What is the best UK bank for ex pats?

[BaldPlumber]

I don't know about expats, but Barclays has a great app for android that doesn't require a UK sim.

It has all of the functionally of the pin sentry card reader.

[rayinkrabi]

 

which of these banks will deliver new credit and debit cards to you in Thailand?

 

I have used FirstDirect for nearly twenty years. They post cards overseas and have done for well over 10 years.

 

Recently they introduced a Foreign Transaction charge  ontop of their standard ATM charges Along with the local bank charges it now costs nearly twenty quid a month to withdraw my state pension

 

I am now in the process of trying to get the state pension paid directly into my local Bangkok Bank to avoid these extortionate charges ...

 

I think you will find this is 'out of the frying pan into a bigger fire' John, as I'm sure your pension will be worth a lot less due to a much reduced exchange rate.  I also enquired about this some time ago as a way of avoiding the bank charges but dropped the idea as soon as I realised how much less my pension would be, check it out first!

 

The poster who mentioned the Nationwide Flexplus is spot on imo as you only pay 10 pounds a month to avoid the 2% and 1 pound per withdrawal charges altogether, which is a saving of around 14 pounds on a 1000 pound pension.

[pontious]

 

 

which of these banks will deliver new credit and debit cards to you in Thailand?

 

I have used FirstDirect for nearly twenty years. They post cards overseas and have done for well over 10 years.

 

Recently they introduced a Foreign Transaction charge  ontop of their standard ATM charges Along with the local bank charges it now costs nearly twenty quid a month to withdraw my state pension

 

I am now in the process of trying to get the state pension paid directly into my local Bangkok Bank to avoid these extortionate charges ...

 

I think you will find this is 'out of the frying pan into a bigger fire' John, as I'm sure your pension will be worth a lot less due to a much reduced exchange rate.  I also enquired about this some time ago as a way of avoiding the bank charges but dropped the idea as soon as I realised how much less my pension would be, check it out first!

 

The poster who mentioned the Nationwide Flexplus is spot on imo as you only pay 10 pounds a month to avoid the 2% and 1 pound per withdrawal charges altogether, which is a saving of around 14 pounds on a 1000 pound pension.

 

 

That is what I thought Ray - but on another thread about Gov pensions being paid direct to Thailand people have reported exchange rates around or on some occasions better than the TT rate. Most people thought it is because of the bulk buying of currency . My next pension payment will be direct to Thailand and I will report the rate I get when it arrives. 

Edited July 25, 2014 by pontious

[GavinK]

 

 

HSBC is good because it's easy to open accounts in any country you move too. On the negative side logging into and using your account is like under taking the pre- flight checks of a space shuttle flight- endless passwords, widgets and numbers that need to be entered and re entered in weird combinations - a real pain.

Sent from my SM-N900 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I don't know of any UK banks that accept expatriates unless they are UK residents with a registered UK address in which case they are not expats. It is possible to open an offshore sterling account with most major UK banks but the minimum balance is around 50k so, judging from the responses in this thread we have a lot of well heeled members........

 

 

I agree - I cannot find any UK mainland bank that will open a new  account when residing in Thailand.

(without lying).

 

 

Agree - conditions refer to opening of the account. However, once opened you can change your address to overseas and there are a few banks out there that will allow you to keep the account open (again, check the terms and conditions). Not many will accept R105s though...

[jacky54]

Not a "bank" but enquire from Nationwide Building Society (UK).  FlexPlus debit account, pay £10 a month and use any foreign ATM.  Here in Thailand the local ATM will charge you 150/180 baht per withdrawal which cannot be avoided with foreign card but the Nationwide will not charge you a penny.

 

 

Nationwide have charged 2% for a long time, they used to be' proud to be different', now they are ashamed to be the same.

[sandyf]

 

 

which of these banks will deliver new credit and debit cards to you in Thailand?

 

I have used FirstDirect for nearly twenty years. They post cards overseas and have done for well over 10 years.

 

Recently they introduced a Foreign Transaction charge  ontop of their standard ATM charges Along with the local bank charges it now costs nearly twenty quid a month to withdraw my state pension

 

I am now in the process of trying to get the state pension paid directly into my local Bangkok Bank to avoid these extortionate charges ...

 

I think you will find this is 'out of the frying pan into a bigger fire' John, as I'm sure your pension will be worth a lot less due to a much reduced exchange rate.  I also enquired about this some time ago as a way of avoiding the bank charges but dropped the idea as soon as I realised how much less my pension would be, check it out first!

 

The poster who mentioned the Nationwide Flexplus is spot on imo as you only pay 10 pounds a month to avoid the 2% and 1 pound per withdrawal charges altogether, which is a saving of around 14 pounds on a 1000 pound pension.

 

Every payment I have had has been better than local rates. The last payment I had a couple of weeks ago was at 55.28/GBP into my account. The receiving bank will not be doing it for free, so the actual rate would be somewhat better.

 

Another point that should be borne in mind is that Directpay from the DWP cannot be taxed at source.

[pontious]

 

 

 

which of these banks will deliver new credit and debit cards to you in Thailand?

 

I have used FirstDirect for nearly twenty years. They post cards overseas and have done for well over 10 years.

 

Recently they introduced a Foreign Transaction charge  ontop of their standard ATM charges Along with the local bank charges it now costs nearly twenty quid a month to withdraw my state pension

 

I am now in the process of trying to get the state pension paid directly into my local Bangkok Bank to avoid these extortionate charges ...

 

I think you will find this is 'out of the frying pan into a bigger fire' John, as I'm sure your pension will be worth a lot less due to a much reduced exchange rate.  I also enquired about this some time ago as a way of avoiding the bank charges but dropped the idea as soon as I realised how much less my pension would be, check it out first!

 

The poster who mentioned the Nationwide Flexplus is spot on imo as you only pay 10 pounds a month to avoid the 2% and 1 pound per withdrawal charges altogether, which is a saving of around 14 pounds on a 1000 pound pension.

 

Every payment I have had has been better than local rates. The last payment I had a couple of weeks ago was at 55.28/GBP into my account. The receiving bank will not be doing it for free, so the actual rate would be somewhat better.

 

Another point that should be borne in mind is that Directpay from the DWP cannot be taxed at source.

 

 

 

No but it will come off your personal allowance (assuming you have other income)_ 

Edited July 25, 2014 by pontious

[rayinkrabi]

Interesting stuff, hopefully this will help other members as well as the OP. 

 

It sounds as if either things have changed or maybe I got it wrong when I inquired some years ago as I was told by Capita Hartshead (who handle my pension on behalf of my ex employers) that they would pay into my Thai account but must convert it to Thai Baht first.

 

Is is not still the case that the exchange rate is less when changing currency this way instead of sending sterling?  My research at the time showed around 3 baht per pound difference.  One last point, a poster earlier referred to "local rates", is this the rate shown in local banks or the rates shown on currency convertors such as http://fxtop.com/  ?

[sandyf]

 

 

 

 

I think you will find this is 'out of the frying pan into a bigger fire' John, as I'm sure your pension will be worth a lot less due to a much reduced exchange rate.  I also enquired about this some time ago as a way of avoiding the bank charges but dropped the idea as soon as I realised how much less my pension would be, check it out first!

 

The poster who mentioned the Nationwide Flexplus is spot on imo as you only pay 10 pounds a month to avoid the 2% and 1 pound per withdrawal charges altogether, which is a saving of around 14 pounds on a 1000 pound pension.

 

Every payment I have had has been better than local rates. The last payment I had a couple of weeks ago was at 55.28/GBP into my account. The receiving bank will not be doing it for free, so the actual rate would be somewhat better.

 

Another point that should be borne in mind is that Directpay from the DWP cannot be taxed at source.

 

 

 

No but it will come off your personal allowance (assuming you have other income)_ 

 

I am well aware of my tax situation, the point was for the benefit of those unfamiliar with the Direct Payment Service.

[sandyf]

Interesting stuff, hopefully this will help other members as well as the OP. 

 

It sounds as if either things have changed or maybe I got it wrong when I inquired some years ago as I was told by Capita Hartshead (who handle my pension on behalf of my ex employers) that they would pay into my Thai account but must convert it to Thai Baht first.

 

Is is not still the case that the exchange rate is less when changing currency this way instead of sending sterling?  My research at the time showed around 3 baht per pound difference.  One last point, a poster earlier referred to "local rates", is this the rate shown in local banks or the rates shown on currency convertors such as http://fxtop.com/  ?

I referred to local rates and by that I usually mean Superrich, easiest to to a quick check.

[cyborgx]

which of these banks will deliver new credit and debit cards to you in Thailand?

 

Lloyds Offshore will, but NOT Lloyds TSB Domestic. Weird but true....

[pontious]

 

which of these banks will deliver new credit and debit cards to you in Thailand?

 

Lloyds Offshore will, but NOT Lloyds TSB Domestic. Weird but true....

 

 

Strange - Just recieived our Lloyds Credit Cards - had to pay for them to be sent by courier.

 

TSB - just recieved our two Debit Cards - again by courier - free.

 

I would contact your Manager and say you will pay for the courier. ( Credit Card 8.93 Pounds.)

 

I initially had the 'cannot send to Thailand ' but saying I would pay for them to be sent by courier eased that.

 

Debit Cards usually end up in the Fraud Office in the Bank and they say cannot and cut them up. 

 

I go through the same nausea every 2/3 years.

 

Give them a call.

[torrow]

I don't know about expats, but Barclays has a great app for android that doesn't require a UK sim.

It has all of the functionally of the pin sentry card reader.

Have you tried this with a Thai sim inside? Barclays clearly state you must have a UK Sim and the phone cannot be rooted.

[phetphet]

 

HSBC is good because it's easy to open accounts in any country you move too. On the negative side logging into and using your account is like under taking the pre- flight checks of a space shuttle flight- endless passwords, widgets and numbers that need to be entered and re entered in weird combinations - a real pain.

Sent from my SM-N900 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I don't know of any UK banks that accept expatriates unless they are UK residents with a registered UK address in which case they are not expats. It is possible to open an offshore sterling account with most major UK banks but the minimum balance is around 50k so, judging from the responses in this thread we have a lot of well heeled members........

 

That was going to be my question for a new thread: How do those that make the move to, or are living in Thailand manage to keep a (UK) bank account going without a UK address?

[sandyf]

 

 

HSBC is good because it's easy to open accounts in any country you move too. On the negative side logging into and using your account is like under taking the pre- flight checks of a space shuttle flight- endless passwords, widgets and numbers that need to be entered and re entered in weird combinations - a real pain.

Sent from my SM-N900 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I don't know of any UK banks that accept expatriates unless they are UK residents with a registered UK address in which case they are not expats. It is possible to open an offshore sterling account with most major UK banks but the minimum balance is around 50k so, judging from the responses in this thread we have a lot of well heeled members........

 

That was going to be my question for a new thread: How do those that make the move to, or are living in Thailand manage to keep a (UK) bank account going without a UK address?

 

I use an online postal service in the UK. All my mail from pension providers, banks, inland revenue etc go to that address, they scan it and I read it online. Anything I need physically I can have sent on or stored. I normally pick up stored items on a trip to the UK.

It is not very cheap but I think worth it.

[pontious]

 

 

HSBC is good because it's easy to open accounts in any country you move too. On the negative side logging into and using your account is like under taking the pre- flight checks of a space shuttle flight- endless passwords, widgets and numbers that need to be entered and re entered in weird combinations - a real pain.

Sent from my SM-N900 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I don't know of any UK banks that accept expatriates unless they are UK residents with a registered UK address in which case they are not expats. It is possible to open an offshore sterling account with most major UK banks but the minimum balance is around 50k so, judging from the responses in this thread we have a lot of well heeled members........

 

That was going to be my question for a new thread: How do those that make the move to, or are living in Thailand manage to keep a (UK) bank account going without a UK address?

 

 

I think most / some UK Banks let you change to a Thai address - mine certainly has for the last eight years.

 

The problem is you cannot open a NEW account unless resident in the UK.  

Edited August 1, 2014 by pontious

[cassde]

I bank with both HSBC and Santander in the UK and both have allowed me to change my address to Thailand.

[BaldPlumber]

I don't know about expats, but Barclays has a great app for android that doesn't require a UK sim.

It has all of the functionally of the pin sentry card reader.

Have you tried this with a Thai sim inside? Barclays clearly state you must have a UK Sim and the phone cannot be rooted.

I have a dual sim phone, one sim Thai and one sim UK. It works fine.

[bifftastic]

 

I don't know about expats, but Barclays has a great app for android that doesn't require a UK sim.

It has all of the functionally of the pin sentry card reader.

Have you tried this with a Thai sim inside? Barclays clearly state you must have a UK Sim and the phone cannot be rooted.

 

I use my Halifax app with a Thai sim card in my phone, no problems. Mostly it connects via WiFi anyway, I can't see how the app would 'know' much about the connection, it just connects to the internet.

[Jip99]

 

 

 

HSBC is good because it's easy to open accounts in any country you move too. On the negative side logging into and using your account is like under taking the pre- flight checks of a space shuttle flight- endless passwords, widgets and numbers that need to be entered and re entered in weird combinations - a real pain.

Sent from my SM-N900 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I don't know of any UK banks that accept expatriates unless they are UK residents with a registered UK address in which case they are not expats. It is possible to open an offshore sterling account with most major UK banks but the minimum balance is around 50k so, judging from the responses in this thread we have a lot of well heeled members........

 

That was going to be my question for a new thread: How do those that make the move to, or are living in Thailand manage to keep a (UK) bank account going without a UK address?

 

I use an online postal service in the UK. All my mail from pension providers, banks, inland revenue etc go to that address, they scan it and I read it online. Anything I need physically I can have sent on or stored. I normally pick up stored items on a trip to the UK.

It is not very cheap but I think worth it.

 

 

I am fortunate to have an ex-wife that undertakes the same service for free

 

[pontious]

 

 

 

which of these banks will deliver new credit and debit cards to you in Thailand?

 

I have used FirstDirect for nearly twenty years. They post cards overseas and have done for well over 10 years.

 

Recently they introduced a Foreign Transaction charge  ontop of their standard ATM charges Along with the local bank charges it now costs nearly twenty quid a month to withdraw my state pension

 

I am now in the process of trying to get the state pension paid directly into my local Bangkok Bank to avoid these extortionate charges ...

 

I think you will find this is 'out of the frying pan into a bigger fire' John, as I'm sure your pension will be worth a lot less due to a much reduced exchange rate.  I also enquired about this some time ago as a way of avoiding the bank charges but dropped the idea as soon as I realised how much less my pension would be, check it out first!

 

The poster who mentioned the Nationwide Flexplus is spot on imo as you only pay 10 pounds a month to avoid the 2% and 1 pound per withdrawal charges altogether, which is a saving of around 14 pounds on a 1000 pound pension.

 

 

That is what I thought Ray - but on another thread about Gov pensions being paid direct to Thailand people have reported exchange rates around or on some occasions better than the TT rate. Most people thought it is because of the bulk buying of currency . My next pension payment will be direct to Thailand and I will report the rate I get when it arrives. 

 

 

Reporting back as promised - Pension arrived 1 Aug - exchange rate 53.7

Bangkok Bank TT Rate 1 Aug at 0830 was 53.95     Can't complain at that.

[soihok]

Slightly off topic, but related.

 

I have three UK bank accounts, all registered to the same address. When I was there a few years ago I tried to take out a credit card on one of them. No chance unless you have some kind of utility bill or such like confirming that you are actually living at the address. So I gave up on that.

 

I also have 3 x Isle of Man Santander accounts, they are now being transferred to the Mainland as it seems that Santander is shutting down operations on the IOM (for savings related accounts that is).

These accounts were opened when I was away from the UK and I update my addresses when I change countries/jobs (which is every few years or so at the moment). There are other banks that operate in IOM and Jersey, but I really don't know if you now need a UK address to open a new account with them, it seems that the system has changed with regards to these "off shore" accounts inside the UK.

Edited August 4, 2014 by soihok

[pontious]

I have accounts with Santander IOM - they will still operate from IOM, Branch and office etc but they have changed all accounts to join the Santander UK system. It is and will be same as before but you have different account numbers and Sort Code.

 

You can use an overseas address for all offshore banks but you have to jump through various hoops and expense regarding ID etc.

 

UK mainland banks ( despite being allowed ) -i have not found any that will open a NEW account for non residents.

( without lying)

 

 

If anyone has a Santander  International Saver IOM paying 2% then it will drop to 1% from from 29 September 2014    

[soihok]

Cheers.

 

The interest rates with Santander have been dropping steadily for a few years now, which makes me thinking of moving out.

 

I am still waiting for the new details about the accounts (although have the new account numbers), so I rang them the other day. Was informed that the "information packs" were being despatched and was told to wait up to (another) 4 weeks!

 

Thanks for the info.