# Uk bank account



## cautious (12 Mar 2014)

I have a small amount of UK income, less than £50 per week.
I do a fair amount of online shopping, nearly all in UK.
I intend to holiday in UK once or twice per year.
I am fed up getting ripped off by my bank on the exchange rate when the money comes in to my account and again by the bank's credit card company when I make purchases in UK.

I would like to leave the money accumulate in an English bank until I need it for


Paying for purchases either through Paypal in sterling (preferably) or by UK credit card.
Withdrawing cash from ATMs while on backpacking or walking holidays.
Anybody got any suggestions. I'm looking for minimum charges and a small bit of interest would be nice.

What are the tax implications of having an overseas bank account?

Thanks in advance for any responses


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## Slim (12 Mar 2014)

Hi. I opened an Ulster Bank current account in NI. No charges, debit card and cheque book. Little if any credit interest but you could open a savings account and link it to the current account. Declared the interest from a term account in NI on form 12 when the interest was paid. No hassle. I think you're supposed to note the opening of the account on your tax return for the year in question, but I didn't as the interest was not paid until 3 years later and I did not understand the requirement at the  time.


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## Gerry Canning (12 Mar 2014)

cautious. 

Not a problem opening an account in Stg£ .

Phone up any N Ire Bank . They will require usual Id etc. You can see what the best ac they offer.

No tax implications as long as it is clean funds., A lot of people have N.Ire /Uk acs to get small Uk pensions.i


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## cautious (12 Mar 2014)

Thanks for replies. I note you both recommend N Irl banks instead of UK mainland banks. Wonder why?

My main concern is I will be doing a lot of lightweight backpacking in fairly remote areas. ATMs will be few and far between. Some UK bank ATMs are reluctant to accept cards from 'foreign' banks. (Yes, I've seen this happen - even seen perfectly legal Scottish Pounds refused in shops). I need to be confidant I can replenish cash easily. Some B & Bs only take cash.

I've always used Paypal or credit card for online purchases. Some Ebay sellers wont use Paypal. Is a debit card just as acceptable as a credit card for online purchases?

Thanks.


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## Lightning (13 Mar 2014)

cautious said:


> Thanks for replies. I note you both recommend N Irl banks instead of UK mainland banks. Wonder why?



Most NI banks accept RoI address but most mainland banks don't.


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## Slim (13 Mar 2014)

cautious said:


> Thanks for replies. I note you both recommend N Irl banks instead of UK mainland banks. Wonder why?
> 
> My main concern is I will be doing a lot of lightweight backpacking in fairly remote areas. ATMs will be few and far between. Some UK bank ATMs are reluctant to accept cards from 'foreign' banks. (Yes, I've seen this happen - even seen perfectly legal Scottish Pounds refused in shops). I need to be confidant I can replenish cash easily. Some B & Bs only take cash.
> 
> ...


 
Well, it's easy to drive to! As far as I know, all ATMs in the Eurozone and most outside of it will accept debit/ATM cards issued in RoI, NI, UK or elsewhere as long as they have Maestro on them or are, e.g. Visa Debit cards. I have seen NI sterling refused in England but always take Queen's head notes if I'm going to England. I think you can withdraw in most countries in teh world with your RoI card, you don't need a sterling card really.


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## so-crates (13 Mar 2014)

cautious said:


> Thanks for replies. I note you both recommend N Irl banks instead of UK mainland banks. Wonder why?
> 
> My main concern is I will be doing a lot of lightweight backpacking in fairly remote areas. ATMs will be few and far between. Some UK bank ATMs are reluctant to accept cards from 'foreign' banks. (Yes, I've seen this happen - even seen perfectly legal Scottish Pounds refused in shops). I need to be confidant I can replenish cash easily. Some B & Bs only take cash.
> 
> ...



As CiaranT has pointed out, British based banks will not accept an address in the Republic of Ireland whereas Northern Irish based banks will.

I spend quite a bit of time in the UK and I have never had a problem with using an Irish card there, I do however understand your irritation with the cost of doing so on every withdrawl so I did set myself up with a sterling account for that very reason.

On the point of Scottish pounds and Northern Ireland pounds, they are legal to use in England and Wales but the vendor of the service or product is not obliged to accept them in England and Wales, they can refuse and insist on a different means of payment (they are not legal tender there) whereas they are obliged to accept notes issued by the Bank of England. More info on them [broken link removed]

From your perspective though, if your account is in the North and in sterling then the cash you get at the bank machine in England will be sterling issued by the Bank of England.


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## Crunchie (13 Mar 2014)

so-crates said:


> As CiaranT has pointed out, British based banks will not accept an address in the Republic of Ireland whereas Northern Irish based banks will.



If you need mainland UK try HSBC - St Annes Square Manchester had no problem opening a current account for me and all correspondence goes to my Irish address. That was a good while ago so maybe they've changed their policy.


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## tommybc (6 Oct 2014)

is there any barclays banks in NI (that you can open while living in SI) ? they supposedly have the best credit card deals


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## so-crates (7 Oct 2014)

A quick look at the Barclay's website yields the following useful search tool


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