Of course they’re worried, but they’re not worried about the likes of you and me. Their concern is with the billions of Euros of corporate business they have with EU companies, and in multilateral deals with the big US and Far East corporates - they don’t want to lose that business to banks in Frankfurt or Paris.
I’ve had a UK HSBC account and credit card for decades, it’s been registered to my French address for about ten. I can even manage my UK account from my HSBC France website. That may all change though as HSBC France is up for sale 
I couldn’t agree more Graham. If one has a UK address I’d just use it. I think the “billing address” is irrelevant in these days of electronic statements and any time I’ve made a mistake in the address I’ve put into transaction it has never mattered, with card number, expiry and CCV the transactions sailed through.
Wife says this news is currently being discussed on LIFT so it has clearly affected many people.
I merely mentioned the idea… it isn’t everyone’s choice.
But many of us do have our pensions paid here.
We’ve done so for years… the drop in exchange is painful right now, but I just live on what arrives… sometimes more and sometimes less.
can’t get to the shops anyway… so that’s saving me money… 
Not that simple Stella. We also have rental income in the UK and costs of maintenance etc, so we do not always want our money in France.
I would NEVER rule out the possibility I might go back to the UK one day and one thing is clear, moving back is a whole lot easier if you already have your UK financial arrangements in place.
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I’m posting again, because I want to ask, anyone who is living in France/in the EU who has moved here from a non-EU country, eg Australian, Canadian, American, etc:
Have you been able to keep your bank account / credit card / savings a/c etc open back in your mother country? Or did you have to close everything when you moved to the EU/France?
What’s LIFT Tim?
We have a larger ‘financial footprint’ in the UK than here which one day could be a big plus if we moved back.
We’ve had our letter today from Barclaycard. And we do make them money. We have about 4K on loan with them so we are adding nicely to their coffers. It’s strange. They won’t allow us to spend money with a French address but they will allow us to pay them back from a French address. Far be it from me to suggest anyone might do it but of course any outstanding balances are unsecured loans. Yes, if you default it might affect your UK credit rating but if you aren’t living there it is not a problem.
Our UK current account is with Barclays and they have been fine with us having a French address where Barclaycard haven’t. Hopefully the same won’t happen with that.
In addition I thought Barclays and Barclaycard were two seperate companies these days. I could be wrong. But if they are, the letter implies that we have a Barclays account linked to an EEA address. This would mean possibly there has been a sharing of information between the two companies which may be against data protection laws. And before anyone thinks this couldn’t happen between two large companies I have already taken two major linked companies to court in the past for sharing information which they shouldn’t have.
I shall be following events with an eagle eye!
DH has had his account since I think the 80s or at least early 90s. I got added to it later. We lived about 6 months at his mothers and since then have always been in either France or Australia. I’m sure we’ve told them at various points. The account is currently at her address (I’m sure we did move it to the Aussie one at one stage). I was going to try to change it to here as it is a PITA waiting for letters /cards sometimes but now thinking I’ll be saying nothing!
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Seemingly Barclaycard has been doing this since 2018
Morning All
Potentially quite worrying.
Coincidentally, I contacted my UK bank, Nationwide, a week ago, asking what their position would be in relation to a NO Deal.
They said they had no plans to change my status, and my accounts and credit card would still operate in the same way.
We will see.
Andy
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I feel that it is not enough to sit around and wait and see. We (OH and I) certainly feel we need to know sooner rather than later if the banks are going to follow suit. We do not have the clout to get sense out of the banking industry, so I’ve contacted the BBC’s Money Box. This is what I’ve said (please excuse the use of the phrase “ex-pat” but it’s what the media tends to use).
Ex-pats in EU fear closing of UK financial a/cs before 01/01/21
I am British and I live in France. I have lived here 12 years with my husband and suddenly Barclaycard is closing our credit card accounts by November 16th 2020. Extensive activity on the ex-pat forums show we are far from unique.
Up until now, Barclaycard has had no problem with our French (permanent) address. Their communication yesterday says this …
“We were in touch in March 2019 about the way the UK leaving the European Union (EU) could affect some of our customers with an address in the European Economic Area (EEA). Unfortunately, we now need to let you know your account will be closed on 16 November, if you don’t provide us with a UK residential address.”
We are retired and we have various bits of pensions – state and some private.
When we moved to France we kept our UK bank accounts and our Barclaycard credit cards.
Having a UK financial presence is important to us. We have some of our UK pensions paid into our UK bank accounts. We have a rental accommodation in the UK and the rent is paid into our UK bank account.
We also buy online from the UK and it is useful to have a UK credit card.
Not having a UK credit card would be an inconvenience. And replacing our Barclaycards with another sterling credit card will not be easy since so far as the UK ratings agencies are concerned we have no credit track record. (This, despite having held Barclaycards for many, many years in the UK and having had other cards.)
However, the much greater concern for ex-pats is what now will be the behaviour of the UK banks ?
It is one thing to lose a sterling credit card. That is irritating. To not have a sterling UK bank account would be disastrous and the Barclaycard communication yesterday is causing considerable anxiety and raises the huge question, will our UK bank accounts follow Barclaycard’s lead?
- EU clients of UK banks need to know where they stand.
- The pensions industry also needs to know what will be happening. Some pensions providers are willing to transfer pensions overseas (including the State) but not all are. How will they pay their annuitants?
- If we have to move all our income into a French bank account and then need the money back in the UK that will mean an exchange rate double hit – never ideal and at the moment, dire.
- Not least, many EU clients of UK bank accounts will need help / information as to what to do if, in the event, their accounts are closed despite their wishes
Direct contact with our UK banks will give us little information or reassurance. We believe this needs to be taken up at a much more senior level in the UK banking community by the media and by those financial programmes such as Money Box with clout.
I hope you feel that this topic merits your attention.
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I imagine that’s at the root of the problem: you’re a rubbish customer - from their point of view!
According to The Telegraph Lloyds are also closing 13000 expat accounts from November, we’ve certainly not received any communication from them though.
Is that Lloyds credit cards or bank accounts Tim?
I know. As is everyone here who proudly says they pay off in full. 
I couldn’t read it all because you have to pay but have just read it doesn’t affect French residents, phew!
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