Replacement for KBC Euro account

Analogue_Man

Hi all ,


As per the title , I think I'm about to lose access to my standard KBC euro current account.It's not set in stone yet but I've received new Ts and Cs which indicate the account will not be available to "Non-EU citizens" after mid-November.They may be jumping the gun somewhat but I don't want to find myself high and dry if the worst happens.

It's main purpose was for some euro P2P investing ( which I'm winding down) and I used it in conjunction with Currencyfair for the sterling/euro conversion and back into my UK Santander account.Never had a single issue anywhere in the process and the KBC euro debit card was the icing on the cake.

The question now is what do I replace it with? I'm not familiar with the Revolut / Transferwise formats but they appear to be geared more to the pre-paid card market ( happy to be proved wrong ). Fineco and the Starling euro a/c look better options - anyone else in the same boat , any recommendations?

Thanks in advance..

[Deleted User]

Revolut?
Starling?

There’s many Euro accounts out there.

colsten

AFAIK, Revolut has no FSCS protection. Neither has Transferwise. Starling has, and Fineco has the Italian equivalent. Starling has presently no Euro Debit Card, Fineco offers an optional one.

moneyhelpuser5

Wait and see what happens at the end of Oct too, brexit is looking more and more unlikely.

eskbanker

colsten wrote: »

AFAIK, Revolut has no FSCS protection. Neither has Transferwise. Starling and Fineco do.

I was under the impression from Fineco's website that their deposit protection is via the Italian scheme ("Member of the National Compensation Fund and the National Interbank Deposit Guaranteee [sic] Fund") rather than FSCS?

Analogue_Man

Thanks everyone , looks like the Starling account will most closely replicate the existing KBC one ( as long as the Euro debit card eventually materialises).

As pointed out , should Brexit be cancelled then the whole exercise becomes somewhat moot - but I can't afford to wait until the last minute to inform various European P2P platforms of a change in IBAN numbers etc.
Cheers..

eDicky

The Starling Bank debit card which currently is only linked to the GBP account can also be used for purchases and withdrawals in euros (or any other currency) at the straight MasterCard rate without fees. However, moving funds from the EUR account to the GBP account now involves a 0.4% margin on the mid-market rate.

To have a separate EUR account and debit card you could use Monese, who provide a EUR account with IBAN for incoming SEPA payments, in addition to their GBP account. Both accounts have their own card, but they are not a bank so lack FSCS protection. There's a free 15£/€ signing up with a referral link, available in the thread on the Referers' board.

colsten

eskbanker wrote: »

I was under the impression from Fineco's website that their deposit protection is via the Italian scheme ("Member of the National Compensation Fund and the National Interbank Deposit Guaranteee [sic] Fund") rather than FSCS?

Sorry, yes, you are right. Fineco has the Italian equivalent. I will update my post. Thanks for spotting my mistake

Analogue_Man

Quick postscript


Downloaded the Starling app onto my phone and within ten minutes I had a functioning current account.Five minutes after that , a functioning Euro account.Super smooth process. I won't be replacing the older Santander one as I like the ability to see it all in a Windows environment , but it's a great back-up.


Thanks to all for the advice..