Best € Euro/international bank accounts?

bery_451
bery_451 Posts: 1,807 Forumite
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in Budgeting & bank accounts
Hi

Can anyone recommend a bank account in Euros/Dollars etc so don't have to pay a lot for fees/exchange rates etc.

Or which UK high street banks accounts offer such account services?
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  • DCFC79
    DCFC79 Posts: 40,598 Forumite
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    You checked out some of the previous posts on the very same subject, well euro bank accounts at least ?

    Thread 1

    thread 2

    An account is mentioned here

    Other options here

    Could be other threads too
  • bery_451
    bery_451 Posts: 1,807 Forumite
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    Ok so many options. Which one will get the vote and has the best customer reviews?

    Also which ones are backed by a guarantee?

    The last thing I wanna do is put €euro in a account that can go bust or close down. Looking for something that is established and reliable.
  • eDicky
    eDicky Posts: 6,565 Forumite
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    edited 3 January 2018 at 1:38AM
    The best options depend to a large extent on your intended purpose for such accounts, but could well be Fineco Bank UK.
    Evolution, not revolution
  • bery_451
    bery_451 Posts: 1,807 Forumite
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    Yes my intention is finding an uk gbp account that gives the best exchange rate from €euro to £ with the cheapest conversion fee.

    Otherwise it has to be a €euro account.

    Any suggestions?
  • Nothanks
    Nothanks Posts: 160 Forumite
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    edited 5 January 2018 at 6:47AM
    Pretty much all the high st banks offer this, but fees are a mixed bag. TransferWise actually now offers bank accounts, including one that acts as multicurrency at low rates by giving you virtual accounts in other jurisdictions.
    Union official.
    CiPD qualified.

    Anything I post is solely MY OPINION. It never constitutes legal, financial or collective bargaining advice. I may tell you based on information given how I might approach an employment dispute case, but you should always seek advice from your own Union representative. If you don't have one, get one!
  • eDicky
    eDicky Posts: 6,565 Forumite
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    Fineco Bank UK is a real bank with FSCS protection, conversion between currencies at very close to the perfect interbank rates and withdrawal of pounds to another UK account costs (I believe) 50p.

    TransferWise Borderless Account is not a bank account but may serve your purpose, conversion at interbank rates with 0.5% fee.

    Revolut is a versatile multi-currency tool which can be used to hold, convert and send funds, interbank rate (weekdays)) with no fees up to £5k/month, 0.5% thereafter and no fees to withdraw/send elsewhere. So if you have a euro account in Germany out Ireland, for example, you can use Revolut to receive, convert and send your euros to pounds etc.

    Forget about foreign currency accounts with the UK 'high street' banks.
    Evolution, not revolution
  • bery_451
    bery_451 Posts: 1,807 Forumite
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    Ok understood, if I need any help I come back here, cheers.
  • bncs
    bncs Posts: 2 Newbie
    Revolut is a versatile multi-currency tool which can be used to hold, convert and send funds, interbank rate (weekdays)) with no fees up to £5k/month, 0.5% thereafter and no fees to withdraw/send elsewhere. So if you have a euro account in Germany out Ireland, for example, you can use Revolut to receive, convert and send your euros to pounds etc.
    .

    eDicky, came across your post whilst looking into Revolut's offering.

    In my case, I have my salary paid into a high street bank account. I'd then like to transfer a fixed sum every month to a GBP account and FX the whole sum (always) to a EUR account. The GBP account just needs to be on its own, whereas I would like a EUR account linked to a EUR debit card and (important) the ability of making bank transfers in Italy. I don't plan to keep any EUR balance on the account, which would be decreasing until the following transfer from the GBP account. Therefore I'm not too concerned about the lack of FSCS protection.

    In your experience, is Revolut a good option? I have read so much bad opinions around, especially how crap their debit card security is (which bothers me as I intend to entirely depend on their EUR debit card when not in the UK).

    What is the 0.5% fee about?

    Also, what is the benefit of opening the account in Germany whilst using it in Ireland?

    Thanks!
  • ivormonee
    ivormonee Posts: 395 Forumite
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    I set up a Revolut account recently. I found it quite difficult to use. Also, they say you can use it to pay in your salary and pay bills. However, bills tend to be in pounds and pence (or euros and cents) but Revolut only allows you to make payments in whole pounds or whole euros only, so I find it unusable. I therefore would not recommend it.
  • ivormonee
    ivormonee Posts: 395 Forumite
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    Also I should say that there is no support for Revolut. The only option is through the app and all that is is a "bot" ie. you can't talk to a human being either online, through the app or on the phone. So if any of your money goes missing or something else goes wrong, as happened to me, there is nobody at Revolut you can talk to and you suffer the loss.
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