Banks that do NOT charge for ATM withdrawals

Ascanio1

Flugelhorn said:

Lots of students come here and can open bank account for the time they are here, they don't have to wait years, just have to have passport, residence info etc - in some places with lots of JYA etc students they open loads of accounts each year - same if you study in Europe for a year etc 

The thing is that that account is perfectly adequate for normal day to day life - enough cash for day to day , online transfers and payments etc etc - suspect anyone turning up asking for large cash withdrawals would be shown the door

You haven't said why you want the cash - if it is buy something big or pay the rent - then forget that dodgy deal and find someone else to do business with 

No. You are wrong about opening an account: for normal foreigners it is a nightmare. Maybe compliance for students might be simpler, but for normal foreigners it is not as you say.
Banks would not open an account unless I produced utilities invoices and a lease signed by a "reputable" real estate agency. The passport, as you say, was not enough!
Utilities, as Vodafone, would not provide a contract, unless I had a credit card issued by a British bank.
Real Estate agencies would not agree to sign a lease unless I had a British bank account.

A dog biting its tail. The only way out of this loop was by opening an account with Wise, Starling, Revolut, etc. And even with them it was not as simple as in Italy.

In Italy banks and commercial practices are not allowed to withhold services or goods against disclosure of private information, as in England. In Italy, if a bank refused to open an account unless I provided a lease or utilities' bills, I could sue them.

When I applied with HSBC, I filed my lease amongst other documents. HSBC did not accept it, because this landlord was not an agency (remember, agencies would not offer a lease) and rejected the application. At the time I did not know this, but HSBC flagged me with CIFAS as a potential fraudster !! I only discovered this a year later, and I had to complain with the Financial Ombudsman to remove that flag (and decided that Equifax had to pay me £250 in reparations)!
In a previous post I explained why I prefer cash, and I am not being ASKED to pay in cash, I WANT to pay in cash and I find nothing dodgy in it.

Nasqueron

Ascanio1 said:

eskbanker said:

Ascanio1 said:

I just moved to your beautiful island

[...]

Which UK bank offers:
1. No limit in the number of withdrawals and/or the amount withdrawn in GBP (within limit of account balance) from a UK ATM?

[...]

I would really appreciate to be pointed in the right direction

We don't know where you've moved from, but cash usage in the UK has been on a steady decline for many years, accelerated by Covid, so the vast majority of places accept card payments now, i.e. for most people there simply isn't the need anymore to handle significant quantities of cash.  If you don't mind me asking, what do you anticipate needing unlimited cash withdrawals for?

Two reason why I like cash:

First, check what happened to banks recently - I keep as little as possible in my account, and what I can save, I buy physical gold (not kept token gold kept by financial institutions).

Second, I like feel of paying in cash because I am (probably) much older than you. I used to be able to pay everything, everywhere, always in cash, and I still prefer to when I can: from petrol to groceries, and from the gardener to the window cleaner. It adds up quickly to £000's of pounds per month. If I could, I would also pay gas, Vodafone, Now, electricity, water, etc this way! In Italy Liras used to be a legal tender, and it was illegal to refuse Lira for payments. In theory, in Italy, one could have bought a house and paid in cash.Once, I had a dispute with a car mechanic, and I paid the bill with tens of hundred chilograms of 100 lira coins!! Today with Euros, coins are no longer legal tender but, if I am not mistaken, banknotes still are. What can I say, I was born in a different era, and I like cash.

Now the two reasons why I do not like a cashless society:

First, while I understand the logic behind a cashless society (tax evasion in Italy is a terrible plague), it is wrong to punish law abiding citizens, who pay taxes, because others don't. The fact that the Italian government's (probably also the British one) is incapable of catching tax evaders, is not a justification to clamp on tax payers.

Secondly, in Italy, a few political parties are pushing to introduce a social score, like in China: "correct" social behaviour "earns" you social credits and, if you fall below a certain threshold, they block your credit. You can't buy food. One city municipality in Italy already introduced the system! In Canada Trudeau seized truckers bank accounts, etc, etc.

Bottom line is that I earned my money in my youth, and now I want the freedom to spend it as I please.

The only countries in the world that could implement a "social credit" system are one party dictatorships like the CCP in China or in North Korea, any other country which allows changing the government would never be able to implement this as the people could vote them out and a new party reverse it. The Smart Citizen Wallet in Bologna is neither mandatory nor does it block you from getting credit, people who recycle get Brownie Points and get a discount on going to a museum, if you don't take part or don't earn credits there is no penalty. Trudeau seized the assets of criminals as is legal in many countries, forfeiture of assets from crime is fine here too. The truckers were covid conspiracy types opposing vaccines and mask wearing by blocking a major bridge (carrying 25% of all trade between the US and Canada) preventing entry to Canada and they were given ample warning it was illegal.

Buying gold in cash is perfectly legal, just hope you don't get robbed and lose it all given you don't want to use banks.

DullGreyGuy

Ascanio1 said:

Our weather is very generous, you get to enjoy all 4 seasons within a single day!

Charges can be applied by either the ATM or the card issuer... for personal accounts it's exceptionally rare for the card issuer to charge for withdrawing money in the UK in GBP and tends only to be "pre-paid" cards rather than bank accounts. 

ATM companies can charge for using their tools, if you are looking at ATMs in banks, supermarkets etc it's rare that these charge anything. You are much more likely to find ATMs that charge in small cornershops/newsagents etc. 

All banks have certain limits for ATM withdraws both in terms of single transaction and daily limits. Some banks have a "premium" offering that may increase these but the single transaction limit may be dependent on you using their machines. Barclays Premier for example allows up to £2,000 per day and up to £1,000 in a single transaction from a Barclays ATM but other brands of ATM may limit you to lower (eg £250 or could be as low as £50 in a coronership)

If you look at any high street bank like Barclays, NatWest, HSBC, Lloyds etc they will be fee free for UK GBP ATMs

I visited all the high street banks in Newbury, including, those that you mention, but none gave me an answer as a clear as you did!

Thank you for the information, I will now go back and insist on confirming this information. Unfortunately I cannot just "try" opening different bank accounts to check the limits/charges because the English system is not protected by privacy laws and opening accounts causes damage to your credit worthiness.

At your knowledge, which "high street" bank offers current account with no (or very small) running fees, and allows free withdrawals from their ATMs and these kind of limits?

You were helpful, thank you, again.

PS: I didn't mean to be rude about your weather, sorry. I went to school in Elgin, for almost a year, when I was 13 and, trust, me, you have it good in England,compared to Scotland!

Most basic bank accounts don't have any basic running charges but these accounts have the lower daily limits on ATM. A basic account with Barclays comes with a £500 limit but no fee, a premier account with them has a £2,000 limit and used to charge £20 a month if you didn't meet their minimum earning etc however this fee has been waived in recent years. 

No matter the ATM limit you can always go in branch and withdraw more, though again over a certain amount they may require 24 hours notice. 

Most banks will have a page like https://supportcentre.natwest.com/Banking-near-me/Withdrawals/913258742/How-much-can-I-withdraw-daily-from-a-cash-machine.htm which will show you the limit for each of their account types. 

Most banks will only do an ID check to open an account without an overdraft facility, these checks aren't considered negative points by others. Obviously if you apply for any form of credit at the same time (eg HSBC used to push their Premier Credit Card if you opened a Premier Current Account) then a credit application is noted on the CRA record.

Ascanio1

400ixl said:

Equifax is one of the credit reference agencies and have nothing to do with the eligibility to have a UK bank account. Your credit score with them is also irrelevant, it is a fictitious number made up by them based on the information some financial institutions have shared with them about credit you have. It is their way of trying to sell you services they offer.

Individual financial institutions such as banks do not use the credit score (they don't even see it). They will be able to see your credit history and will have their own decision making criteria.

Not sure what you mean by lack of privacy laws stopping you opening a UK bank account.

You need to meet the eligibility to open a UK bank account, that has nothing to do with credit reference agencies. What features with the bank account you may get could be influenced by your credit history. This could mean you would only be eligible for a basic account which does not have and credit features such as an overdraft.

Are you currently residing in the UK with the relevant permission to stay?

As you have been told, UK banks do not offer no limit daily / monthly cash withdrawals. You can continue asking as much as you like, the answer isn't going to change.

Answering why do you need to be withdrawing that level of cash each day would be better as alternative ways of achieving your needs could be looked at. Large daily cash withdrawals from a personal account is just not usual and would be red flags to any account you were able to open and could lead to it being investigated for money laundering and closed.

About Equifax:

As I already mentioned a few times in this thread, all the high street banks that I visited would not give clear information: "open an account, as we will see"! I cannot open many accounts just to test the cash withdrawal limit/cost, because each bank where I open an account does a credit check that damages my score. Hence I posted here. This is the reference to Equifax, not what you interpreted.

I need to find out withdrawal lmits/costs BEFORE I open an account.

About the lack of privacy:

This refers to the collection of financial information without consent, by third parties that have no relation with you, and this is forbidden in Italy.

The second difference in privacy laws regards the possibility for English banks to withhold services, unless you disclose private information (again, this is illegal in Italy).
The third difference in privacy laws, makes it almost impossible for a foreigner to meet the eligibility requirements, on his arrival, even if he were not requested to disclose private information. English banks can consider if a positive credit history exists, and a foreigner cannot possibly have a positive one, upon on arrival. It took me a few years to build a positive record and this too, does not exist in Italy.
The fourth difference in privacy laws is bad credit history: this can only be known by one's bank or one's credit card company. It cannot be accessed publicly, unless by court order or unless convicted of a financial crime.

About my status:

I currently hold leave to stay, also known as pre-settled status.

Pointless polemics:

I am not continuing asking over and over, hoping for the answer to change. I am merely replying to members who question why I prefer cash and insinuate that I am a criminal.

About my preference for cash:
Also this I have already answered. If you want I can copy paste my reply here, but a little scrolling back and reading all what I say, can help you help me.

Ascanio1

friolento said:

Not sure what you mean by "in England you do not have privacy protection laws, and foreigners cannot get a bank account, because of them" - and in any case, you are wrong.

Foreigners can very well get UK bank accounts, and it's nothing to do with Equifax or other ratings.

Pop into a High Street bank with your passport, your UK residence permit, and proof of address (e.g. a utility bill), and they will help you apply for at least a basic current account. You may have to make an appointment for this.

I would also suggest that you don't offer the bank advice on UK legislation etc because this doesn't help with the process of opening a UK current acocunt.

I already replied to this question. You are wrong.

It is almost impossible for foreigners to open a bank account, upon arrival. If you could scroll back and read all my replies, before commenting, this might help you to help me.

Where did you get the information that I offer the bank advice on UK legislation?

Kindly, if you are motivated by helpful intentions, may I insist that you avoid making assumptions that may be wrong? Alternatively, please, if you don't have anything helpful to say, just don't say anything so as to keep the thread more easily accessible for future readers who may have my same challenge.

Ascanio1

Devongardener said:

You still haven’t clarified why you need to withdraw £2000+ from ATMs regularly, it’s not normal financial activity, and it would probably flag any bank’s anti money laundering alert if similar amounts are also being paid into the account.
As others have said, you can open an account with any bank, use ATMs up to their limit and go into a branch for larger withdrawals.

I clarified why I prefer cash later. But withdrawing your own money, as much as you want, should not be controversial at all!

GeoffTF

Cash withdrawal limits are tightening:

"For personal accounts we proposed a limit of £1,000 per 24-hour period (which is the minimum amount law enforcement are allowed to seize under the Proceeds of Crime Act) and £10,000 per 12-month period."

https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/financial-crime/cash-based-money-laundering

Ascanio1

Most basic bank accounts don't have any basic running charges but these accounts have the lower daily limits on ATM. A basic account with Barclays comes with a £500 limit but no fee, a premier account with them has a £2,000 limit and used to charge £20 a month if you didn't meet their minimum earning etc however this fee has been waived in recent years. 

No matter the ATM limit you can always go in branch and withdraw more, though again over a certain amount they may require 24 hours notice. 

Most banks will have a page like https://supportcentre.natwest.com/Banking-near-me/Withdrawals/913258742/How-much-can-I-withdraw-daily-from-a-cash-machine.htm which will show you the limit for each of their account types. 

Most banks will only do an ID check to open an account without an overdraft facility, these checks aren't considered negative points by others. Obviously if you apply for any form of credit at the same time (eg HSBC used to push their Premier Credit Card if you opened a Premier Current Account) then a credit application is noted on the CRA record.

Thank you, you seem the only forum member who doesn't have something to prove, and approached my thread with a charitable intent. It is sad how antagonizing these comments are. And all because I asked which banks offered no charges, and higher limits, instead of browsing bank webpages, like the one that you linked.

Sad. But, thankfully, most people that I met so far are like you, not as this forum's keyboard warriors.

Anyway, the information that you offered is very useful: Basically NatWest, Barclays, etc clerks should have read their own bank's webpage or, at least, pointed me to it, instead of suggesting to open and account and try. Your link is useful.

Regarding the score, unfortunately, I discovered that opening a bank account does lower your Equifax, even without credit card application.

I think that I am going to go with NatWest, that seems sufficient for my need, or Barclays if they waive the £20 charge for premium accounts. This will solve the problem. Again, thank you, you were the only helpful voice.

Ascanio1

To all others, sorry if I won't bother to reply further but, paraphrasing Twain: "never argue with who implies ill intent everywhere, he probably harbours it himself".

wmb194

Ascanio1 said: The only way out of this loop was by opening an account with Wise, Starling, Revolut, etc.

Starling is a bank.