UK Banks no longer want your business IF YOU ARE OVER 65 AND WANT TO GO ABROAD ON HOLIDAY!

DCFC79

I use Starling, Monzo, Revolut, Monese and Halifax Clarity (other accounts are available) for spending abroad, no card reader needed, works for me.

I will avoid taking a card reader with me when I go on holiday, its just something to lose plus as I mentioned its not needed.

colsten

Nobody would ever dream of suggesting that your bank forces you to buy shoes and clothes  so you can use a bank branch, or to contract broadband and a PC/laptop so you can do online banking. Everybody knows that you can also use those things for other purposes, and that you are, in fact, likely to use them more frequently for non-banking matters. So what's the hang-up about smartphones? It's just the same - you can use them for a plethora of other purposes, and they are incidentally brilliant for online/mobile banking, too.

[Deleted User]

We are all out to get you - property equity, grants, final salary pensions and winter fuel payments plus you want us to fund your OAP home stay-cations...

Seriously - just use an up to date browser for banking in your obsolete iPad and forget the app.

Hasbeen

Tony2025 said:

We have all experienced the closure or shortened opening hours of the local branches we used to rely on but now the banks are developing a more invidious scheme to reject our business, TECHNOLOGY! Whilst our home computers running on Windows SE or 7 may still be able to access your bank account, your iPad mk II will not as the banks have updated their apps and no longer support the OS. Even if it did upgrade and spend £1000, you still have to take your little card reader to do anything meaningful! I thought computerisation was meant to make things easier!  A big con where relies on idiots spending thousands.

Op you appear to have an old obsolete ipad mark II which apple stopped updating and supporting the operating system in 2013?

Perhaps you should purchase a more up to date ipad type,  they are much cheaper than a few thousands?

Sorry have read your heading etc, but where does over 65 and going abroad on holiday's come in regarding your old ipad?

Yorkshire_Pud

At least your username is future proofed more than any iPad. 

Zanderman

Tony2025 said:

UK Banks no longer want your business IF YOU ARE OVER 65 AND WANT TO GO ABROAD ON HOLIDAY!

Thanks for telling us that. It's fascinating.
WHAT IS IT YOU WANT TO KNOW?

MartinTooley

I am not sure if you are aware, but a new measure, apparently being taken by several UK banks, will have a major impact on many thousands of UK citizens living outside UK in EU countries.  I am a UK citizen who has lived in The Netherlands for nine years (my wife is Dutch). In order to manage my (limited) UK affairs, I have a  bank account with Halifax Bank, UK. I primarily use this for receipt  of rental income (and related expenses) -for a flat I own in UK- and  it is tied to my sterling credit card, useful for my trips to UK &  purchases in sterling. The account is also used to pay Inland Revenue.

I have just received a letter from Halifax, informing me that they are unilaterally closing my accounts -on six weeks notice. The explanation for this is (quote): ''_......at the end of the transition period, 31  December 2020, we'll no longer be allowed to provide some banking  services in a number of EU countries. We'll be closing your accounts  on 02 November ............Once closed, we'll send you a cheque for  any money in the accounts when they were closed.'' 

There is no reference to any UK or EU law or rule which indicates WHY > Halifax will ''_no longer be allowed to provide some banking services'. _And the letter refers to accounts held at other banks in  the Halifax Group: Bank of Scotland & HBOS. So, if all non UK  residents receive the same letter, I imagine that hundreds of  thousands of people might be affected.

Or is it the case that the value of my accounts is so small that  Halifax is merely using Brexit as an excuse to close small accounts?   This is highly inconvenient. Since moving to the Netherlands, I have  retired. How are UK pensioners, based in EU countries, supposed to  make alternative banking arrangements? Given the Covid restrictions,  it is highly impractical to set up alternative banking arrangements in UK. This measure, taken by Halifax, will be even more difficult to  manage remotely, from outside UK if, say, a mortgage is involved.  Are you able to put pressure to bear to get this decision overturned? Any comments or advice, please?
with my thanks & regards,  Martin J Tooley,  Zandvoort, Netherlands

MartinTooley

UPDATE.

I've just had a long discussion with Halifax Bank's legal department.

It seems the measures I've outlined below apply to UK citizens living in NETHERLANDS & SLOVAKIA ONLY.  UK citizens in other EU countries are NOT affected. BUT NETHERLANDS & SLOVAKIA nationals living in UK ARE similarly affected.

The reason why there are problems is that UK bank regulator has been unable to agree protocols with banking regulators of NETHERLANDS & SLOVAKIA, post Brexit. 

Apologies for the inaccuracy in my earlier note.

Martin Tooley