Citibank Account Closures USD & CHF

I got the same letter.
Apparently I am not benefitting from their core wealth management services so they are giving 2 months notice.

Have to decide what to do with my $ balance.
i) Transfer to my GBP current ac using their electronic transfer at their exchange rates.
ii) Take their closing balance cheque in 2 monthts and try to do something with it
iii) Open a US based checking account.

UK banks do not seem to offer a practical USD account

Any suggestions?

nilocmac wrote: »

Revolut seems like a very good product but does not really fulfil all my needs :-(

Not all, but maybe some of your needs. We don't know what they are.

You could use Revolut to transfer your Citibank USD to a GBP account. Also for CHF spending/withdrawals, if that's your need...

You should be able to open a checking account with a US bank while you're there, BoA, Citi, Schwab, etc. Take proof of address with you.

I got one of those too. I'm not surprised, since I have about £2 across all my accounts, and have carefully not been paying them the expected £5 per month per account (if you have no money they can't charge any fees). I mostly only use them to dump cash in when travelling, and then take it out after, or sometimes to pay in notes in the erstwhile London branches and then use for electronic transfers.

Revolut or Transferwise (or Currencyfair) I wouldn't hold anything in for more than the minimum time as there's no FSCS. Bunq might work for some people for EUR (they're under the Dutch protection scheme).

Santander International (Jersey) have a USD savings account but no cheques or cards and you might not be able to open one as a UK resident. Jersey is non-EU and has a much weaker protection scheme.

Barclays seem to have some accounts, but no cards and nasty charges.

HSBC's Currency Account might work if you're willing to put up with a 6 USD/EUR/CHF fee for transfers out. But maybe if you combine it with an account like Revolut, CurrencyFair or a prepaid card - transfer out lumps of say $500 to your card and then use that to make payments. That way at most you're risking due to lack of FSCS is $500. Scale that number based on your personal risk/costs tradeoff.

HSBC and Barclays will do cheques, but the prices aren't pleasant. I think I'd be looking if the sender can use an electronic transfer instead.

Now we see some explanation of what these Citibank accounts are used for, which I was wondering about. At least they had debit cards denominated in USD etc, which I believe no UK bank issues with their foreign currency accounts, making them next to useless. I used to have accounts with USD and EUR debits cards at Santander Jersey, but they now require substantial deposits to avoid monthly fees. Such accounts with 'offshore' branches of mainstream UK banks are available to UK residents, but for personal use they are not so attractive these days.

In fact, apart from the ability to deposit and/or write USD cheques, I can't see much use in having foreign currency accounts for personal use, when the 'home' currency is GBP and there are now so many ways to spend and withdraw foreign currency at the perfect exchange rates and without any fees. (See the relevant MSE articles.) Holding dollars or euros etc in a separate account may seem useful if you travel regularly, but in reality, unless you're lucky with exchange rate movements, it is always going to be to the banks' advantage, not yours, whenever you have to convert at their rates. When you use a GBP card that has no non-sterling fees it is good for virtually any foreign currency, whereas a USD card usually imposes hefty fees if it's used for anything other than dollars.

Over a year ago I used Revolut to withdraw all funds from my Jersey accounts and close them, totally avoiding bank fees and adverse exchange rates. I suggest that Citibank foreign currency accounts can probably be cleared in the same way, although Revolut's fair usage policy now limits fee-free conversions to £5000 per month, a 1%(?) charge thereafter, and loading dollars with a USD debit card now costs 3% so a bank transfer is necessary (Citibank USD to Revolut's Barclays or NatWest USD account, with your personal reference number). Loading with a EUR debit card remains free and instant. You can then convert to GBP at the interbank rate (weekdays) and withdraw to your UK account, or wherever, without fees.