BristolUK

I realise this is all a bit late and meaningless now but I'm still curious.

I've just been reading a guardian article about reducing costs of travel in Europe - worsening exchange rate, insurance, currency exchange etc - and a reader suggested opening a bank account in the Republic of Ireland because there are no fees when using their bank card in Europe. The idea would be to spread cost by transferring money throughout the year between your UK account and the Irish one using a cheap transfer service like TransferWise and use the card free (subject to bank exchange rates, of course) when in Europe.

When I read this I thought "can you open a bank account in Ireland when not resident?"

Aside from offshore accounts, UK residency always seems to be a requirement of a UK bank when opening an account.

So I looked at one - KBC was the one the reader held - and all it requires is EU residency.

This gives me two questions. How come UK banks charge for card use in Europe but Irish ones don't and, more importantly, why is EU residency good enough for Irish banks but not UK ones?

It's as if the UK was only half-hearted with EU membership whereas Ireland is fully fledged.

Shard

Possibly the Euro ? I think it is safe to conclude that the UK was always half-heartedly in the EU.

BristolUK

I asked the same there and it does indeed appear to be Eurozone related except that it also seems to have been extended to countries not having adopted the Euro.

BritInParis

That is legally also the case in the UK except most banks won't offer the service as it makes life difficult for them under the UK's 'Know Your Customer' anti-money laundering measures.

scrubbedexpat142

Novocastrian

True. But I think you'll find that the UK is currently half-heartedly out of the EU.

Watch this space.

Pulaski

The fees relate as much to the exchange as to the usage.

If the UK received as much net EU money (over contributions) per capita as Ireland has done, then maybe the EU would have been as popular in the UK as it is in Ireland!

OrangeMango

The Irish are in the Euro zone, plus various EU institutions have bailed out Irish banks, maybe EU residency is now good for Irish banks? - not sure?

I guess you're referring to Brexit or a possible Hard-Brexit, the possibility of UK departing the EU without any trade deals?

I noticed that the Euro rose a bit recently, to around 1.50 to the loonie, and 1.15 towards the GBP? Possibly, that's also the soft lumber dispute between Canada and the US, the possible re-negotiation of NAFTA, plus the elections in the UK, plus Brexit? Also the possible re-election of Merkel in Germany, the Euro-zones strongest country, plus Macron's victory in France should give the Euro currency a bit of a boost...

If it lasts or not, nobody knows.

BristolUK

No...on this thread nothing more than A) Irish bank cards not incurring user fees in Europe - apparently connected to the Eurozone (albeit loosely involving countries not in it) and B) applying for an Irish bank account merely from being resident in the EU (anywhere in the EU) while a UK bank account requires the applicant to be UK resident.

dave_j

A1. I strongly suspect that this has nothing whatsoever to do with being in or out of the eurozone but just a little more to do with UK banks maintaining an outdated but profitable contribution to their corporate expenses.

A2. Simply Ireland wishing to make itself as business friendly as possible in a tax haven sort of way, remember the Apple tax fiddle arrangement?

OrangeMango

@Bristol UK: It was the above statement that caused me to drift a bit off the subject....

BristolUK

Fair enough...I only threw that bit in because it appeared Irish banks (presumably within the confines of Irish law) were acting as if they were part of the EU while UK banks weren't acting similarly.

OrangeMango

Don't know about that. I guess it's solely because Ireland is part of the Euro-zone as well, and the UK is not. Thus the regulation in Ireland would fall under the European Central Bank in Frankfurt and ECB regulations, whilst the one in the UK would be the bank of England.

Brexit would be a too recent development, to be considered in this situation.

Sweden or Denmark are also fully fledged EU members but kept their own currency.

BristolUK

That was why it was only an afterthought to the main point.

I wasn't sure if BritInParis was referring to fee free transactions in Europe or being able to open an account anywhere purely from being resident an an EU country.

So I looked it up and If you are legally resident in an EU country you are entitled to open a "basic payment account". Banks cannot refuse your application for a basic payment account just because you don't live in the country where the bank is established.
So it would seem that neither the Eurozone nor Brexit is a factor.

So maybe my afterthought takes on a little more importance then if UK banks are/have been discouraging non UK residents from applying.

quiltman

Just read this. The important part is "Banks may refuse to open an account unless you can show a valid reason for needing it". The example given is living in one country but working in another. This only applies to a basic account not a current account etc. and only for a legally resident EU person. So I suppose it comes down to wether the bank believes your reason! It does make sense for the EU but anyone trying to open a UK bank account from outside the EU could be interpreted as being possibly "dodgy" and the UK banks cannot be bothered doing all the checks required to meet the money laundering rules.