Brendan Burgess
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Any volunteers to summarise and update this thread into a new Key Post?
The purpose would be to deal with the practicalities of it and not whether or not it is a good idea. That can be discussed in other threads.
I suggest the following format, but it's only a suggestion:
The easiest way to open a sterling account in Northern Ireland
Get the forms from any branch of Ulster Bank fill them in and send them back. (?)
Alternatives (but outside the scope of this thread)
A bank in mainland Britain, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.
The best banks to deal with
X Bank - opens a fully functioning account with cheque book, ATM, and online access (Website: Phone number: )
Y Bank - offers a good savings account as well
Z Bank - not good because you have to call a UK call centre.
Avoid AIB and Bank of Ireland - as the whole point of opening an account in sterling is to avoid the risks associated with the euro and the Irish guarantee. AIB in Ireland will open an account with their London branch but it's time consuming and you don't get online access etc.
The exchange rate is probably more important than the banking charges
The biggest costs are likely to be in the exchange rates. A better exchange rate might save you 1% of €100,000 which would make the normal account charges irrelevant.
Tax position
Register as a non-resident so that they don't deduct withholding tax. If you don't, tax will be deducted by the Queen. (?)
You must declare the interest on your Irish tax return and pay the equivalent of 25% DIRT (?)
Tips
Don't transfer euro to a sterling account.
Convert to sterling in Ireland first and transfer sterling.
Consider using Transfermate
Find a UK friend who spends euro
I have an English friend who has a daughter in College in Ireland. She lodges money to my sterling account and I pay her bills in euro. Obviously you need to trust the person well to do that.
The purpose would be to deal with the practicalities of it and not whether or not it is a good idea. That can be discussed in other threads.
I suggest the following format, but it's only a suggestion:
The easiest way to open a sterling account in Northern Ireland
Get the forms from any branch of Ulster Bank fill them in and send them back. (?)
Alternatives (but outside the scope of this thread)
A bank in mainland Britain, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.
The best banks to deal with
X Bank - opens a fully functioning account with cheque book, ATM, and online access (Website: Phone number: )
Y Bank - offers a good savings account as well
Z Bank - not good because you have to call a UK call centre.
Avoid AIB and Bank of Ireland - as the whole point of opening an account in sterling is to avoid the risks associated with the euro and the Irish guarantee. AIB in Ireland will open an account with their London branch but it's time consuming and you don't get online access etc.
The exchange rate is probably more important than the banking charges
The biggest costs are likely to be in the exchange rates. A better exchange rate might save you 1% of €100,000 which would make the normal account charges irrelevant.
Tax position
Register as a non-resident so that they don't deduct withholding tax. If you don't, tax will be deducted by the Queen. (?)
You must declare the interest on your Irish tax return and pay the equivalent of 25% DIRT (?)
Tips
Don't transfer euro to a sterling account.
Convert to sterling in Ireland first and transfer sterling.
Consider using Transfermate
Find a UK friend who spends euro
I have an English friend who has a daughter in College in Ireland. She lodges money to my sterling account and I pay her bills in euro. Obviously you need to trust the person well to do that.