Best Euro Account for 4 Month stay in France?

hamster99

My son will be studying in France for 4 months this year and I don't think just using his UK current account for purchases is ideal as there will be exchange rate and transaction fee costs which will be expensive.

I think he would be better off having a Euro account which he can use for his everyday living expenses and shopping and also paying his rent but, having had a quick look at the major UK banks I can't seem to find anything suitable. Lots of them want minimum income/deposits which is a non-starter for a student!

I would want an account which can be managed online and which I can easily top up from my UK account (I accept that top-ups in GBP may incur fees but it would only be once a month)

Any recommendations for best options?

Cheers
Rob

flaneurs_lobster

A Revolut account/card might suit.

Band7

Starling Bank, definitely https://www.starlingbank.com/current-account/euro-bank-account/

Others:

• Fineco - marginally better exchange rate BUT awfully slow with everything, and the app and online banking are not userfriendly. Not an account / card for a student IMO
• HSBC Global Money - not as flexible as Starling IMO. Can't receive payments in Euros
• Revolut - popular in some circles but this isn't a bank (no FSCS), and CS has terrible reputation
• Wise - also not a bank, exchange rates getting worse
• Chase - popular because of 1% cashback and good exchange rate but they don't have a Euro account

Band7

hamster99 said:

 I accept that top-ups in GBP may incur fees but it would only be once a month

There is no reason you should accept charges! All the ones mentioned above don't come with account charges. All you have to watch out for are the exchange rates and hidden charges.  

grumbler

hamster99 said:

My son will be studying in France for 4 months this year and I don't think just using his UK current account for purchases is ideal as there will be exchange rate and transaction fee costs which will be expensive.

You are mistaken.  

Travel credit cards: the best credit cards to use abroad - MSE

This is about debit and prepaid cards too. You need a euro account only if you want to exchange big amount in advance to fix the exchange rate.

 HSBC Global Money  - another account that MSE for some reason decided to ignore.

Band7

The Euro accounts mentioned above are preferable to prepaid cards. Prepaid cards often come with a charge, don't have userfriendly management, don't have FSCS protection and can't be used to make bank transfer payments.

Though it might be an idea to also get a travel credit card, as a backup to the bank account, in case something goes wrong. It's always better not to rely on a single source of money, especially when abroad.

[Deleted User]

Wise will give him a Belgian IBAN which is better in the Eurozone than a UK one (e.g. Revolut or Starling) and the local ATMs may charge for a UK card too.

I would take something like Chase to spend with and a forex free credit card with a low limit (e.g. Aqua Advance) for a backup. 

Marchitiello

hamster99 said:

My son will be studying in France for 4 months this year and I don't think just using his UK current account for purchases is ideal as there will be exchange rate and transaction fee costs which will be expensive.

I think he would be better off having a Euro account which he can use for his everyday living expenses and shopping and also paying his rent but, having had a quick look at the major UK banks I can't seem to find anything suitable. Lots of them want minimum income/deposits which is a non-starter for a student!

I would want an account which can be managed online and which I can easily top up from my UK account (I accept that top-ups in GBP may incur fees but it would only be once a month)

Any recommendations for best options?

Cheers
Rob

Will your son fund the 4 months entirely from GBP saving/parents funds or is he planning to earn Euro there? If it is entirely from GBP funds then I would personally suggest Fineco (ordering only the EUR debit Card),  HSBC Global Money or Chase (as others have said, GBP account but great exchange rate and no fees).

I would actually explore the possibility of opening a Euro account with a French bank as well and retain it if possible after that, as a EU based Euro account could always be useful (Societe Generale and BNP Paribas would be the two that I would look at).

The main French ATM operators do not charge fees for third party usage but there are few smaller operators that do, so watch out the messages displayed before you finalise the transaction. 

hamster99

Thanks all.
After more research, he's going to get himself a Currensea card and link it to his existing UK bank account. We decided this was a better short term option than opening a new euro account with a UK bank or a getting a bank account in France.

[Deleted User]

hamster99 said:

Thanks all.
After more research, he's going to get himself a Currensea card and link it to his existing UK bank account. We decided this was a better short term option than opening a new euro account with a UK bank or a getting a bank account in France.

He should take a few backups too. Being a no credit check card Currensea is highly unlikely to work off-line or on transport. 

A low limit credit card (with no currency fee) can be invaluable when travelling - 118118 Money or Aqua Advance would likely work in this regard. 

eDicky

I use a variety of cards for travel but I have never tried Currensea, 'linked' cards add a layer of uncertainty and don't appeal to me when there are so many ideal solutions using a fee-free bank card directly. By all means try it as a backup, but I strongly recommend not solely relying on it, linked to a single bank account.

My primary choice for your son would be to open a Starling Bank or Chase UK account, or both. The former has additional euro account available but it's not necessary for card use in euros. There are no fees or conversion markups for non-sterling use of their cards whereas Currensea charges 0.5% for purchases. Quick and easy to open, no cost or hard credit check. A 'travel' credit card would be useful, if he has sufficient credit history to be accepted for one.

As mentioned already, he should definitely not rely on a single source of funds for his time in France.