Opening a UK bank account without a UK address

Banking issues like this are never good news, particularly if you still need to do domestic uk transactions often related to property ownership or rent. Maybe a solution is to use the address of a reative or special very trusted friend. If transactions are done online then the risk is low.

It is safe, and if you don’t want to bring everything into euros then it needs to be somewhere. Not just about growth. The money we have in NS&I is for the very, very rainy day. And who knows, maybe we will need to pay for a nursing home in the UK not here. Or maybe we will never have to use it and then much easier for the next generation to deal with

1 Like

Have a look at Wise, anciennement TransferWise : Transferts d'argent en ligne | Fonctionnalités bancaires internationales
I use them for transferring money UK/FR, but they say they can also act like a ‘local’ UK bank…

1 Like

Wise are not a bank, they do not have a U.K. banking license so are exactly the same as Revolut who the OP already has. They are a forex business with an e-money license.

1 Like

Jane, can confirm that after a conversation with Nationwide last week.

Andy

Hi @Steven61 and welcome to SF
If you are French resident, you must ensure that your Wise account is notified as a foreign bank account to the Fisc when you complete your tax return here (on form cerfa 3916) but I’m sure you already know that :wink:
The clear advantage with Revolut over Wise is that Revolut for French residents now has a French IBAN and as such opens quite a few more doors for you.
Some on SF have reported that they have experienced delays with Wise. Perhaps you’d like to read through this topic to read more on this.

Nat West don’t require you to live in the UK so I have my account with them now. When I moved to Ireland I closed my Barclays account and opened one with Nat West.

These are the current NatWest conditions

For most of our current accounts, you need to be;

  • Aged 18+
  • A UK resident

You might try Starling Bank. They’re still pretty new and trying very hard; they don’t have branches so are relaxed about doing stuff on-line.

1 Like

My Wise sterling account has a “GB” IBAN, my Euro account’s IBAN is Belgian.

I seem to recall that I had to switch the IBAN feature on as an option when I opened my account, but it was a while ago…

According to Wise’s website it can be used for UK Direct Debits.

Wise will give you bank account ‘virtual’ details for several countries not just the UK

Being able to use Wise for direct debits doesn’t solve the problem of recognition by UK Pensions, etc. as a bank for payment.
I believe there is a question as to whether Wise is acceptable for the receipt of UK state pensions and/or for National Savings. They possibly use the first two(?) pages of this [Bank of England list of Banks https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/prudential-regulation/authorisations/which-firms-does-the-pra-regulate/2021/list-of-banks/banks-list-2110.pdf as their authority?

HSBC does seem allow those with an EU address to obtain an account. see Bank Account | Open A Bank Account Online - HSBC UK
You can apply for an HSBC Bank Account if you:

  • are 18 or older and live in the UK or EU
  • are happy for us to do a credit check against your name (if you live in the UK)
  • can provide ID and proof of address if needed
  • are able to provide proof of your address for the last 3 years, your employment details and your income details. Here’s a list of documents that we accept.

Our State Pensions are paid direct (in Euro) to our French Bank (Banque Populaire) which does not seem to appear on the BoE list…
I’m almost certain that others receive their State pension in Euro to their French bank too…

This being the key, your french bank… is a bank. Not an Electronic Money Institution. Banks wherever they are are strictly regulated. EMIs have much looser regulation hence it being much easier and cheaper to get an EMI license than a banking license.

Governments pay money into regulated banks because if it goes missing it’s covered by the guarantee, if they paid it to you in error they can literally take it back out of your account, it’s certain to be more traceable, and many other things. Although EMIs are perfectly safe as long as the regulators have done their job, it’s this looser regulation that means governments often won’t pay into them. They’re happy to pay into HSBC who allowed all manner of international criminals have accounts, and use their customers deposits to loan these criminals money to fund international fraud and terror ism and the like, but the thought that they’d pay millions into XYZ EMI and that money would vanish or be used for criminal purposes scares them.

1 Like

graham You do seem to have lost the plot. Look at the title.

People want a UK bank account. It seems they often want their UK pensions paid into it, so they can decide when they transfer money to France, or they hold National Savings, or have a way of paying in sterling when in the UK , etc. NS&I require account holders to have a UK bank account (there is no point in you going off at a tangent querying why they want NS&I accounts and saying they could get better returns in France - that is their choice).

There seem to be few UK banks which will now allow those without a UK address to open an account. Banks may have done so in the past but that is no longer relevant. And some may be allowing those who already have an account but without a UK address to retain an account.

The problem is which sterling bank accounts those without a UK address can use and which satisfy the banking requirements of organisations such as UK Pension Service and NS&I. A lot of organisations are referred to as “banks” but are not regulated as banks but are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 or similar. They are also not part of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

I have my UK state pension paid in euro to my French bank but my other pensions go into my Lloyds account (and Lloyds have known for 20+years I am resident in France but also have a UK address) so for me, so far this has not been a problem.

Some of the French banks may allow you to have a sterling account as well as a euro account (but I suspect the charges would be significant) but whether that is of any value in the above cases is moot.

The easiest way to resolve the issue would be for some individuals to see whether the UK Pension Service/NS&I would find Wise, Revolut etc are accepted.

1 Like

Topics drift naturally from the original title… but I see you edited your post to make you point more clear after I posted - so no, I have not lost the plot. Don’t be so disrespectful :roll_eyes:
You seemed to imply before your edit that State Pensions could only be paid to UK banks on the list from the BoE which you provided a link to and I simply corrected that with our direct experience.
Just to add (not expecting another personal attack from you) that my NHS pension is paid in Sterling to my Revolut account. Both our non State pensions can be paid in Euro if we so choose, so in essence - entirely on topic people may not need to open a UK bank account without a UK address at all.
We could certainly survive without one… and if our remaining UK account (Halifax) were to be withdrawn, it would be no big deal.

1 Like

Seems a little unfair. Its called thread drift. @graham has offered lots of sound advice on the subject.

Name them.

You have a UK address but resident in France? Surely that is hoodwinking your bank. This thread specifically refers to Barclays Bank who have decided to withdraw their services from EU residents and I suspect more will follow, probably Lloyds too? My experience is that only HSBC UK are opening accounts for EU residents and believe me it isnt an easy process.

Barclays have known I have lived in France for 14 years and have banked with them for 50 years but that hasn’t stopped them closing my accounts, best keep looking over your shoulder me thinks.

There are ways to get around the current problem for most payments as you suggest ie. Having state pension paid in euros to French bank. We recently learned that a civil service pension can be paid like this.
For those who have property in the UK as a means of income the withdrawal of UK banking facilities is a major problem as bills need to be paid as well as income received.
I have read many posts on this subject both here and elsewhere and it seems to me that people have buried their heads in the sand, they knew the day was coming when most banks would withdraw their facilities but chose to ignore it and now having been given a deadline they are panicking instead heeding the warning signs.

Like the mess for travellers at channel ports the banking upset is due to one thing, Brexit the gift that keeps on giving.

1 Like

Morning Graham

Both our pensions are paid directly to Credit Agricole Normandy in Euros.

Andy

1 Like

just a thought there @JohnBoy
If such circumstances (withdrawal of ability to open a UK bank account for non UK residents) were to become a reality for property ownership as a means of income, would setting up a company to handle those affairs circumvent this? There would be costs of course but other protections would also ensue if the property were held in such a vehicle :thinking:

I have just picked up the ‘phone and spoken to NS&I. The assistant checked with his senior manager and

“WISE AND REVOLUT ACCOUNTS ARE NOT ACCEPTED BY NS&I”

Can’t get much clearer than that!

1 Like