Which UK bank is most likely to offer my American husband a current account?

Conneely

My husband is a US citizen, he moved to the UK earlier this year and is UK resident on a family visa as my spouse. He wants to open a current account so that he can move some money over and have somewhere to pay his wages when he gets a job. I currently do my banking with Santander so it seemed like the obvious choice to open an account with them, but having spoken to someone in a branch, they say he might fail a credit check as he has no credit history in the UK. I have also been in touch with First Direct who say pretty much the same thing. Santander say he'd be more likely to be approved for their Basic Current Account, which seems like what you'd be offered if you'd gone bankrupt and were seen as a credit risk.

He sold his apartment to move here so has a decent amount of money to deposit into an account, but without a credit history in the UK his application may get turned down, which then of course will affect the likelihood of him being approved if he tries at another bank. Has anyone on here been in a similar position? Which banks are more likely to approve him?

[Deleted User]

As long as he has proof of ID and address, he shouldn't have any problem with whoever he chooses.

cx6

I may be wrong but 'not a chance'. Nothing to do with ID - everything to do with fatca - the banks won't touch anyone who is a US citizen with a bargepole because of the onerous reporting requirements

I am very happy to be proved wrong.

You could try Chase (download the app)

PRAISETHESUN

He'll likely be declined for mainstream bank accounts due to limited credit history (I was when I first moved to the UK) but he should almost definitely be able to open a "basic" current account with sufficient proof of identity and address. Lenders don't see the type of account when they search credit files, so the fact he has a basic account doesn't really matter - lenders aren't going to see it and try and infer a reason why he has one (eg. ex-bankrupt, etc).

The US citizenship will probably complicate matters, but I would think that most big high street banks would be geared up to deal with FATCA.

cx6

The big high street banks ARE geared up to deal with fatca - their geared-up stance is not to allow accounts to be opened and to close any they find.

Try applying for any account and you will come across a drop-down box 'are you tax resident in any other country but the UK' and selecting 'yes' usually brings the refusal.

This link is about 'accidental americans' (which of course your husband is not) but gives you a flavour...

Accidental Americans: The US Citizenship Conundrum | Keep Calm Talk Law

Shanwick

Chase have explicitly said they will not accept customers who have to file a USA tax return so they are out. 

HSBC (parent of First Direct) might be able to establish an account especially if the deposits qualify for Premier. Their interest rates are terrible but their Premier customer service is used to dealing with international customers.

A basic bank account wouldn't be so bad as a start. Add a LOQBOX loan reporting to the CRAs and within 6-12 months such things will start  to get easier. 

Sensory

I was in exactly in the same position. Halifax opened a basic account just like that no problem, and even accepted a TV Licence as proof of address. I can’t remember why, but it was done in branch. I chose Halifax because I already banked with them.

There are probably thousands of US citizens with UK bank accounts.

Sensory

cx6 said:

The big high street banks ARE geared up to deal with fatca - their geared-up stance is not to allow accounts to be opened and to close any they find.

Proof? My partner is your average US citizen in the UK and hasn’t had any accounts closed (five of them) in 8 years, nor faced any refusals.

Daliah

Some practical advice here. Careful about "neo banks" which aren't actually banks and have no FSCS protection but which are perfectly acceptable for transitory repositories.

cx6

Sensory said:

cx6 said:

The big high street banks ARE geared up to deal with fatca - their geared-up stance is not to allow accounts to be opened and to close any they find.

Proof? My partner is your average US citizen in the UK and hasn’t had any accounts closed (five of them) in 8 years, nor faced any refusals.

That is good news and will give the OP hope.

AskAsk

from my experience, foreigners find HSBC or Barclays to be the best option for a bank account so try those two.