Cold War Continues for British Expats

British expatriates continue to be left out in the cold when it comes to retaining a UK bank account. Despite the fact many British expatriates plan to return to the UK at some point to the UK, the UK”s Know Your Customer (KYC) anti-money laundering regulations means mean expats are receiving conflicting information on their banking arrangements. While some expats are being asked to close their onshore accounts, other banks are turning a blind eye and allowing a banking arrangement to continue for the time being. The confusion is down to regulations that insist banks should not provide accounts to those without proof of a UK address, but neither are the banks legally prevented from offering such products and services to British expatriates.

“There are British expatriates who wish to sever links entirely with the UK for tax purposes, but these are in the minority. Many people retiring overseas or working expatriates on fixed term contracts have plans to return to the UK and don’t want to give up their longstanding banking relationship, and neither should they. This is particularly dangerous in the current economic environment when retaining a good banking relationship is a necessity,” comments ExpatMoneyChannel’s Hannah Beecham.

ExpatMoneyChannel plans to campaign to the UK government and financial regulators to help change the rules and support British expats seeking to keep open existing bank accounts when they move abroad and/or open new bank accounts whilst overseas.

“This campaign is not seeking to get around or transgress the current regulations, but it will be appealing for modification that takes into account the expats' plight, highlighting why these rules go so against them,” explains Beecham.

To help with the campaign, ExpatMoneyChannel is compiling a report and is asking all British expats to contact us via the website giving examples of what you've had to produce to open a bank account either back in the UK or overseas (including moving to an offshore branch of your existing bank)to comply with Know your Customer regulation, any occasion where you were turned down and, if so, on what grounds? What are the banks saying to you, the customer? What do they insist on for ID? KYC regulations? What are they saying they can no longer provide you with if you become (or are already) an expatriate? We want to add your voice to our call for change.

Also complete our questionnaire ‘Offshore Britain - Where do we go from here?’, which will also form part of the campaign.