent of the FSCS but now they are covered by the FSCS. The FSCS also covers foreign currencies up to the equivalent amount in sterling.

The one time I needed to call about unlinking an old iPad from my account because for some reason I wasn't able to online was painless.

*Its internet banking and iPadOS app take some getting used to.

Marchitiello

SouthLondonUser said:

Am I the only one who has had good experiences with Fineco?

I have only good things to say about them and would recommend them.

If you want a EUR bank account, or need to send / receive payments in other currencies, I have found it to be a very good service. I use it mostly for the EUR account. I know a person who needs to receive payments in USD (his employer gives him sone shares and the proceeds from selling those are in USD) and he said Fineco was convenient to handle payments. Unlike Revolut, it is a real ban with deposit protection (although possibly it's the Italian and not the UK FSCS? Not sure)

I had also a fairly good experience, even with customer service following up as promised on a couple of issues in the past and even more recently regarding JP Morgan Clearing stopping accepting income Swift payments into a Chase UK account. The only thing that is really frustrating is the delay when exchanging currencies: the amount is there straight away but not clear to be used for up to 24 hours. However, if not in hurry, it is still one of the better rate out there (certainly better than Wise or Starling when converting into EUR). HSBC Global Money is offering a great alternative now, especially if paired with a HSBC Currency account to also receive that specific currency.

OP: regarding your Revolut idea, with all due respect, it does not make sense. You want to exchange within Fineco. If you are planning a trip in advance, there should be no issues with delays. Different if you are in an emergency scenario, but at that point it would be better to exchange and use directly from Revolut.

regarding SEPA payments, as I said, I have not done it in years but I have this memory of Fineco being slow, even as Fineco Italy to another Italian account as an Italian Friend of mine once told me that with other Italian bank he always had an option of same day payment (at a charge) or free payment but within 2-3 days, but Fineco only had the slower option. 

OceanSound

SouthLondonUser said:

Am I the only one who has had good experiences with Fineco?

I have only good things to say about them and would recommend them.

If you want a EUR bank account, or need to send / receive payments in other currencies, I have found it to be a very good service. I use it mostly for the EUR account. I know a person who needs to receive payments in USD (his employer gives him sone shares and the proceeds from selling those are in USD) and he said Fineco was convenient to handle payments. Unlike Revolut, it is a real ban with deposit protection (although possibly it's the Italian and not the UK FSCS? Not sure)

Don't count on an Italian FSCS protection to recover your money. 

When I contacted the UK FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) a while ago to report fineco because they hadn't told me that I can refer my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, it created a head scratching moment for them (the FCA). Finally, they (the FCA) accepted Fineco is covered by FCA rules. 

Even with the financial ombudsman service (FOS), there was one point of the complaint (quite late in the process when the complaint was with an ombudsman for their consideration) where the adjudicator told me:

...cases against this business are currently on hold while our service reviews a matter with them. Should it be decided our service can look into complaints raised against them and the hold be removed, the ombudsman will look to issue a decision on this complaint

To this day, I've no idea what this 'hold' was about.  I replied. Then after some three months, adjudicator reverted with the decision of the ombudsman. Not a whisper about the 'hold'.

Rexxx

Marchitiello said:

SouthLondonUser said:

Am I the only one who has had good experiences with Fineco?

I have only good things to say about them and would recommend them.

If you want a EUR bank account, or need to send / receive payments in other currencies, I have found it to be a very good service. I use it mostly for the EUR account. I know a person who needs to receive payments in USD (his employer gives him sone shares and the proceeds from selling those are in USD) and he said Fineco was convenient to handle payments. Unlike Revolut, it is a real ban with deposit protection (although possibly it's the Italian and not the UK FSCS? Not sure)

I had also a fairly good experience, even with customer service following up as promised on a couple of issues in the past and even more recently regarding JP Morgan Clearing stopping accepting income Swift payments into a Chase UK account. The only thing that is really frustrating is the delay when exchanging currencies: the amount is there straight away but not clear to be used for up to 24 hours. However, if not in hurry, it is still one of the better rate out there (certainly better than Wise or Starling when converting into EUR). HSBC Global Money is offering a great alternative now, especially if paired with a HSBC Currency account to also receive that specific currency.

OP: regarding your Revolut idea, with all due respect, it does not make sense. You want to exchange within Fineco. If you are planning a trip in advance, there should be no issues with delays. Different if you are in an emergency scenario, but at that point it would be better to exchange and use directly from Revolut.

regarding SEPA payments, as I said, I have not done it in years but I have this memory of Fineco being slow, even as Fineco Italy to another Italian account as an Italian Friend of mine once told me that with other Italian bank he always had an option of same day payment (at a charge) or free payment but within 2-3 days, but Fineco only had the slower option. 

Sure - I have tested the FP and Sepa inbound method. The Rev to Fineco €1 SEPA was instant and yes you are right I can’t imagine a scenario where it wouldn’t make sense to pay from Revolut in an emergency - but I guess using the IT IBAN had some novelty!

Set up the GBP account as a payee with Triodos and “Drummonds” (RBS) so I should soon have the confirmed route to topping up via GBP and converting for the best rate. Oddly Revolut rejected the UK sort code to add funds that way..

If I was going to withdraw I’d do it to Revolut but don’t see any reason to if I’m spending.

When I converted earlier Revolut seemed to offer slightly more in Euros - is this normal?

Marchitiello

OceanSound said:

SouthLondonUser said:

Am I the only one who has had good experiences with Fineco?

I have only good things to say about them and would recommend them.

If you want a EUR bank account, or need to send / receive payments in other currencies, I have found it to be a very good service. I use it mostly for the EUR account. I know a person who needs to receive payments in USD (his employer gives him sone shares and the proceeds from selling those are in USD) and he said Fineco was convenient to handle payments. Unlike Revolut, it is a real ban with deposit protection (although possibly it's the Italian and not the UK FSCS? Not sure)

Don't count on an Italian FSCS protection to recover your money. 

When I contacted the UK FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) a while ago to report fineco because they hadn't told me that I can refer my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, it created a head scratching moment for them (the FCA). Finally, they (the FCA) accepted Fineco is covered by FCA rules. 

Even with the financial ombudsman service (FOS), there was one point of the complaint (quite late in the process when the complaint was with an ombudsman for their consideration) where the adjudicator told me:

...cases against this business are currently on hold while our service reviews a matter with them. Should it be decided our service can look into complaints raised against them and the hold be removed, the ombudsman will look to issue a decision on this complaint

To this day, I've no idea what this 'hold' was about.  I replied. Then after some three months, adjudicator reverted with the decision of the ombudsman. Not a whisper about the 'hold'.

What do you mean do not count on Italian deposit protection ( it is actually called FITD and cover deposit up to €100,000 equivalent)? That is unfunded speculation on your part. You would have to make a claim with them (FITD) if the bank went under, and has nothing to do with your reports about what FCA or FOS may have told you. They are operating (grandfathered) under the old border less rules and do have to comply with specific FCA regulations but not all as they are not a full UK bank yet (they have applied for full UK banking license). Their customer base is quite larger than N26 was and hence decided to remain in the UK market (whilst N26, operating in a similar way from their license in Germany, decided to close the Uk operation after Brexit).

OceanSound

Marchitiello said:

OceanSound said:

SouthLondonUser said:

Am I the only one who has had good experiences with Fineco?

I have only good things to say about them and would recommend them.

If you want a EUR bank account, or need to send / receive payments in other currencies, I have found it to be a very good service. I use it mostly for the EUR account. I know a person who needs to receive payments in USD (his employer gives him sone shares and the proceeds from selling those are in USD) and he said Fineco was convenient to handle payments. Unlike Revolut, it is a real ban with deposit protection (although possibly it's the Italian and not the UK FSCS? Not sure)

Don't count on an Italian FSCS protection to recover your money. 

When I contacted the UK FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) a while ago to report fineco because they hadn't told me that I can refer my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, it created a head scratching moment for them (the FCA). Finally, they (the FCA) accepted Fineco is covered by FCA rules. 

Even with the financial ombudsman service (FOS), there was one point of the complaint (quite late in the process when the complaint was with an ombudsman for their consideration) where the adjudicator told me:

...cases against this business are currently on hold while our service reviews a matter with them. Should it be decided our service can look into complaints raised against them and the hold be removed, the ombudsman will look to issue a decision on this complaint

To this day, I've no idea what this 'hold' was about.  I replied. Then after some three months, adjudicator reverted with the decision of the ombudsman. Not a whisper about the 'hold'.

What do you mean do not count on Italian deposit protection ( it is actually called FITD and cover deposit up to €100,000 equivalent)? That is unfunded speculation on your part. You would have to make a claim with them (FITD) if the bank went under, and has nothing to do with your reports about what FCA or FOS may have told you. They are operating (grandfathered) under the old border less rules and do have to comply with specific FCA regulations but not all as they are not a full UK bank yet (they have applied for full UK banking license). Their customer base is quite larger than N26 was and hence decided to remain in the UK market (whilst N26, operating in a similar way from their license in Germany, decided to close the Uk operation after Brexit).

Show me one where on the fineco website where it says my Bank Account is covered under FITD. Even if it was, I can't see anywhere where they say this. 

Go to a website like FirstDirect, and you click on 'legals' --> 'important notes' and there it is in bold:

Financial Services Compensation Scheme 

We're part of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS),.....

SouthLondonUser

Searching the finecobank.com website with google, few results on FSCS, all related to whether certain investments (not cash deposits) are covered.

Searching for FITD (the Italian deposit protection scheme) brings up many results.E.g. the fact sheet on their bank account mentions FITD very explicitly https://finecobank.com/uk/public/fogli-informativi/dettaglio?categoria=76210&area=pubblica&cartella=contoeuro

I can understand that some people may want to have nothing at all to do with Fineco because of this.

I understand less people who don't want Fineco because of this, but are then happy using Revolut, which is not even a UK bank, and which operates under a scheme (Revolut not being a bank but keeping money in segregated accounts) which, to my knowledge, has never been tested in real life. Banks have gone under and the relevant deposit protection scheme has returned insured deposits, pretty much everywhere in the Western world - that is tried and tested.

How many non-banks like Revolut have gone under? How long does it take to get money back? Are there legal and operational hurdles? I do not know, and I have no intention of finding out (even if I admit the risk is low).

Oh, and let's not forget that Revolut filed its company accounts late. A non-bank which is trying to be a bank but "forgets" to file its company accounts inspires in me less confidence than an EU bank. But to each their own...

Rexxx

“Regarding your query, we confirm that you have requested the Euro
Visa Debit.

We will send you an email as soon as we issue the card.

The first issue of the card, *if requested during the application
process*, has no costs but the renewal at expiration costs £ 2.95.

We inform you that it is faster to receive liquidity through faster
payment than standard SEPA transfer although the account is enabled
to receive instant SEPA transfer.

We specify that to receive Instant Sepa Transfers also the payer
bank has to be part of that scheme.

Thank you for your collaboration”