Need a new Bank ....Santander debanked me.

daabren6

I need to open a new Bank account preferably in UK. 

I retired 2 years ago and came to Thailand. I have no family and no friends in the UK also I dont have any property so it made sense to move abroad, now I have many friends and my own condo. I have savings in UK ,    <200k.
I now have to move the money to a new account ....NOT to the account I have in Thailand.
I have tried several but they have conditions that are difficult ....I really dont want to go back to the UK to open an account, plane fair, hotel expenses.......
Please does anyone have any suggestions ?

BoGoF

Why did Santander 'debank' you - was it due to the fact you were non-resident in the UK or another reason.

'Another reason' is very important as if there was something untoward going on and they report this to CIFAS then you will find it very difficult to open any accounts in the UK.

MattMattMattUK

As you are an ex-pat you need an ex-pat account, if you Google them there are several options. 

ColdIron

A friend of mine moved to Thailand and was debanked by Virgin One. He managed to get an account with Starling but he has a UK correspondence address, you will need one of those

wmb194

daabren6 said:

I need to open a new Bank account preferably in UK. 

I retired 2 years ago and came to Thailand. I have no family and no friends in the UK also I dont have any property so it made sense to move abroad, now I have many friends and my own condo. I have savings in UK ,    <200k.
I now have to move the money to a new account ....NOT to the account I have in Thailand.
I have tried several but they have conditions that are difficult ....I really dont want to go back to the UK to open an account, plane fair, hotel expenses.......
Please does anyone have any suggestions ?

Ah, well, that can happen when you move abroad. Have you looked at HSBC UK? I'm not sure whether Wise will offer you an account but whilst it's not a bank it offers bank-like services. Offshore accounts with NatWest, Lloyds and HSBC in the Channel Islands might be an option if you have, IIRC, >£50k.

DullGreyGuy

Most UK banks won't have a license to sell banking services to someone living in Thailand.

Either you commit fraud as @coldiron is suggesting by declaring an address in the UK that you don't live at as your residence or you look to an Ex-Pat option which will be based outside the UK, normally in Jersey or Guernsey but can be other British Overseas Territories or Dependency.

Since Brexit, when UK banks lost passporting rights across the EU, and combined with large fines for failing to do proper KYC checks banks have become much more careful with where their customers are based, especially at the point of sale. 

MattMattMattUK

ColdIron said:

A friend of mine moved to Thailand and was debanked by Virgin One. He managed to get an account with Starling but he has a UK correspondence address, you will need one of those

They were not debanked, they had their accounts closed because they no longer meet the legal requirements to hold an account. 

eDicky

I would recommend banking in Singapore, as I did during many years of residence in Thailand (and still do). There are international banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, plus local banks such as OCBC etc. Wide range of services and currency accounts including GBP.

eskbanker

MattMattMattUK said:

ColdIron said:

A friend of mine moved to Thailand and was debanked by Virgin One. He managed to get an account with Starling but he has a UK correspondence address, you will need one of those

They were not debanked, they had their accounts closed because they no longer meet the legal requirements to hold an account. 

It all depends on definition really!

Wikipedia goes with a fairly narrow one:

De-banking, also known within the banking industry as de-risking, is the closure of people's or organizations' bank accounts by banks who perceive the account holders to pose a financial, legal, regulatory, or reputational risk to the bank.

but Collins is broader:

debank

in British English

(diːˈbæŋk  )

VERB

(transitive)

to deprive (someone) of banking facilities

Bigwheels1111

Not moved abroad, but sofa surfed for a long long time.
I was well organised, Licence and passport at Mums, Banking At dads.
Other stuff at best mates.

I could end up homeless in the near future, so getting prepared again.
Preparation is everything.

gt94sss2

daabren6 said:

I need to open a new Bank account preferably in UK. 

I retired 2 years ago and came to Thailand. I have no family and no friends in the UK also I dont have any property so it made sense to move abroad, now I have many friends and my own condo. I have savings in UK ,    <200k.
I now have to move the money to a new account ....NOT to the account I have in Thailand.
I have tried several but they have conditions that are difficult ....I really dont want to go back to the UK to open an account, plane fair, hotel expenses.......
Please does anyone have any suggestions ?

If you're not planning to visit the UK, you can try an offshore account like https://www.expat.hsbc.com/

I believe accounts in the channel Islands come with UK sort code/account numbers