Bonds & Savings Platforms for an American national, British resident

londoner62

Can anyone provide a quick answer to which platforms such as HL, Raisin, etc. allow USA nationals, British residents (with an NI number) to open new bonds via their platforms? I am struggling to find any for my wife who has lived in the UK for thirty plus years!

Many thanks for any help offered.

dunstonh

 I am struggling to find any for my wife who has lived in the UK for thirty plus years!

It is US citizenship that matters.  If she has given up her US citizenship then the problem largely goes away.   

londoner62

dunstonh said:

 I am struggling to find any for my wife who has lived in the UK for thirty plus years!

It is US citizenship that matters.  If she has given up her US citizenship then the problem largely goes away.   

Yeah, I Know. She won't give up the US Passport until her parents have passed away as she cannot be refused entry into the States with it as a US citizen.

Currently she has a US passport and her TIN as well as indefinite leave to remain in the UK with an NI number. 

She does have a half a dozen joint bank accounts (with me, a UK national) as well as an ISA, building society accounts, state pension from working here for years.... but I'm looking at all options for the future!

born_again

If she is a US citizen. Then they would have to go through FATCA. Which means they have to inform US tax authority.

So could be why some do not offer this.

lr1277

I offer the following not knowing whether it will work.

Based on the above posts, I thought is there a broker who ‘operates’ in both countries?
HSBC came to mind.
They offer a share dealing service.
To apply you need to be resident in the UK and have a HSBC current account. No mention of nationality on the initial page,
Should you investigate and apply, you may find nationality becomes an issue further into the application?
It might be worth contacting HSBC to enquire further?

eskbanker

lr1277 said:

Based on the above posts, I thought is there a broker who ‘operates’ in both countries?
HSBC came to mind.
They offer a share dealing service.
To apply you need to be resident in the UK and have a HSBC current account. No mention of nationality on the initial page,
Should you investigate and apply, you may find nationality becomes an issue further into the application?
It might be worth contacting HSBC to enquire further?

I could be wrong but think that OP was meaning fixed term savings accounts when referring to 'bonds', rather than the investments labelled with the same term....

lr1277

eskbanker said:

lr1277 said:

Based on the above posts, I thought is there a broker who ‘operates’ in both countries?
HSBC came to mind.
They offer a share dealing service.
To apply you need to be resident in the UK and have a HSBC current account. No mention of nationality on the initial page,
Should you investigate and apply, you may find nationality becomes an issue further into the application?
It might be worth contacting HSBC to enquire further?

I could be wrong but think that OP was meaning fixed term savings accounts when referring to 'bonds', rather than the investments labelled with the same term....

Perhaps. I saw HL but glossed over Raisin.

Edited to add: HSBC offer fixed term savings. Perhaps not a good a rate as offered by his suggestions. Perhaps still worth investigating if they will take his wife on as a customer.

eskbanker

lr1277 said:

eskbanker said:

lr1277 said:

Based on the above posts, I thought is there a broker who ‘operates’ in both countries?
HSBC came to mind.
They offer a share dealing service.
To apply you need to be resident in the UK and have a HSBC current account. No mention of nationality on the initial page,
Should you investigate and apply, you may find nationality becomes an issue further into the application?
It might be worth contacting HSBC to enquire further?

I could be wrong but think that OP was meaning fixed term savings accounts when referring to 'bonds', rather than the investments labelled with the same term....

Perhaps. I saw HL but glossed over Raisin.

HL have an equivalent Active Savings marketplace product as well as their more widely used investment platform, and OP did refer to looking "to open new bonds" which would further support the savings use of the term rather than the investments.

Bostonerimus1

FYI that ISA is not free of US tax.

I don’t think you’ll find any of the major UK brokerages that will want to deal with a US citizen. There are some boutique services, but the come with high fees. 

Be careful with joint accounts with a US citizen as this opens you up to IRS and American taxation.

The usual way UC citizens living in the UK can invest is through UK pensions and US based brokerages for mutual funds that are both US and UK reporting. HSBC is often a good for usual banking services and saving accounts because of their international scope.

masonic

I think savings platforms would really struggle with this, because, even if they themselves are willing sign up a US person, it would place an obligation on all of the savings providers using the marketplace to be FATCA compliant, many of which tend to be new / smaller providers trying to keep their operations simple.

wmb194

londoner62 said:

Can anyone provide a quick answer to which platforms such as HL, Raisin, etc. allow USA nationals, British residents (with an NI number) to open new bonds via their platforms? I am struggling to find any for my wife who has lived in the UK for thirty plus years!

Many thanks for any help offered.

Take a look at this recent thread. Principality, Coventry and Lloyds appear to confirmed options. Plum is a possibility as well.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6555741/best-savings-accounts-for-american-expats/p3