LINDAVAN

Hi I am hoping to move to Spain either this year or next. I will not retain property in the UK. I have heard (and read) some reports on how difficult it may be to retain a UK bank account. I shall need a UK bank account as we have private pensions which can only be paid into a UK bank account. Currently I am with Bank of Scotland. If I knew that they may close my account when we move to Spain, I would rather start up new accounts with another UK bank/s (who will accept that I no longer reside in the UK) well before we make the move. Any advice or experience on this matter? Thanks.

Jerseygirl

Welcome to BE. I have moved your thread over to our Spain forums...as the Welcome Inn Forum is purely for introductions.

I have lived outside the US for 20 years and still have my Nat West account. All correspondence was sent to the US...and is now sent to Canada.

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
I live in France but the question must be applicable to many European expats. I had to transfer my UK current account to an "offshore" branch in the Isle of Man. My bank is Lloyds and I presume the Bank of Scotland has the same provisions for its clients resident in Europe.
You may do well to post again in the Spain forum for confirmation, and to get advice on other questions (healthcare coverage for those with private pensions, etc....)

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Fred James

I agree with JG. I have had a UK Natwest account while living in Spain for 13 years now. No problems at all, all correspondence is sent to Spain.

One thing is for sure, you cannot set up a new account, even a different type of account in the same bank, once you have left the UK.

tebo53

Hi, I have kept my Barclays Bank account in the uk while living here in Spain. When I have long visits to my son who lives in the uk l stay at his address, so I use his address for my bank. I have the same concerns as you regarding payment of pensions only into a uk account.

Do you have relatives in the uk?

Steve

marcbernard

I have lived in Spain since 1996 and have had no problems with Lloyds other than being restricted to the accounts I had whilst resident in UK. Barclays are a pain since they have divested themselves of their Spanish subsidiary and removed my Barclaycard accounts despite having had them for some 40 or more years AND being a shareholder!
It is vital that you retain your UK account since your pensions are paid into it. Most reasonable pension sources will pay direct into a Spanish account but if you wish to retain control of the FX rate you may wish to use, then transfer from UK bank via various firms without bank fees would be the way to go.

LINDAVAN

Thanks for moving my enquiry to the Spain forum. As soon as I posted, I realised that it was in the wrong area! Also thanks for the suggestion of Nat West.

LINDAVAN

My 'post' has now been moved to the Spain forum thankfully. I'll enquire about 'offshore' facilities but my understanding is that this is also an area that is being closed off nowadays unfortunately. Thanks for the top though.

LINDAVAN

Fred, yes Nat West sounds a good avenue to check out. Also your advice about not being able to open an account with a UK bank account once outside of the country is helpful. I had understood this was the case so am keen to get it sorted out before departure. Of course banks can change their T&Cs at any time and what goes today may change tomorrow in these uncertain times of banking!

LINDAVAN

Thanks Marc about suggestion on Lloyds. Yes I would also like to retain UK account for my savings as I do not want to transfer every penny to a bank account in Spain and would like to be able to transfer funds when FX is 'good'!! Am currently checking UK pension provider/s and if any will agree to transfer to Spain account.

LINDAVAN

Tebo, I had read the earlier posts that dealt with the situation surrounding Barclays but as that was specific to that bank, I started up another post. Yes I do have family in UK who I will visit regularly. I am not sure about using their address though. Did you stipulate that your bank mail is direced to your son's address but marked "c/o" yourself?

quiltman

I bank with Nationwide in UK. We use a friends address for correspondence etc but they know we live here. All our pensions are paid into Nationwide and I do transfers as needed. As long as you talk to your bank BEFORE you leave the UK , most of them are OK.

amideislas

One thing's for sure.. Keep clear of Santander.

Don't make the mistake of thinking it's a "Spanish" bank. It isn't, and they struggle to comprehend that there are other countries that people live in, and they use obscure currencies such as "dollars" or "euros". For Santander, all of this is very "specialised" requiring a specialist who is familiar with the third-world. And that's of course, quite expensive.

tebo53

Hi,
I now do all my (Barclays) banking online. I have stated on my account page that I want all notifications and all mail sent through to my email address and not to my "UK" address. All that was done from their suggestions for paperless banking. Check on your personal internet banking site and see if the option is on there.
Steve