Euro account, any advice please

Anglesey

Can anyone suggest a reasonable way to set up a bank account in Euros please? I'd like to be able to access it when I travel abroad. Thank you.

jonesMUFCforever

Not through a high street bank which will tell you to go to their offshore divisions.

I am sure more knowledgeable peeps will be around soon to advise you about the digital cards available - I have never used them so can't comment on their suitability.

eDicky

You don't need a euro account for travel, simply use a 'travel' credit or debit card that has no overseas fees and converts at the ideal rates when used.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards

sal_III

If you only need it so you can spend money while travelling, there are better options like Transferwise and/or Travel friendly dc/cc.

If you still insist on an Euro bank account i was able to open one online with HSBC (already their customer) and it took 24-48h. It's called "Currency" account.

Starling are about to introduce Euro account but still not available.

scragend

Revolut isn't a bank account as such (at least not yet), but it lets you hold funds in a number of currencies including euro, and you will get an IBAN for the euro account so you can make payments to it in euro. Or you could pay into it in sterling and then convert at the full bank rate.

Voyager2002

If you actually want a Euro account for some reason then you could open a multi-currency account from Fineco (an Italian bank with a branch in Britain). It allows you to hold funds in USD; Euro and Swiss francs as well as sterling.

eDicky

sal_III wrote: »

If you still insist on an Euro bank account i was able to open one online with HSBC (already their customer) and it took 24-48h. It's called "Currency" account.

Without a euro debit card this account is virtually useless.

Butch_Dingle

Voyager2002 wrote: »

If you actually want a Euro account for some reason then you could open a multi-currency account from Fineco (an Italian bank with a branch in Britain). It allows you to hold funds in USD; Euro and Swiss francs as well as sterling.

+1
Plus you can actually get a debit card in Euros as well as a GBP debit card. Add to that, Fineco's excellent currency conversion rates (very close to interbank rates) then Fineco bank is an excellent choice for the OP.

https://finecobank.com/uk

colsten

Butch_Dingle wrote: »

Add to that, Fineco's excellent currency conversion rates (very close to interbank rates)

How do their rates compare with those of the Transferwise Borderless?

Butch_Dingle

colsten wrote: »

How do their rates compare with those of the Transferwise Borderless?

I've found Fineco's rates slightly better than Transferwise, but its not a huge difference. Also Fineco have zero fees between currency conversions whereas transferwise charge a % charge when transferring between currencies - so for large transactions you will lose out with Transferwise. Only thing to be careful with Fineco is that your UK bank could hit you with incoming SWIFT payment charges (usually fixed) as Fineco send GBP payments to UK banks via SWIFT. However you can easily avoid charges by opening a bank account with Nationwide or Starling as these are some of the UK banks/BS which don't charge to receive GBP SWIFT payments.

Emily_Joy

Voyager2002 wrote: »

If you actually want a Euro account for some reason then you could open a multi-currency account from Fineco (an Italian bank with a branch in Britain). It allows you to hold funds in USD; Euro and Swiss francs as well as sterling.

Is there FSCS protection?