# Barclays bank



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

I'M furious.

Barclays bank are pulling out of Cyprus and anyone who lives in Cyprus and has a Barclays account and the address on files is Cyprus will be getting letters that their accounts are going to be closed. What a load of bull this is.
I am trying to find out if we can change our contact details but I have been told that credit checks will done (not that this is a problem for us) but it may not be possible to change our details as they know we live here.

I am sitting here getting very hot and bothered over this stupidity. They are shooting themselves in the foot doing this.
What in the world do they think they are going to gain by thousands of pensioners who get their pensions paid into their UK Barclays accounts being kicked out.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Dennis is on the phone to the department at Barclays that is dealing with this matter.
Apparently you need at least 100K in your account for it to be kept open.


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## mapa (Feb 4, 2015)

In the UK papers reporting on the Greek crisis Cameron is quoted as advising expat s to have their pensions paid into UK accounts .... maybe he should be made aware of banking practises; I gather from other posts Barclays aren't the only bank doing this.

Pauline


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

We have been told by Barclays that they are streamlining to give more clarity. They are removing several countries but adding more so how that is streamlining is nonsense to me. The stupid thing is that Greece is not being removed but Cyprus is.
What rubbish is that.?


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## Rema (Aug 12, 2012)

Difficult to know what to do and where to keep your money if you have under £100k
Opening an alternative bank account in the UK is not possible unless you have an address there.
The limit of the bank guarantee (for all UK banks) has been dropped to £70k as well


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

As far as our personal banking is concerned it isn't a huge problem as we will simply get everything transferred here. 
The main problem is that I will no longer be allowed to monitor my mums accounts online as she wants me to do. I have authorisation to monitor her accounts online but that is going to be stopped. She is very upset about it.


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## David_&_Letitia (Jul 8, 2012)

Veronica said:


> The main problem is that I will no longer be allowed to monitor my mums accounts online as she wants me to do. I have authorisation to monitor her accounts online but that is going to be stopped. She is very upset about it.


We have a Current Account and a Deposit Account with Barclays. Before leaving UK, we changed our address to our daughter's house (Plymouth, Devon) and all correspondence is sent there. She then scans and sends me anything I may need to see.

We use internet banking all the time and transfer from Barclays to Hellenic via Currency Fair as necessary.

I don't understand how you will be prevented from monitoring your mother's account online? People on holiday or customers on business abroad must surely be able to log in as necessary and conduct their business? What about using a VPN to mask your IP address showing up as Cyprus?


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## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

This is worrying information Veronica. I am with Barclays too, but haven't had any letter like this from them yet.

I've been with Barclays for 11 years and its the only UK bank account I have. Many of my clients pay into that account and I will not be pleased to loose the account :/


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

zach21uk said:


> This is worrying information Veronica. I am with Barclays too, but haven't had any letter like this from them yet.
> 
> I've been with Barclays for 11 years and its the only UK bank account I have. Many of my clients pay into that account and I will not be pleased to loose the account :/



We havnt had the letter yet either but apparently it is on its way. I only found out because my mum had a letter saying either I am taken off her accounts or they have to be closed.


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## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

I am honestly very concerned about this. I have over £20k in my Barclays account and as you know, am adding to that quite significantly every month in preperation for next year.

Many of my clients pay into this account - its the only UK account I have and I do not know if those clients who pay into that account would be willing to send money internationally, or via PayPal, so I stand to loose income.

Furthermore, due to the fluctutations in the euro currency, the idea of keeping all of my savings in Euros locally rather than pounds is not something that appeals to me.

Not to forget the fact that the Cypriot banks continue to invoke feelings of nervousness............


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## madcow (Jan 10, 2010)

Would you believe it , when the haircut came in 2013 the uk gov recommend expat pensioners opened an account in the uk with guess who ..... Barclays .

" Customers who do not currently have another bank account may wish to open one. HM Treasury have also worked with Barclays to put in place a process so that individuals can open a bank account quickly if they wish to do so."


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## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

Maybe the UK government can step in again to either stop Barclays from shutting down our accounts or sort out a deal with another UK bank so we can transfer our accounts over..........

Worth contacting the embassy about?


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## DH59 (Feb 23, 2010)

Veronica said:


> As far as our personal banking is concerned it isn't a huge problem as we will simply get everything transferred here.
> The main problem is that I will no longer be allowed to monitor my mums accounts online as she wants me to do. I have authorisation to monitor her accounts online but that is going to be stopped. She is very upset about it.


This sounds a crazy situation all round! Like David, I don't see how this would stop you being able to log in to check on your mum's account though. If you are not actually named on the account, your mum could just as easily give you the logon info and you could do that without their knowledge.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

DH59 said:


> This sounds a crazy situation all round! Like David, I don't see how this would stop you being able to log in to check on your mum's account though. If you are not actually named on the account, your mum could just as easily give you the logon info and you could do that without their knowledge.


Not possible. My mum has no idea at all about the internet and once my account is closed my debit card which I need to use in the pin sentry to get the access code for the account will be disabled.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Well we have opened a sterling account with the Bank of Cyprus which was no problem at all. They were appalled at what Barclays is doing. 
The hard part seems to be getting pensions companies to pay into any account here
It is a nightmare explaining to them what has happened and getting them to actually agree to pay into a Cyprus account.
We havn't yet contact the DWP about our state pensions. Hopefully that will be easier. :fingerscrossed:


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

Having read all that people are saying here, I have today rung Barclays bank and having gone through the security questions, given them my current account details, I have been categorically told there is nothing on the system or my a/c which shows that Barclays will be closing my a/c and the lady I spoke with, having conferred with colleagues, say they know nothing about this at all and there is nothing on their system about it!!! As I use this a/c for my pensions to come into and it is vital to me to know what is happening. If anyone has any further comments, I would be interested to read them!


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

jazzergirl said:


> Having read all that people are saying here, I have today rung Barclays bank and having gone through the security questions, given them my current account details, I have been categorically told there is nothing on the system or my a/c which shows that Barclays will be closing my a/c and the lady I spoke with, having conferred with colleagues, say they know nothing about this at all and there is nothing on their system about it!!! As I use this a/c for my pensions to come into and it is vital to me to know what is happening. If anyone has any further comments, I would be interested to read them!


If you have a UK address or over 100k in the account you will be ok.


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

I don't have a UK address and I don't have over 100K. It is an ordinary current a/c into which my pensions go. I was told categorically they knew absolutely nothing about this and nothing on their system!


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

This is really getting me very confused.
Our account is also for our pensions to be paid into. Why are we being picked o n and you are told you are ok?


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

My husband is now trying to talk to Barclays again to get to the bottom of this.
It'll be a matter of sitting waiting in line to talk to some faceless person in some dark office somewhere who will know at all.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Well hes just got off the phone and been told catergorically if you do not have minimum 100k you will eventually receive a letter telling you that your account will be closed.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

The mystery deepens . Dennis is on to another guy in Barclays who says there is a letter on file which is due to be sent to us saying that our account is going to remain open. So one tells us it will be closed another tells us it wont be.
Watch this space


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

The stupid man went and got the letter and read to my hubby and it does say our account will be closed.
It really is a matter of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing.


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

I really don't understand either. All I can say is what I was told this afternoon. They looked at my a/c and said there was nothing on it to say it was being closed or any problem at all and she said there was nothing "on the system" that said anything about accounts being closed in Cyprus! I hope they were right! She conferred with others and came back and said the same again and said to keep an eye on the web site and to ring again next week if I was worried! I explained that this was set up specifically, like others, for my pensions to go into after the banking crisis in 2013.


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

eventually?!!!! This is madness. Well I will wait till I get a letter!!


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

It is definitely going to happen. Barclays say that all accounts of people resident in Cyprus will be closed by September 11th September.


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

Ok, well will ring again tomorrow and insist on speaking to someone senior about it.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

This is the letter people are getting.

"As part of a global review of our business, Barclays has taken the strategic decision to focus on a core set of 70 markets globally. We have therefore taken the decision to, over time, close accounts for those clients who fall outside our new market strategy. As a result of this decision, we are introducing a new minimum threshold for clients resident in Cyprus. With effect from 11 September 2015 you will be required to maintain £100,000 in your Barclays accounts. If you do not take action, we will close your accounts on or shortly after 11 September 2015".


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

Thanks Veronica. Soooooooo annoying. Will ring again tomorrow and post on here what they say


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

Veronica said:


> This is the letter people are getting.
> 
> "As part of a global review of our business, Barclays has taken the strategic decision to focus on a core set of 70 markets globally. We have therefore taken the decision to, over time, close accounts for those clients who fall outside our new market strategy. As a result of this decision, we are introducing a new minimum threshold for clients resident in Cyprus. With effect from 11 September 2015 you will be required to maintain £100,000 in your Barclays accounts. If you do not take action, we will close your accounts on or shortly after 11 September 2015".


A new 9-11


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## David_&_Letitia (Jul 8, 2012)

Veronica said:


> It is definitely going to happen. Barclays say that all accounts of people resident in Cyprus will be closed by September 11th September.


Barclays tells some expats they need £100k to keep their accounts | Daily Mail Online


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## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

I just had my letter from Barclays regarding the closure of my accounts.

*******s!


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

Given up. Opened a/c at Hellenic and will transfer pensions to there.


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## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

After doing a bit of research on the matter of where to open another account, I have found that it is possible for expats permanently residing in Cyprus to open an account with *Bank of Cyprus UK. *

After completing an online application form, it is required that one takes identification to a local Bank of Cyprus branch where they will make copies and authenticate that they are genuine copies and such. After you have gotten this from the local branch, you mail it all off to Bank of Cyprus UK and unless there are any issues, they go ahead and open the account.

Its a proper UK bank account with a UK account number and sort code, online banking, et cetera, and a UK visa debit card too.

I've already completed the online application and will take my documents to BOC on Monday to be copied and certified.

Here is a link to the online application on the Bank of Cyprus UK website.

Bank of Cyprus UK - International Online Personal Current Account


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## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

Just following up, here is some more detailed info about the account with BOC UK if interested:

http://www.bankofcyprus.co.uk/media/165537/opca-guide-for-international-customers-15.5.13.pdf


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## southcoastlady (Apr 18, 2015)

zach21uk said:


> This is worrying information Veronica. I am with Barclays too, but haven't had any letter like this from them yet.
> 
> I've been with Barclays for 11 years and its the only UK bank account I have. Many of my clients pay into that account and I will not be pleased to loose the account :/


 I am glad you have new account all sorted.


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

Very helpful Zac. Have just looked at it. Seems good to me! Let us know how you get on. Am considering now doing the same


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

jazzergirl said:


> Very helpful Zac. Have just looked at it. Seems good to me! Let us know how you get on. Am considering now doing the same


Barclays leaves loyal customers stranded - Cyprus


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

Have now been told yes my a/c will be closing 11th Sept. So why did they tell me on Friday the total opposite? Disgusting


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

jazzergirl said:


> Have now been told yes my a/c will be closing 11th Sept. So why did they tell me on Friday the total opposite? Disgusting


Because the minions at the bottom didnt know what was happening at first. Only the department dealing with it knew the truth (and the guys at the top of course).
It took time for the information to filter down to the grass roots level.
We had the same problem, despite my mother getting a letter saying my name has to come off her accounts or they will be closed, no one else knew anything about it and we kept getting told it wasnt happening.


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## richardbkk (Oct 21, 2011)

Hi Veronica,

Expats in Malta, Cyprus and many other countries are having their accounts closed if there is less than 100,000 GBP in there. More in this article here as well as help setting up a bank account elsewhere. Barclays to Close Thousands of Expats' Bank Accounts


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

It is not often that I would make a recommendation with respect to banks or most financial institutions but for those of you who are being spat out by the dreadfully mismanaged Barclays you might like to take a look at First Direct.

First Direct

I have been a customer since the inception of FD as a division of Midland Bank and now HSBC and cannot fault their service. It regularly tops the lists of banks for good service and facilities. They made no fuss when I changed my address to a PO Box in Cyprus as opposed to many other organisations who could not cope with it and caused other friends problems. As far as I can see the terms and conditions do not exclude residency out of the UK and in certain places reference customers being resident abroad.

I would think that using their switch service you can avoid a lot of the application rigmarole you might have elsewhere in the name of anti-money laundering etc.

Anyhow it is another highly recommended option to consider.

Pete


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## bencooper (Mar 20, 2013)

PeteandSylv said:


> It is not often that I would make a recommendation with respect to banks or most financial institutions but for those of you who are being spat out by the dreadfully mismanaged Barclays you might like to take a look at First Direct.
> 
> First Direct
> 
> ...


 I agree with Pete regarding First Direct with whom I have banked since they started as a "phone/internet" bank and provided me with excellent service - with fingers crossed and some trepidation, of course, since any bank can follow the lead of Barclays. It makes sense for a bank to deal with fewer, larger accounts when their business is in using YOUR money (if one ignores the bad-will left behind). I had reason to close all Barclays dealing several decades ago (accounts, Unicorn Shares, credit cards) because I didnt like them "charging like a wounded bull" every time the account went even slightly into the red. This can be seen as "cutting your nose to spite your face" especially if no one else similarly "votes with their feet" on a point of principle but it did introduce me to First Direct.


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

bencooper said:


> I agree with Pete regarding First Direct with whom I have banked since they started as a "phone/internet" bank and provided me with excellent service - with fingers crossed and some trepidation, of course, since any bank can follow the lead of Barclays. It makes sense for a bank to deal with fewer, larger accounts when their business is in using YOUR money (if one ignores the bad-will left behind). I had reason to close all Barclays dealing several decades ago (accounts, Unicorn Shares, credit cards) because I didnt like them "charging like a wounded bull" every time the account went even slightly into the red. This can be seen as "cutting your nose to spite your face" especially if no one else similarly "votes with their feet" on a point of principle but it did introduce me to First Direct.


There is a third solution for this, as Veronica already said, a GBP account in bank of Cyprus, here in Cyprus. Then your pension is payed into the account in sterling and you can choose to exchange when you want, and to the best rate. And as long as it is not over 100000 € it is safe.

I have now the same setup, but with a USD account because we mostly get paid in USD. And I can do the transfer between the accounts in my normal Internet bank, where both accounts are connected


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## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

Whom do you have a USD account with Baywatch? Just curious as I need a USD account.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Baywatch said:


> There is a third solution for this, as Veronica already said, a GBP account in bank of Cyprus, here in Cyprus. Then your pension is payed into the account in sterling and you can choose to exchange when you want, and to the best rate. And as long as it is not over 100000 € it is safe.
> 
> I have now the same setup, but with a USD account because we mostly get paid in USD. And I can do the transfer between the accounts in my normal Internet bank, where both accounts are connected


The pension service won't pay our pensions into a sterling account here. However they will pay into our Euro account and the rate they give is very good so in fact we think we are actually better off with this arrangement as we were not getting a good rate when transferring before. 
Also you can transfer Euro to sterling and vice versa at the bank so you can do a bit of playing by transferring when the rates are good from one to the other asthe bank gives the days rate. This means if you are clever and watch the rates you can make a bit of profit on your money.


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

zach21uk said:


> Whom do you have a USD account with Baywatch? Just curious as I need a USD account.


Bank of Cyprus. You can have them both in the Internet bank. I know try to find out if I can withdraw USD from Paypal to the card on that account to avoid Paypals horrible exchange rates


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## wizard4 (Feb 3, 2013)

Ok folks I have been trawling the net to see if I can help you guys, Uk post offices operate current accounts, they are managed by Bank of Ireland, there is online access, as well, perhaps Veronica you would obviously have to set up the account here for her.

Cheers

Ray


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## David_&_Letitia (Jul 8, 2012)

wizard4 said:


> Ok folks I have been trawling the net to see if I can help you guys, Uk post offices operate current accounts, they are managed by Bank of Ireland, there is online access, as well, perhaps Veronica you would obviously have to set up the account here for her.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Ray


Sorry Ray,

Appreciate the thought, but the Post Office current account terms and conditions require residency in the UK. 

In order to open an account, besides proof of ID, one needs to present the Post Office with one of the following:

*Utility bill i.e. gas, electricity, water, telephone (excluding mobile), cable services, satellite TV (dated within last 6 months)
Bank, building society, mortgage, credit card statement or credit union statement (dated within the last 6 months). Printouts of online statements aren’t accepted
Current full UK/EU/USA/Canada/Australia photo card driving licence (no more than 10yrs old)
Current full ‘old style’ UK driving licence (no more than 51yrs old)
Current provisional UK photo card driving licence (no more than 3yrs old)
DWP correspondence (or other Benefits Agency) e.g. Pension/Allowance benefit (dated within last 13mths)
Local Authority correspondence e.g. Rates/Council Tax (dated within last 13mths)
Correspondence from HMRC / Revenue Commissioner e.g. tax coding notice (dated within last 13mths). P60s & P45s aren’t accepted
Confirmation from work/school/college/ university/care institution confirming name, address and details of employment /student/residence status (students only) (must be the most recently issued document and less than 12 months old)
UCAS letter – students only (must be the most recently issued document and less than 12 months old)
Letter from solicitors confirming recent house purchase within the last 3 months
Electoral register search through a credit reference agency*

I believe that there are 2 ways most expats will go:

1. Lie. For those who are able to submit a genuine UK address (at which they can be easily contacted) as their residence in the UK, Barclays are unlikely to close such accounts. :fingerscrossed:

2. Open an account with Bank of Cyprus as advised by Zach. :welcome:


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

David_&_Letitia said:


> I believe that there are 2 ways most expats will go:
> 
> 1. Lie. For those who are able to submit a genuine UK address (at which they can be easily contacted) as their residence in the UK, Barclays are unlikely to close such accounts. :fingerscrossed:
> 
> 2. Open an account with Bank of Cyprus as advised by Zach. :welcome:



Until proven otherwise:

3. First Direct

Pete


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

Am going with Bank of Cyprus UK. Seems ok and no problems with transferring pensions


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## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

Everything has been going smoothly with Bank of Cyprus UK. I didn't even have to snail mail documentation to them as when I took my documents into my local BOC branch to be certified, the manager not only certified the documents but also scanned and emailed them over to BOC UK for me. There was one hiccup with BOC UK not wanting to accept my Electricity Bill as proof of address, despite the manager at the branch here insisting it was legitimate, so we had to send an MTN Phone Bill as an alternative and all is good now.

At the same time we were dealing with that, I also opened a USD account which is something I have been in dire need of.

If anyone wants to deal with the same local branch as me for their BOC UK account, then the branch I have been using is the one on Eletheriou Venizoulou (or however you spell it) down from Butcher Boy, opposite the citizens center and the name of the clerk/agent that I have been dealing with is *Photini Savva*. She is extremely helpful and I have no doubt she will assist you just as professionally as she has me.


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

That is very helpful Zach and will go there on Monday if I get no more joy from my local BOC in Polis who although very nice and trying to be helpful had no idea how to go about this process, saying they had no link to BOC UK on their system but the lady I spoke with spoke to her manager and having taken my tel no and photo copied my passport and elec bill said they would ring me on Monday having made enquiries how to go about this!! Wondering what is wrong with electricity bill? At the moment this is the only utility bill I have , so could pose a problem, but could always go to MTN I suppose and get a bill from there (at the moment only get the txt message for a bill!) Thanks for update anyway! As I said, very helpful!


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

jazzergirl said:


> That is very helpful Zach and will go there on Monday if I get no more joy from *my local BOC in Polis* who although very nice and trying to be helpful had no idea how to go about this process, saying they had no link to BOC UK on their system but the lady I spoke with spoke to her manager and having taken my tel no and photo copied my passport and elec bill said they would ring me on Monday having made enquiries how to go about this!! Wondering what is wrong with electricity bill? At the moment this is the only utility bill I have , so could pose a problem, but could always go to MTN I suppose and get a bill from there (at the moment only get the txt message for a bill!) Thanks for update anyway! As I said, very helpful!


I don't know if this might help you but your local BOC is not Polis but is actually in Polemi whose branch has just been physically doubled in size.

Pete


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

As an addendum to my last post, in case anyone else has this problem, I live in a small village and have no number to my house but a PO Box no!! BOC are not keen on this as proof of address. having just spoken to the lady again at BOC Uk, she said no they wouldn't accept the elec bill or anything else really with a PO Box no on it, and I should go and see my "local mayor" is what she said, so the Mukta, and get him to write out on a piece of paper I am who I say I am and live in the village with that PO Box no!! Oh dear ..... what a palava!


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

Thanks Pete, yes maybe Polemi would have been better. Once I have sorted out this business of the PO Box No will try there too!


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## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

jazzergirl said:


> but could always go to MTN I suppose and get a bill from there (at the moment only get the txt message for a bill!) Thanks for update anyway! As I said, very helpful!


This is exactly what I did as I get my bills via email.


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

See previous post Zach re PO Box No.!! Will have to get the Mukta to certify now I live in this village and that PO Box No is mine, then elec bill will be ok but will get MTN one as a back up. Lots of running around to do now on Monday! Just what I need in this heat!


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

They are on the hunt for customers

Bank of Cyprus offers solution to ditched Barclays clients - Cyprus Mail Cyprus Mail


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## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

Funny how they start publicizing this just a few days after I had a long conversaton with them about it lol. It seems I sparked some action from them


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

zach21uk said:


> Funny how they start publicizing this just a few days after I had a long conversaton with them about it lol. It seems I sparked some action from them


They published a document 15/5 so they probably new what was going to happen.


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## potamiou (Jan 10, 2010)

I'm also going with BOC.uk. However, when all is sorted and I am finally finished with Barclays, I intend to transfer anything left in Barclays, and go overdrawn by £10. If they want it, they can come to Cyprus and get it!


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

For some strange reason private pension companies will not send pensions to our BOC account here so we are going to open a BOC UK account today for them.


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## potamiou (Jan 10, 2010)

Veronica said:


> For some strange reason private pension companies will not send pensions to our BOC account here so we are going to open a BOC UK account today for them.


That's the reason I went for BoC.UK. Strangely, the state pension had no problem with sending it to Cyprus banks. It's just the private ones, like Scottish Equitable


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

potamiou said:


> That's the reason I went for BoC.UK. Strangely, the state pension had no problem with sending it to Cyprus banks. It's just the private ones, like Scottish Equitable


Same here, our state pensions were not a problem but we have 3 very small private pensions between us and they wont send anything to Cyprus. 
Well at least we will still have some money in the UK for when we are visiting for things like car hire etc.


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## Sunshineshirl01 (Mar 9, 2015)

*Barclays Bank*

We are moving to Paphos on 7th November, we have spoken to our bank which is Lloyds, they are more than happy for us to keep our account with them in the UK. Initially they will have our daughters address over here, but as soon as we have moved into our permanent home they will have our address in Paphos, No Problem!!


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## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

If I were you, I would verify that up the chain with Lloyds. I wouldn't just rely on an in-branch answer, or a simple customer-support phone call.

Initially, staff at Barclays (both in branch and on the phone) did not know this was happening. It took about 10 days before general staff seemed to know about and acknowledge the issue.


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## Davetheeagle (Jun 5, 2014)

Another option is a Lloyds bank International acc. Can be opened as GBP, Euro or Dollar, as long as a balance of GBP2000 is maintained then acc is free to run including overseas xfers.

Takes 48 hours from Lloyds to my BOC acc.


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## Sunshineshirl01 (Mar 9, 2015)

*Lloyds Bank*

We have an interview next week about our account, but we have been assured (not just in branch) that as Lloyds is a worldwide bank we have no problem.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

We tried to open an account with Lloyds, we were told no new accounts for expats unless they put 100K in.


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

As a matter of interest on this topic: has anyone having problems with BoCy UK actually setting up the a/c after filling in online form and various conversations with them and providing ID they require? I am still chasing this up with tel calls and emails, 2 weeks after providing ID via Bof Cy branch in Polis who emailed all relevant documentation and have been told received ok!


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## zach21uk (Jun 26, 2014)

I have had no problems. I received my first batch of letters from BOC UK today, with my A/C Number, Sort Code. Also got my card pin but no card yet. Should turn up on Monday I guess.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

jazzergirl said:


> As a matter of interest on this topic: has anyone having problems with BoCy UK actually setting up the a/c after filling in online form and various conversations with them and providing ID they require? I am still chasing this up with tel calls and emails, 2 weeks after providing ID via Bof Cy branch in Polis who emailed all relevant documentation and have been told received ok!


 I think the problem is they have had so many applications for accounts after what Barclays has done that they are struggling to keep up. At first it was very quick but I think a bit of patience is probably needed now to give them time to catch up.


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## jazzergirl (Jul 16, 2015)

Received all the relevant documents yesterday and I did have a very quick reply to my email saying to wait 10 working days, so that would be the two weeks I have been waiting. So all well.


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