Chaotic Branch Opening Times

Emily_Joy

Takmon wrote: »

I'm assuming that as part of some business you regularly receive payments in foreign currencies into this account/s and then have a need to withdraw it.
If you wanted to simply travel abroad and withdraw cash in the local currency from GBP with no fees and almost perfect exchange rate then there are plenty of accounts for that but your needs seem more complex.

Well, simply spending money has always been easier than earning them.
I get my travel expenses reimbursed by host organizations, and the payments tends to be in their local currency, whatever it is. I then withdraw funds (without currency conversion) to take with me on the next trip.

mgdavid

20SmthngSver wrote: »

.........

Apart from Metro Bank, no banks are even open on a Saturday in London. ........

Patently untrue.
Lots of Barclays branches in London are open on Saturdays.

OceanSound

JuicyJesus wrote: »

It's not a bank, but TransferWise borderless account comes with a debit MasterCard and supports all three currencies including CNY.

https://transferwise.com/gb/travel-money/chinese-yuan-card

The title of the webpage is a bit confusing, because there isn't a card specifically for Chinese yuan. Transferwise just have one card. You can hold various currencies in your borderless account. e.g. Chinese Yuan

When you use your card to purchase something in CHina, it will debit from the CHinese Yuan you hold in the borderless account (we must ensure that we 'add a balance' in yuan. i.e. convert GBP to yuan beforehand). So, it's a bit different to Fineco bank which issue a separate card for each currency. With transferwise one card rules them all (currencies).

djpailo

I used to have three local braches and they all closed in the last 15 years. I now have a 50 minute walk or a bus journey to the nearest one. There is one cash machine in my area and there is always a homeless guy always begging for money nearby, which makes me apprehensive to use it. All in the name of progress.

born_again

20SmthngSver wrote: »

Brings me back to my point about banks wanting custom but not making it easy for a lot of people. Everything else is open a full day on a Saturday and even Sunday, so banks should really be open and for longer on a Saturday, even it's is 9-3, 10-4 etc.

If people wanted the service they would supply it. The fact is many people never visit a branch now. So like other business that do not get people stepping into them they shut down. Once it cost more to run a branch than it can make from customers crossing the threshold. It will shut.

Just be thankful that unlike a retailer that shuts down, you can still get access to your cash via other means.