Natinwide Flex Account Foreign Charges As Of 1/11/2010

[BuckBee]

Here are the nationwide changes for foreign purchases/ATM withdrawals.

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/pdf/current_account/P1112.pdf

You will have a 2% fee on purchases & a £1 fee plus 2% fee per ATM transaction.

Using your Flex account card over the counter in banks will also incur the 2% fee.

[Lite Beer]

The Swift fee also rises from £20 to £25.

Their moto is "Proud to be different"

[SantiSuk]

The exchange rate often matters more than the commission. If you can't check out the exchange rate in advance and compare it with a couple of other options then look for a route where you can.

[citizen33]

I'm still waiting for confirmation, from somebody with first-hand experience, that Metro Bank Online offers something similar to the old NW deal (thanks to JF Chandler for finding this info)

https://www.metrobankonline.co.uk/

Anybody tried it yet?

[techno]

I'm still waiting for confirmation, from somebody with first-hand experience, that Metro Bank Online offers something similar to the old NW deal (thanks to JF Chandler for finding this info)

https://www.metrobankonline.co.uk/

Anybody tried it yet?

No mention on their website of ATM charges when using the debit card overseas or how you can open an account when one is overseas. Perhaps JF Chandler knows the answer?

[nong38]

The Swift fee also rises from £20 to £25.

Their moto is "Proud to be different"

Alert to new ways of making money is more like it, isnt mutuality great? By the way great picture of not only one the best footballers of all time but a real gent too. Saw him once in Radio and TV dept at John Lewis in Oxford Street, unmistakeable and no side to the great man at all, a great loss to us all,

[Englander]

My cashcard the most basic one has stopped working, they sent the new visa card but this doesnt work here either, they told me i cant use it outside of Europe?

Time to close the account down, it house several thousand pound in there aswell.

[Nigelmartin]

My cashcard the most basic one has stopped working, they sent the new visa card but this doesnt work here either, they told me i cant use it outside of Europe?

Time to close the account down, it house several thousand pound in there aswell.

You should also be aware than from the 1stDec or soon after Nationwide are changing the way you access your Flexaccount over the Internet. You will require the card reader with the debit card to provide the security code to access the account

Edited October 22, 2010 by Nigelmartin

[techno]

My cashcard the most basic one has stopped working, they sent the new visa card but this doesnt work here either, they told me i cant use it outside of Europe?

Time to close the account down, it house several thousand pound in there aswell.

You should also be aware than from the 1stDec or soon after Nationwide are changing the way you access your Flexaccount over the Internet. You will require the card reader with the debit card to provide the security code to access the account

But will you still be able to use the Flex Account card at an ATM in LOS without the card reader after 1 December

[BuckBee]

The Cirrus cards have been replaced (replacement would of been issued to account registered address) & current Cirrus cards will no longer function.

[VBF]

You should also be aware than from the 1stDec or soon after Nationwide are changing the way you access your Flexaccount over the Internet. You will require the card reader with the debit card to provide the security code to access the account

Thanks a lot for that Nigelmartin.

So far NW have not informed me so it was the first I'd heard! I shall order a new reader to take to Thailand.

[phaethon]

That bloody card reader is a PITA. You can't manage your account online if your card is cancelled for any reason until you get the replacement card.

When my card was cloned (during a UK trip) NW cancelled it (I was back in LOS by then) at a time when I was coming up to needing to do a funds transfer. No card, so couldn't do my usual over-the-counter so I thought I could do an online (SWIFT) transfer... but no card, no online transactions. I had no access to my UK funds until my friend forwarded the new card. Now I keep half my UK funds in a different bank.

If I now have to carry card and reader everywhere I might need to check a balance or transaction... I think I'll just give up.

[phaethon]

But will you still be able to use the Flex Account card at an ATM in LOS without the card reader after 1 December

And get stung with the 2% + transaction fee + Thai ATM fee...

[cardholder]

That bloody card reader is a PITA. You can't manage your account online if your card is cancelled for any reason until you get the replacement card.

When my card was cloned (during a UK trip) NW cancelled it (I was back in LOS by then) at a time when I was coming up to needing to do a funds transfer. No card, so couldn't do my usual over-the-counter so I thought I could do an online (SWIFT) transfer... but no card, no online transactions. I had no access to my UK funds until my friend forwarded the new card. Now I keep half my UK funds in a different bank.

If I now have to carry card and reader everywhere I might need to check a balance or transaction... I think I'll just give up.

Give up phaethon and give the Halifax Reward account a look - excellent online system AND - NO CARD READER !

[phaethon]

Give up phaethon and give the Halifax Reward account a look - excellent online system AND - NO CARD READER !

Been with the Halifax 15+ years, opened the NW accout before coming out here but in under 2 years hey have removed every advantage of the flex account. Halifax SWIFT at GBP9.50 flat rate per transfer is the way to go now.

[cardholder]

Give up phaethon and give the Halifax Reward account a look - excellent online system AND - NO CARD READER !

Been with the Halifax 15+ years, opened the NW accout before coming out here but in under 2 years hey have removed every advantage of the flex account. Halifax SWIFT at GBP9.50 flat rate per transfer is the way to go now.

I agree. I used NW and my GF had a NW card.

Now I transfer monthly to my KBank account - so easy - and if I need to transfer funds to the GF I do through K-Cyber Banking online.

note:- Halifax 9.50 effectively reduces to 4.50 if you transfer GBP 1,000 into the Reward account.

[roamer]

Some of you might find this guide to alternatives useful. I now have the FairFX card and the Halifax Clarity card, use either or both and your quids in. Accept that for those of you in LOS and stuck with the NW card its less practical.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money

[phaethon]

Some of you might find this guide to alternatives useful. I now have the FairFX card and the Halifax Clarity card, use either or both and your quids in. Accept that for those of you in LOS and stuck with the NW card its less practical.

http://www.moneysavi...ap-travel-money

Thanks for the link Roamer. The clarity card looks a good deal. I take it I would get charged 12.9% (at present) APR starting from the moment I make an ATM or OTC withdrawal, but this would be minimised by careful timing of payments?

Did you apply for your clarity while in the UK or online abroad - what documentation if any was required (assuming you already held another HFX card and/or current account)?.

Cheers,

K.

Edited November 3, 2010 by phaethon

[Englander]

Some of you might find this guide to alternatives useful. I now have the FairFX card and the Halifax Clarity card, use either or both and your quids in. Accept that for those of you in LOS and stuck with the NW card its less practical.

http://www.moneysavi...ap-travel-money

Ive got a Fairfx card and the rates you get are terrible, its only useful for emergencies.

[endure]

Some of you might find this guide to alternatives useful. I now have the FairFX card and the Halifax Clarity card, use either or both and your quids in. Accept that for those of you in LOS and stuck with the NW card its less practical.

http://www.moneysavi...ap-travel-money

Thanks for the link Roamer. The clarity card looks a good deal. I take it I would get charged 12.9% (at present) APR starting from the moment I make an ATM or OTC withdrawal, but this would be minimised by careful timing of payments?

As long as you pay in full at the end of the month you'd pay 12.9/12 (about 1 per cent). I've just got one and done a test run in the UK. I withdrew 10 quid in cash and paid 4 pence in interest at the end of the month.

[mataleo]

i got flexi nationwide

i think not only they increased fees

look at natwest for example

[mataleo]

so it look like (pdf), they charge 3GBP for every 100GBP withdrawal, right, so its means withdraw 100GBP cost me 6GBP cuz thai ATM charge 150THB right?

please confirm as i am on holiday now in BKK

[Lite Beer]

If you can find a AEON ATM they do not charge the 150 Baht.

[lifemagic]

Yes, to withdraw one hundred pounds sterling will be roughly six pounds in fees now (six pounds in total, half from both ends).

I've had free banking with them for some good years now. I got the account in 1974, i.e. it was opened as a gift as me when I was a baby (it wasn't even called nationwide then). Then I grew up and spent about a decade in India, using a credit card, usually over the counter in bank of baroda. I think I used to pay 1.50 sterling in Barclaycard charges, and 1% from the local bank.

Then I went to the UK about 2003, got clued up about the debit card and had it free since then. Been around SE ASia since then.

It hurts to be charged like this suddenly, but I paid before of course. I'm looking into options. Kasikorn refused me a bank account. Current options for myself:

1 - Try the Bangkok bank in Silom with a referral from a local hotel owner I know, and do transfers.

2 - I need to receive a parcel from UK around Xmas time, so I'll try for a fairfax card (and hope it works over the counter).

3 - I met a French guy who had no trouble opening an account using a French address in Hong Kong (hsbc). He got a card with it. If I'm there next year then I'll look into that also.

Still, over the past years, I only ever paid the 150 local atm charge once, coming off the plane from London last time. Apart from that it was all Aeon and over the counter at Ayduhya. It was a good run for 'me money, but the bankers always win. You know that don't you? It's like sensible people enjoying casinos. They don't expect to win. The goal is not to lose your money too fast.

[damole]

I have a Smile account which was my only account until I opened a NW account for the purposes of accessing my money abroad. Now it seems that their Swift charge: 0.25% (min 13 GBP maximum 35 GBP) so therefore 13 GBP up to 5200 GBP seems like a decent deal at least until the next time I go home next and open a Metrobank account.

http://www.smile.co.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Smile/Page/smView&c=Page&cid=1027951510531

[dave2]

transam.

re ... I understand that the card reader thing is just an option for your security and the old system will still work.

true .... according to this !

dave2