Barclays to close accounts of all British expats

gt94sss2

From the telegraph:

Expats who bank with Barclays are to be stripped of their accounts in a move that could leave some customers unable to access their savings and pensions.

British people living abroad will no longer be able to hold a Barclays UK current or savings account, the lender said.

The bank began a review of its international offerings in 2021 and is now writing to customers with a six-month warning.

A Barclays spokesman said UK products are designed for customers living in Britain. City regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it was a commercial decision as banks are allowed to set their own rules on customers which they accept.

Full article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/banking/barclays-to-debank-all-british-expats/

friolento

Little Britain is growing up fast

cymruchris

I'm sure this applies to accounts across the world, but could very well be another brexit benefit. I know there are reasons why you should have your bank accounts in the country you're living in, but if you happen to be an expat, you'll sometimes have things that still need paying for in your home country if you haven't broken all ties. I understand there are tax implications of where your accounts are based - but in this modern digital age you'd think some of the global players would offer true multi-country banking. Sometimes banking feels so archaic.

MDMD

As ever when it’s British people living aboard they are “expats” but when it’s the other way around they are “migrants”

eskbanker

cymruchris said:

I understand there are tax implications of where your accounts are based - but in this modern digital age you'd think some of the global players would offer true multi-country banking. Sometimes banking feels so archaic.

It's more about increasingly complex and onerous regulatory regimes rather than any failure to embrace technology - it's not intrinsically difficult for businesses to allow global access to their facilities in terms of apps, websites, etc, as seen in the travel and retail industries, but these are regulated much more lightly than financial services....

cymruchris

eskbanker said:

cymruchris said:

I understand there are tax implications of where your accounts are based - but in this modern digital age you'd think some of the global players would offer true multi-country banking. Sometimes banking feels so archaic.

It's more about increasingly complex and onerous regulatory regimes rather than any failure to embrace technology - it's not intrinsically difficult for businesses to allow global access to their facilities in terms of apps, websites, etc, as seen in the travel and retail industries, but these are regulated much more lightly than financial services....

Yes - totally understand that. It's a bit like my wishful thinking of having a 'world' passport rather than any one country. It'll never happen.

FirstUser

Some of the friction is homemade, given that UK state pensiom and many domestic pension providers require a UK bank account and will not pay into an overseas account.

My impression is that this has got worse recently, and may increasingly catch out expats in retirement, who as a group do not have an effective lobby to reign it in. Try open a bank ac from overseas, it's become practically impossible unless you are a HNI (which also in the reported Barclay's case resolves the issue..).

friolento

FirstUser said:

Some of the friction is homemade, given that UK state pensiom and many domestic pension providers require a UK bank account and will not pay into an overseas account.

My impression is that this has got worse recently, and may increasingly catch out expats in retirement, who as a group do not have an effective lobby to reign it in. Try open a bank ac from overseas, it's become practically impossible unless you are a HNI (which also in the reported Barclay's case resolves the issue..).

You do not need a UK bank account to get your state pension paid. Very few if any domestic pension providers will not pay into a foreign bank account, either.

Whether it would be most sensible to have your pensions paid directly into a foreign account is a different question. For many, it will work out better to use something like Wise to make the transfer themselves. If you use that, you still don't need a UK bank account just for your pensions.

MattMattMattUK

MDMD said:

As ever when it’s British people living aboard they are “expats” but when it’s the other way around they are “migrants”

Because from a British perspective they are expats, from the host country they are generally migrants. You will also notice a similar difference is terminology if you read the news in other countries, they differentiate between incoming migrants and their own citizens living abroad. 

FirstUser

friolento said:

You do not need a UK bank account to get your state pension paid. Very few if any domestic pension providers will not pay into a foreign bank account, either.

Thanks, I stand corrected re. state pension payments. But neither the Fidelity nor Hargreaves Lansdown SiPP will pay drawdowns into a non-UK bank account, which I found surprising and may well apply to some of the other big SiPP platforms too.

"Can my drawdown payments be made into an overseas bank account? - No. We can only pay to a UK based account."
https://www.hl.co.uk/features/brexit-faqs

"Can I open a SiPP if I plan to retire overseas? - Yes [but when you want to take money from your pension] any money will still need to be paid into a UK bank account." 
https://www.fidelity.co.uk/sipp-faq/#2872715

friolento

Thanks for the warning about HL and Fidelity. Should be interesting to know whether they can pay into a Wise sort code and account number. I have a SIPP with HL which I won't be drawing from in many years, so I won't be testing it anytime soon. But I don't like the idea that HL, or another provider, make it difficult for me if I decide to move abroad.