# Anybobdy opened a Euro A/C with Northern Bank?



## DocOc (20 May 2011)

Folks,
I was wondering if anybody on here opened a Euro A/C with Northern Bank. If so how did it go? Did you have to travel to NI to do it? Can you transfer funds from an NIB a/c in the South into it? Any charges?Any pitfalls that you are aware of? Thanks in advance.


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## DocOc (2 Jun 2011)

Anyone...please?


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## joeryan (2 Jun 2011)

I went up Ulster Bank in Newry with passport and 2 utility bills, but you can open an account over the phone too.


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## L0llip0p (2 Jun 2011)

For those interested in opening an account in EUROS in NI with HSBC, you do this at the following branch

*25-29 Royal Avenue
Belfast
BT1 1FB

(+44) 1226 26 1010 * 
Monday, Saturday 9:00-17:00
Sunday     13:00-17:00        
                Tuesday9:30-17:00
                Wed, Thur, Fri 9:00-19:00

The EURO accounts which can be opened by a non-resident are called One-Europe or Internation Personal Savings Account.

There are 3 types of account you can open:
current(any amount)
instant access savings(any amount) 
fixed term deposit (min balance USD $10,000)

As I understand it there is a £5 a month charge on the account.

If you call the number listed and wait for options as non-customers, hit  option "2" for new accounts you'll be put through to someone in the  call centre who can build an initial profile for you and arrange an  appointment with someone at the branch to open the account. I was told  that internet banking is available but I'll confirm this after I've set  up the account which I'll be doing myself shortly.

These account are not offshore but UK domiciled accounts so covered by UK guarantee.

I don't work for a bank or anything but I just thought this post might help those interested in opening such an account.


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## serotoninsid (2 Jun 2011)

joeryan said:


> I went up Ulster Bank in Newry with passport and 2 utility bills, but you can open an account over the phone too.


Thats a £GB account though, right?


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## joeryan (2 Jun 2011)

serotoninsid said:


> Thats a £GB account though, right?



Correct.


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## serotoninsid (2 Jun 2011)

joeryan said:


> Correct.


Thanks for confirmation.  I opened one when I was up that direction a few weeks ago - but they wouldn't do a euro account.  I have not done anything with it just yet...thinking maybe trying to source a euro a/c somewhere would be best.


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## dec1892 (2 Jun 2011)

Strange??I had no problems opening account with ulster bank up north-I opened an ulster bank euro account with Newry just over the phone....had to send up proof of address etc and that was it....


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## serotoninsid (3 Jun 2011)

dec1892 said:


> Strange??I had no problems opening account with ulster bank up north-I opened an ulster bank euro account with Newry just over the phone....had to send up proof of address etc and that was it....


Hmm...I better give them a call then.  When opening the a/c in Newry - I asked straight out if it was possible to have euro a/c - and was given a flat 'no' in response...


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## DocOc (3 Jun 2011)

*Thanks for the replies but...*

I am still wondering if anybody has set up a Euro a/c with Northern Bank in NI? Thanks.


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## millieforbes (3 Jun 2011)

have you tried calling them to ask if it is a service they offer?


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## dec1892 (9 Jun 2011)

I just got a call back from Ulster Bank up north – the head office (in Belfast) made a balls up basically and were in the last stages of opening up an GBP account for me (despite me clearly asking for a euro account from the outset). 
The end result is that in order for me to open up a euro account with the them, I will have to travel up to the Newry branch for an appointment. For me to open up a euro account with them, I will first have to open up a GBP current account – both can be set up at the same time when I have the appointment (have to bring my passport and drivers licence with me). The euro account will have a half yearly charge of £50 and will not earn any interest (it’s a holding account which is mostly used by corporates rather than individuals). There are also charges I think for transferring in and out, but the person I dealt with will said he will have to look into this and will email me on this information.

Any one else go through something similar with UB to open a euro account with them?


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## dec1892 (10 Jun 2011)

L0llip0p said:


> For those interested in opening an account in EUROS in NI with HSBC, you do this at the following branch
> 
> *25-29 Royal Avenue*
> *Belfast*
> ...


 
Hi Lolli,

Did you succeed in opening such an account with HSBC in Belfast? What,if any, is the interest rate on the euro account?

Thanks,

dec1892


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## L0llip0p (10 Jun 2011)

Hi,

Went up at weekend. As is typical, the young lady I had the appointment with hadn't a clue what I was talking about. She started by insisting that I would have to open a sterling account first.

I produced the form which has been provided to me from the interantional banking team which she read and just asked me to fill out the form, took a copy of my passport and utility bill and informed me that I would receive relevant documentation in the post about account and online banking when its open.

So still waiting for the post to arrive...

Because the account could not be open on the day, I wasn't able to lodge any funds into it directly and its a good thing because there are CHARGES.

[broken link removed]

A current or instant savings account has a £5 a month charge.
There is also a charge each time you transfer funds in or out of hte account. Interest rate is .1% per annum gross so .08% which is pitiful.

From HSBC international banking via email

*Incoming Funds*
 Charges are applicable each time funds are received into one of our UK based euro accounts. Presuming funds are received electronically via bank transfer, it will cost between £1.00-£6.00, regardless of the value of the transfer.

  The £1.00 charges applies to funds received by SEPA. If the funds are not received by SEPA, the cost is £6.00.

  To pay cash into your euro account, it costs 1% of the amount deposited.

_Most online transfers from online banking is SEPA to my knowledge.._

*Outgoing Funds*
The charges are different when it comes to transferring the funds out of the euro account.   
  The charge for outward payments will either be £9.00 or £30.00, dependant upon the amount of money your transfer out and the country it is going to.

  If you are transferring the funds to an Irish account, you can transfer up to 3,200 euros via Worldpay, at a cost of £9.00. If you are transferring above 3,200 euros, the money will be transferred via Priority Payment at a cost of £30.00.

  The cash withdrawal charge mirrors the depositing charge at 1%



So a word of warning. 
If you plan on cash lodgements or withdrawals, you'll hit with 1% commission each time.
If you will be accessing the funds on any type of regular basis, you'll hit charges too.

I had a look at Barclays offering in terms of a EURO account and its very similar albeit, slightly more expensive to withdraw from but in general charges seem less if balance is kept over 2k. BUT you need a Barclays sterling current account before opening a euro account so thats a bit messier.

http://www.barclays.co.uk/Currentaccounts/Currencyaccounts/euroAccount/P1242557963870


Its only useful for dumping EUROs into an account to safeguard it from Enda and Eamon dipping into it or worse case, breakaway from Euro. I guess it comes down to what you believe is likely to be the short-term and long-term outcome.


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## dec1892 (10 Jun 2011)

I called HSBC last week I thought they said 1 euro per transaction into the account, not 1% as what you think. Are you sure its definitely 1% per lodgement??

With Barclays, you can open a euro a/c without having to open a sterling account through Barclays Wealth Management - see bemmi's post in this thread here: http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=155916


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## L0llip0p (14 Jun 2011)

Hi,

The charges are the the email response from HSBC international regarding charges for transactions in and out of the international personal current account/savings account.

I'd tend to trust what this team iban@hsbc.com tell me over the "opinion" of the HSBC representative in the call centre.

I have had mixed respones when dealing them over the phone. Some staff know what I'm talking about, others don't. Even the head office branch in Belfast staff looked at me like I had 2 heads when I asked to open a EURO account, first insisting that a sterling account had to be opened which isnt the case. Only for the fact that I had brought the relevant forms provided to me by the iban@hsbc.com team, I probably wouldnt have been able to open the account.

Speaking of which............8 days later........still no mail on whether its open it or any details to access it!!! Hmph!!!

So to confirm the charges, send an email into the iban@hsbc.com team and see what response they give you.


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