# Sterling account for French resident



## Dave W

Hi. I have received a letter from Barclays telling me that I have to close my UK account because I'm not a UK resident. I have a private pension payment from the Royal London, they tell me that they can not pay to a Euro account, so I need a sterling account for that. I think that possible options are to open a sterling account with a French bank, open an online sterling account or open a sterling account in the Channel Islands. Has anybody else already gone through this and can anybode offer any advice


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## LoriEleanor

Not sure if this will be helpful, if not, just disregard.

We bank with HSBC in France. We opened our accounts with them years ago. They offer foreign currency accounts. We have a U.S. Dollar account in addition to our regular French accounts. I would imagine they could open a GBP account in the same way. They have a 'chat' room on their website where I'm sure you could inquire.

If you do go with them, be aware that transferring any of the funds from your foreign currency HSBC account to your Euro account can take 3 to 4 business days. This can be quite frustrating if you're trying to lock in the day's exchange rate...


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## Dave W

LoriEleanor said:


> Not sure if this will be helpful, if not, just disregard.
> 
> We bank with HSBC in France. We opened our accounts with them years ago. They offer foreign currency accounts. We have a U.S. Dollar account in addition to our regular French accounts. I would imagine they could open a GBP account in the same way. They have a 'chat' room on their website where I'm sure you could inquire.
> 
> If you do go with them, be aware that transferring any of the funds from your foreign currency HSBC account to your Euro account can take 3 to 4 business days. This can be quite frustrating if you're trying to lock in the day's exchange rate...


Thanks for that, good to know and it could be usefull, I'll keep it in mind


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## BackinFrance

Take a look at the Barclay's account closure thread, it may be helpful.


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## PinkUnicorn

I live in the US and have had a Nat West account for some time.
(I had one when I lived in the UK, closed it when I moved overseas, then reopened when I needed to deposit money from an inheritance.)
I guess if the US is OK, then France would be as well...?


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## Bevdeforges

PinkUnicorn said:


> I guess if the US is OK, then France would be as well...?


Don't count on it. Since Brexit actually took effect, quite a few British banks are re-thinking their policies regarding non-resident customers, particularly those in the EU. If Nat West hasn't closed your account, then hang onto it. But don't be too surprised if you get one of those letters somewhere down the line.


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## Dave W

BackinFrance said:


> Take a look at the Barclay's account closure thread, it may be helpful.


Thanks, I hadn't seen that, there was also an article in The Local online newspaper last night, all very usefull, thanks again


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## Dave W

PinkUnicorn said:


> I live in the US and have had a Nat West account for some time.
> (I had one when I lived in the UK, closed it when I moved overseas, then reopened when I needed to deposit money from an inheritance.)
> I guess if the US is OK, then France would be as well...?


Thanks, usefull to know, much appreciated


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## EuroTrash

Looks good for NatWest customers








NatWest creates new post-Brexit Frankfurt unit for UK customers


NatWest has established a new unit in Frankfurt, the bank said on Tuesday, aimed at serving British customers on the continent following Britain's exit from the European Union.




www.reuters.com




_"The lender's European clients will continue to be served by its hub in Amsterdam."_


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## ToulouseRob

Bevdeforges said:


> Don't count on it. Since Brexit actually took effect, quite a few British banks are re-thinking their policies regarding non-resident customers, particularly those in the EU. ...


I'm not 100% sure about this, but I think it's not just a matter of banks re-thinking policies, but having lost the legal right to serve customers in the EU. Something about "passporting" and financial services. There was a suggestion from Nationwide when I asked them (see the Barclays thread) that they already had separate rights in the EU before Brexit, so they wouldn't be affected by the change. I suppose some, probably all, banks will eventually acquire the appropriate approvals but if I understand it, the UK Government, in its wisdom  hasn't yet managed to get agreements with the EU over financial services, so I don't see this happening any time soon.

Now, I am way out of my depth in this subject so take the above with a pinch of salt; perhaps someone will be along to set the story straight (and maybe even use the correct terminology). I'll be happy to be corrected.


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## EuroTrash

Yes, I think it is all to do with passporting rights.
If a UK bank doesn't have authority to provide financial services to EU residents, and you live in the EU but continue to use those services that it doesn't have the authority to provide, I don't know what protection and consumer rights you would have. Would you still be covered by UK financial protection mechanisms even though you're outside of the rules? That would be my concern.


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## ToulouseRob

EuroTrash said:


> Yes, I think it is all to do with passporting rights.
> If a UK bank doesn't have authority to provide financial services to EU residents, and you live in the EU but continue to use those services that it doesn't have the authority to provide, I don't know what protection and consumer rights you would have. Would you still be covered by UK financial protection mechanisms even though you're outside of the rules? That would be my concern.


Good question. Pity I have no idea of the answer.


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## ccm47

Rob, 
Nationwide is a building society which does have different rules to observe than a bank. We were allowed to retain our current account but not our savings account.after our permanent move. We also lost the travel insurance element. 
The current account has a regular deposit but few outgoings. 
Their rules state you have to be UK resident when you open an account but not to retain it.


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## ToulouseRob

ccm47 said:


> Rob,
> Nationwide is a building society which does have different rules to observe than a bank. We were allowed to retain our current account but not our savings account.after our permanent move. We also lost the travel insurance element.
> The current account has a regular deposit but few outgoings.
> Their rules state you have to be UK resident when you open an account but not to retain it.


I kept a NW savings account for a few years but with not much in it; nobody mentioned closing it, although I did that a couple of years ago when I tried to simplify my life a bit! Perhaps that was before the Brexit changes kicked in.


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## simpleton

Dave W said:


> Thanks, I hadn't seen that, there was also an article in The Local online newspaper last night, all very usefull, thanks again


I started the other thread and have just received confirmation from HSBC that my application to them for a current account has been accepted


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## Dave W

simpleton said:


> I started the other thread and have just received confirmation from HSBC that my application to them for a current account has been accepted


Sounds good. Did you have to open a euro account before they would let you open a sterling account, did you do it online?


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## simpleton

No it's a pure sterling account and it was done online. It involves taking a photo of yourself, your ID and your proof of address and uploading those to a specific address they give you. The service wouldn't work with my phone and my PC doesn't have a webcam but it seemed to work OK on my tablet. It's a bit convoluted but they confirmed receipt within a few hours and it took a few days to confirm acceptance of the account by text. 

I applied for a basic current account (no overdraft facility etc) using the following link





Bank Account | Open A Bank Account Online - HSBC UK


Open an HSBC Bank Account that offers you hassle-free banking and 24/7 money management online. Learn why our bank account could be right for you today.




www.hsbc.co.uk


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## Dave W

simpleton said:


> No it's a pure sterling account and it was done online. It involves taking a photo of yourself, your ID and your proof of address and uploading those to a specific address they give you. The service wouldn't work with my phone and my PC doesn't have a webcam but it seemed to work OK on my tablet. It's a bit convoluted but they confirmed receipt within a few hours and it took a few days to confirm acceptance of the account by text.
> 
> I applied for a basic current account (no overdraft facility etc) using the following link
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Bank Account | Open A Bank Account Online - HSBC UK
> 
> 
> Open an HSBC Bank Account that offers you hassle-free banking and 24/7 money management online. Learn why our bank account could be right for you today.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.hsbc.co.uk


Thanks for that, much appreciated, I'll give it a go


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## zarathustra

I opened a sterling account with HSBC France many years ago. Barely ever used it, and haven't used it at all for the past 10 years, it's probably quite dormant by now, but I guess it could be woken up and reused if I asked the bank. Anyhow, just to say that they can do it, and it wasn't difficult.


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## Dave W

zarathustra said:


> I opened a sterling account with HSBC France many years ago. Barely ever used it, and haven't used it at all for the past 10 years, it's probably quite dormant by now, but I guess it could be woken up and reused if I asked the bank. Anyhow, just to say that they can do it, and it wasn't difficult.


Thanks for that. I have gone through the process of opening an account with HSBC UK, as discussed with Simpleton above, I'm waiting for confirmation of acceptance. I did enquire with HSBC France, they said I would have to open a Euro account before I could open a Sterling account.


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## zarathustra

Dave W said:


> Thanks for that. I have gone through the process of opening an account with HSBC UK, as discussed with Simpleton above, I'm waiting for confirmation of acceptance. I did enquire with HSBC France, they said I would have to open a Euro account before I could open a Sterling account.


That was my experience - I opened a euro account (for business), but at the same time opened a sterling and a personal account. I ended up closing the latter as they drained all the funds I had in it over the years with their charges, and before I ended up in the red I requested an account closure, but that led to a couple of months of problems and exchanges due to failures on their part ... Anyway, that's another story, but I'm not a fan of their customer service. Never had a problem with the sterling balance, except back in the early days I used to bank the occasional UK cheque and the charges were pretty high... Cheques from UK customers is more of a rarity these days. 

Glad you're able to sort it with HSBC UK. I have an HSBC UK account too, and have found it much less hassle than the French one.


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## Dave W

zarathustra said:


> That was my experience - I opened a euro account (for business), but at the same time opened a sterling and a personal account. I ended up closing the latter as they drained all the funds I had in it over the years with their charges, and before I ended up in the red I requested an account closure, but that led to a couple of months of problems and exchanges due to failures on their part ... Anyway, that's another story, but I'm not a fan of their customer service. Never had a problem with the sterling balance, except back in the early days I used to bank the occasional UK cheque and the charges were pretty high... Cheques from UK customers is more of a rarity these days.
> 
> Glad you're able to sort it with HSBC UK. I have an HSBC UK account too, and have found it much less hassle than the French one.


Thanks for that, and today I have received acceptance and details of my new HSBC UK account, so problem solved, what a relief!


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## Dave W

Dave W said:


> Thanks for that, much appreciated, I'll give it a go


Success! acceptance and details of my new HSBC UK account received today. As you say, it was a bit convoluted but got there in the end. I have also kept my Barclays account by change of address to a UK address, they actually suggested this to me


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