Expats' UK Banking Problems Revealed

We asked you for your experiences on the worrying trend for UK-based banks to ask expats to close their UK bank accounts and so far your initial responses indicate that the problem is not as cut and dried as originally thought as it appears that, based on ExpatMoneyChannel research, whether or not an expat can keep open a UK-bank account will very much depend on who you bank you with; how long you have banked with them; whether you retain a UK address and what type of account you have. What’s more, our research shows some banks are taking a lottery-style approach as to whether or not expats can keep their UK bank accounts by applying different rules even to the same customer base.

Based on our research we can reveal:

• There is no legislation that says British expats cannot keep open a UK account
• Banks often reduce banking privileges to expats keeping open a UK account
• Thumbs up to First Direct and HSBC who are tagged as the most expat friendly in our survey*
• Lloyds TSB tagged as the most likely bank in our survey* to ask an expat to close their UK account
• Building societies are least likely to allow British expats to retain UK accounts
• Banks are applying a lottery-style approach to expats wishing to keep open a UK account
• Know Your Customer (KYC) rules are badly formulated, intrusive and lack flexibility
• Offshore accounts are perceived as having high charges and paying poor rates
• There is a general lack of understanding and current fear about banking offshore

*Based on initial 50 respondents July 2010.

Read the full findings including readers’ own experiences.....

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