# can I open a uk bank account?



## Coll (14 Jan 2010)

I looking for some advise. I do a lot of travel to the uk for work. So I take sterling out through the hole in the wall and pay bank charges.  Can I open a uk bank account and have starling logged into it(by my employer) to reduce the charges for withdrawing starling using my irish atm card.  ?


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## Ann1 (14 Jan 2010)

You must have an address in the UK. You must also produce utility bills in your name for that address to the bank.


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## kimmage (15 Jan 2010)

Hi there, 

You could contact National Irish Bank - I am sure NIB will open a bank account in Northern Ireland for you even if you do not have an address in that jurisdiction. 

You can transfer between that and an Irish account held at National Irish Bank without any fees, excl currency conversion/exchange rates, but not the standard 12 euro.

Ask in your local branch for details or give them a call.

Also, I am not 100% sure, but I think the sort codes in NI can work in the UK if your employer wants to pay you by EFT.


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## Mpsox (15 Jan 2010)

kimmage said:


> Also, I am not 100% sure, but I think the sort codes in NI can work in the UK if your employer wants to pay you by EFT.


 
NI sortcodes are part of the UK clearing system as per any "mainland" UK bank, however for logistical reasons, paper payments and cheques between NI and the rest of the UK usually take a day longer to clear


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## Ann1 (15 Jan 2010)

Good idea Kimmage. 
Also NIB are becoming a paperless transaction bank only.... in March of this year.


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## Hoagy (15 Jan 2010)

Ulster Bank will do it as well. My own branch opened a current account for me in the Newry branch, I use it for annual subs etc.


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## Mpsox (15 Jan 2010)

Ann1 said:


> Good idea Kimmage.
> Also NIB are becoming a paperless transaction bank only.... in March of this year.


 
NIB are becoming a cashless bank only, not a paperless one. They will still accept cheques


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## Ann1 (15 Jan 2010)

Sorry Mpsox you are absolutely correct.......I should have said cashless.


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## Coll (16 Jan 2010)

So it is possibility, Do's any know it the Halifax would do the same?


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## kimmage (16 Jan 2010)

Mpsox said:


> NI sortcodes are part of the UK clearing system as per any "mainland" UK bank, however for logistical reasons, paper payments and cheques between NI and the rest of the UK usually take a day longer to clear



Hi Mpsox, 

Sorry for asking this and I hope I dont complicate things!

The NIB sort codes in Northern Ireland (Northern Bank) are 95-xx-xx - would the local NIB not be able to just open a STG account?

I notice on my statements it states "Account Currency - EUR"  So I am just wondering why the Irish banks with NI sort codes cant just add an account in STG in your local branch?

I heard Bank of Ireland College Green have some type of Currency Services but I am not sure what they do and if Its only for business customers.


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## kimmage (16 Jan 2010)

Ann1 said:


> Good idea Kimmage.
> Also NIB are becoming a paperless transaction bank only.... in March of this year.



Hi Ann1

Thanks!  Personally, I dont know how I feel yet about this, what confuses me is, Cash is legal tender why then are they trying to phase it out?

Of course, I know this will be of great help combating the tiger raids on innocent bank staff and cash-in-transit personnel.


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## chrisboy (16 Jan 2010)

I drove up to Newry about 5 months ago. Brought 2 bills and my passport, and had my current account number in my hand five minutes after i entered the bank..


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## Ann1 (16 Jan 2010)

Kimmage
 NIB are planning to close 25 branches and cut staff by 25% over the next 18 months so I suppose cashless transactions just follows. We have banked with them for years but we have just recently opened new accounts with another bank. Our reason for changing is that we like having the option of cash banking.


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## mercman (16 Jan 2010)

Ann1 said:


> You must have an address in the UK. You must also produce utility bills in your name for that address to the bank.



*INCORRECT*

You do not need to have an address to open a UK Bank Account. The easiest way to open a UK Bank account is to have your Irish Bank provide a reference to one of their branches in the UK.


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## Coll (16 Jan 2010)

mercman said:


> *INCORRECT*
> 
> You do not need to have an address to open a UK Bank Account. The easiest way to open a UK Bank account is to have your Irish Bank provide a reference to one of their branches in the UK.



Thank mercman

Can you tell me more that sound very easy. so would this would work with say the halifax,?


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## mercman (16 Jan 2010)

Quite simple. On the basis that your accounts are in order over here, walk into a Halifax over there with your Passport, two origin al Utility Bills and a current Bank Statement, and advise the new Bank of where you currently Bank and they will follow matters for you. If they say No, then they are too lazy.


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## roker (16 Jan 2010)

I tried to open a UK bank account because my pension is paid in Sterling. None would do it with an Irish address so I had to use my daughters UK address. You can open a Sterling account in Ireland.


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## chrisboy (16 Jan 2010)

roker said:


> I tried to open a UK bank account because my pension is paid in Sterling. None would do it with an Irish address so I had to use my daughters UK address. You can open a Sterling account in Ireland.




As i posted above, i did it in Ulster bank in newry, no problem..


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## mercman (16 Jan 2010)

You can only open a sterling account in Ireland with extreme difficulty. Otherwise there is usually no problem opening an account in the UK.


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## Ann1 (17 Jan 2010)

Coll
Sorry if I gave you incorrect information. I was going on our own experience. My husband is English and we visit family there quite often. Like you we use our ATM card to withdraw money and pay the charges. Last year we tried to open a Barclays bank account and were declined as we did not have utility bills to match the address on my husbands English driving licence. We must try again.


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## roker (17 Jan 2010)

It seem that there is no hard and fast rules. Mercman, I found it the otherway around, easy to open a Sterling account here, impossible to open a Sterling account in the UK, Norther Ireland was not acceptable to the pension provider, it had to be UK. They were gaining from me by charging commission each month. I opened a Sterling account here so that the UK pension provider could send it here but they will not send sterling only euros after they convert it.


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## mercman (17 Jan 2010)

Roker, I think you have a different case than what you subscribed to. If your pension is payable in sterling, I do not think they have the right to transfer it into Euro. The Pension Ombudsman in the UK is fairly fair AFAIK. Re the bank accounts, I offered an opinion and stand by it.


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## Coll (19 Jan 2010)

mercman said:


> Quite simple. On the basis that your accounts are in order over here, walk into a Halifax over there with your Passport, two origin al Utility Bills and a current Bank Statement, and advise the new Bank of where you currently Bank and they will follow matters for you. If they say No, then they are too lazy.



Thanks Mercman and to all who replied, I am going to try this next week when I over in UK. I will post you you let you know how I get on.

Coll


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## svszb (26 Apr 2010)

I am finding it very difficult transferring money between the UK and Ireland without incurring charges  - sterling/euro electronic transfers are 25 pounds.  Only today I tried to pay a sterling bank draft (in theory cheaper, 15 pounds) into NIB and they said it would need to be sent for collection and would take six to eight weeks. NIB's sister bank (Northern Bank) unfortunately make it really difficult to open an account with an Irish address. What is more, if I choose to pay this draft back into my UK account and do an electronic transfer instead, it will apparently take 5 days for the draft to clear...


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## mercman (26 Apr 2010)

Sorry to say it, but NIB aren't really at thge races for anything other than simple no brainer banking. Maybe you should consider moving to a real Bank, if such a thing remains in existence.


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## kimmage (27 Apr 2010)

mercman said:


> Sorry to say it, but NIB aren't really at thge races for anything other than simple no brainer banking. Maybe you should consider moving to a real Bank, if such a thing remains in existence.



Hi, 

I have to disagree there.  National Irish Bank are probably one of the leading banks when it comes to innovation.  Have you seen their online system for example?  Their technologies are world class in banking.  Their branch network albeit small offer a very personal service.  My mother has banked with them for years and could never find fault.  There so personal its almost equivalent to the type of service offered by way of Private Banking without the hight quarterly fees.

Also, from working in Bank of Ireland, all sterling cheques / drafts are sent for collection, there are few if any exceptions to this rule.


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## mercman (27 Apr 2010)

Kimmage, fair play to your mother. but does she want a Bank to conduct her business or a friendship club. This is exactly what happened to the Irish Banks, all and sundry from within wanted to make the customers their friends, instead of acting in a precise and proper manner. As for the innovation of NIB, I don't know anything about it or have read anything other than criticisms.


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## kimmage (29 Apr 2010)

mercman said:


> Kimmage, fair play to your mother. but does she want a Bank to conduct her business or a friendship club. This is exactly what happened to the Irish Banks, all and sundry from within wanted to make the customers their friends, instead of acting in a precise and proper manner. As for the innovation of NIB, I don't know anything about it or have read anything other than criticisms.



Hi mercman,

National Irish Bank as far as I know conduct their affairs with diligence and professionalism - how much have they been given under the bailouts? I may be wrong, but I believe their one of the few banks not on their knees right now.

But really what I was talking about was when you compare their free banking operation with say the AIB Private Banking, you more or less get the same service without the 63.49 quarterly fee for their basic current account alone, ie a friendly hello, know their clients by name etc.  NIB probably have one of the most rigorous lending systems in place, they do credit checks to open a non-lending account and have been known to decline many applications that did not meet their criteria of "ideal customer"

All I can say is that their online system is second to none, I have never known them to have issues, or at least they have a speedy resolution.

Its down to personal choice I suppose, if you want a premium service you either like some of us pay premiums to banks or you take something like NIB.


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## blastman (10 May 2010)

Hi all,

I'm looking at opening an account in NI as I currently work for a company that is based in the UK and pays me in sterling.  They charge me handsomely for this privilege, however, and in these straitened times, I can't afford to throw away such a large portion of my wages on a regular basis.

So, although I live in the Rep of Ire, in Co Dublin (so not exactly a border region), can I do this easily?  I'd like to go with a bank that keeps charges to a minimum and gives me an ATM card so I can withdraw money in the south for a nominal transaction charge.  I have family ties in the north, but I'd prefer to open the account using my normal home address if this is not going to cause any problems.  Is it easier to do this in a Newry branch because of their proximity to the border, or could I go to HSBC in Portadown just as easily.

Sorry for all the questions, but like I say, it's costing me a fortune in wages and I want to resolve this this week once and for all.  Thanks in advance.


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## sitstill (10 May 2010)

blastman said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm looking at opening an account in NI as I currently work for a company that is based in the UK and pays me in sterling.  They charge me handsomely for this privilege, however, and in these straitened times, I can't afford to throw away such a large portion of my wages on a regular basis.
> 
> ...



Bank of Ireland in Newry will do it for you. You need to call in with 2 forms ID and something with your address. You can get a Maestro card on the account which allows you to make free withdrawals from BOI ATMs down here.


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## reynolds (10 May 2010)

*euro sterling exchange rate*

try  www.transfermate.com for sterling euro exchange rates, they dont charge the fees banks do and quick comparison show better exchange rates. Always check and compare with your bank anyway


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## blastman (11 May 2010)

Thanks, sitstill.

Unfortunately I don't have control over the transfers, reynolds, so that's not really what I'm looking for.  Thanks anyway, though, handy site to know about.

Is it easier to open an account with one of the Irish banks in the north or one of the English ones, like Barclays in Newry?


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## sitstill (11 May 2010)

blastman said:


> Thanks, sitstill.
> 
> Unfortunately I don't have control over the transfers, reynolds, so that's not really what I'm looking for.  Thanks anyway, though, handy site to know about.
> 
> Is it easier to open an account with one of the Irish banks in the north or one of the English ones, like Barclays in Newry?



I'm not sure. But something tells me that the Irish banks might be more willing to oblige. I chose BOI because you can also bank with them over the counter in Post Offices all over the UK as well as in their branches in NI - so thats pretty much the same as having an account in one of the British banks.


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## TheBritalian (3 Jun 2010)

Hello,
An alternative to opening a bank account in the UK is to use a cash card. These cards have an IBAN/BIC code so they can be used by employers to pay wages into them. Other than that, the card is a normal prepaid credit card. Cashplus (no affiliation) offers them, and there's even an option to have an 'additional' card in euros (subject to a fee, of course). Cashplus is a prepaid Mastercard so it can be used to avoid the extortionate fees that ryanair charges you (just remember, as the card is in sterling, not to use the 'guaranteed' exchange rate from Ryanair when you book as it's typically more expensive than the Mastercard rate). You have to have a UK address to register and there are charges to pay but depending on your circumstances it can be worth it, especially if you use ryanair often and don't already have neteller or similar.


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## Ravima (14 Jun 2010)

You can open with LLOYDSTSB in isle of Man or Jersey, with a small monthly fee, but no min balance in the account. You can have EUR/GBP and USD accounts and transfer online between all.

You can open with HARRODS bank in London for the snob status, but need min balance and min throughput of cash per year.

Some of the smaller private banks also will open accounts for you without necessarily calling in person.


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## deeobrien (17 Jun 2010)

I have an NIB account down south and last year opened a Northern bank a/c in Banbridge (20 mins from Newry) with no bother at all.  Opened it under my ROI address.  I did have to call in to the bank but took the opportunity to do some shopping in the outlets close by. 

NIB/Northern bank is a handy combination as they are both part of the Danske group.  So I can transfer between both online for free.  (There is the standard exchange rate fee (1.75 or 2%) or whatever but £15 fee is removed if transferring within Danske.   I have a Maestro card and cheque book on the a/c as well.  There are no monthly fees or charges and it even pays interest (.01% or something).


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