Uk Banks offering Accounts that offer money transfers into Euros and debit cards for Europe

Leodogger

Hi, I have a Santander Bank Account in the UK and am moving to Spain, I need an account that allows transfers in and out of money in both Sterling and into a Spanish Euros Bank Account. I realise that Santander have branches in Spain but have been told that they are not interactive between UK and Spain accounts.    Are there any banks that don't charge for this type of account in the UK to receive my pension payments into for transfer into a Spanish Bank account?

eDicky

You can easily open Starling Bank GBP and EUR accounts on their smartphone app, receive GBP and convert to EUR at interbank rate with 0.4%(?) fee, and send euros to a Spanish account without charges.

A Wise account can be used in a similar way, although not a true bank. There is also Revolut.

friolento

You can only have a Starling account if you are a UK resident. Most UK banks now have this condition.Wise and Revolut both do offer accounts with UK sort code and accounts number, as well as EU IBANs, to non-residents but neither are a bank in the UK. Another option might be HSBC Global Money.

eDicky

friolento said:

You can only have a Starling account if you are a UK resident.

This is true in principle, which I have violated during the last few years by simply changing my registered UK address to that of my daughter, where I stay during visits, instead of to my non-UK address.

As you say, Wise and Revolut are not limited to UK residents.

PRAISETHESUN

I personally would avoid Revolut - they have a reputation for poor customer service and I wouldn't want to be relying on them for anything important, especially if I was overseas.

Wise is good, but also to keep in mind that they don't have FSCS protection. It's fine to use them for currency conversion, but I'd wouldn't use them to hold any sizeable balance day-to-day. Transfer the GBP/EUR to a suitably protected account after conversion.

Another option is HSBC. They offer GBP and EUR denominated accounts, and you can then use their Global money account to facilitate conversions between currencies.

Leodogger

PRAISETHESUN said:

I personally would avoid Revolut - they have a reputation for poor customer service and I wouldn't want to be relying on them for anything important, especially if I was overseas.

Wise is good, but also to keep in mind that they don't have FSCS protection. It's fine to use them for currency conversion, but I'd wouldn't use them to hold any sizeable balance day-to-day. Transfer the GBP/EUR to a suitably protected account after conversion.

Another option is HSBC. They offer GBP and EUR denominated accounts, and you can then use their Global money account to facilitate conversions between currencies.

I am at the moment still resident in the UK but will be moving to Spain early next year to join my daughter.   She has a NatWest bank account but used our address when she first moved to Spain.   She seems to think they will allow her to add her Spanish address to her account but I am not sure myself.   She uses both Wise and Resolut, but did not recommend to us because we have sizeable savings in our UK bank account.    Does HSBC charge for sending money to a Spanish bank account do you know ?

friolento

I reckon they will all charge in one way or another. Some will roll it into the exchange rate, others will charge a percentage or a fixed amount. 

WastedWords

If you make the exchange in Wise, Revolut or HSBC GMA to Euro first you will then be able to transfer via SEPA which should be free. 

Leodogger

WastedWords said:

If you make the exchange in Wise, Revolut or HSBC GMA to Euro first you will then be able to transfer via SEPA which should be free. 

What is SEPA?

ColdIron

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/integration/retail/sepa/html/index.en.html

WastedWords

Single Euro Payment Area. Kinda like the UK faster payment system but for Euro and a bit slower.