Opening an online international bank account

[bannork]

I'm the lucky recepient of a family inheritance of which I would like to deposit half in Thailand (partly to cover the 800,000 baht clause for a retirement visa), the other half I would like to keep in the UK. I haven't lived in the UK for over 30 years so my old bank account has deceased. I was looking at setting up a Barclay's international online account, it looks good but it's a pain having to find a certified lawyer to verify the residency and passport documents.

Does anyone have any other online international banking facilities they can recommend for deposits in the UK?

Cheers and Happy New Year.

[Crossy]

Have a look at Lloyds international, it was a few (but not that many) years back but they needed nothing more than my passport copy and all done online.

 

I have Sterling, euro and USD accounts based in the Isle of Man.

 

 

[Moonlover]

The Channel Islands and/or The Isle of Man have long been the favourite regions for expats who wish to make deposits. The institutes there are quite used to dealing such people and I'm sure you will find them much more cooperative than trying to deal with their mainland counterparts.

[Hans007]

N26 is pretty good. Can open online if you are having EU passport.

 

Hans

[baansgr]

Citi Bank..take a look

[saminoz]

It might b worth taking a look at Privato Bank which you can open with ease (Panama based) and using just an email address.

I have used it for two years now and it's very useful and tax efficient.

[mran66]

15 hours ago, Hans007 said:

N26 is pretty good. Can open online if you are having EU passport.

 

Hans

... And Revolut in UK another alternative, pretty much same as German N26. Opened both in minutes a while back. All work good. No costs for visa cards. 

[trawler]

16 hours ago, Hans007 said:

N26 is pretty good. Can open online if you are having EU passport.

 

Hans

Except if you put your residence as Thailand it wont let you open a account.Revolut is the same,you need a European tel nos and address(Uk ) to open these accounts.cheers

[orientalist]

If all else fails, Transferwise Borderless account allows Thai residents to register, but no debit card for residents outside the EU as yet. You can hold multiple currencies too.

[Hans007]

13 hours ago, mran66 said:

... And Revolut in UK another alternative, pretty much same as German N26. Opened both in minutes a while back. All work good. No costs for visa cards. 

Yes true...however Revolut dont work in Thailand. I mean for paying stuff inshops. Ihave Revolut...andset up a thai bath account. Its pretty useless imho. N26 better imho.

 

 

Hans

[Salerno]

4 hours ago, orientalist said:

no debit card for residents outside the EU as yet

Actually, although not much use to OP, can get in Australia now too.

[Oxx]

On 1/1/2020 at 2:57 PM, bannork said:

I would like to deposit ... the other half I would like to keep in the UK.

 

Given your circumstances you won't be able to open a bank account in the UK.  Offshore bank accounts are (by definition) not in the UK, and don't have the UK's protections.

 

If you simply want to keep the money in Sterling, then you could open a Foreign Currency account with a Thai bank.

 

If you want to go down the offshore route, stick to one of the established big names for security.  And the need for proper paperwork to open an account is a good sign - it's not some fly-by-night dodgy operation, and it takes its legal responsibilities seriously.

Edited January 2, 2020 by Oxx

[maprao]

Standard Bank Isle of Man is good. Can even pay UK Bills by Direct Debit. Has a UK IBAN + Sort code

[bannork]

Thank you for all the advice from everyone. It looks like I'll have to stick with Barclays international account. Wise words from Oxx regarding paperwork.