Gozit

I think the best way is to keep UK address/UK phone number on file if you can (keep a PAYG SIM) and have relatives forward new cards to you by courier. Tax res/non-tax res on file with bank shouldnt matter, as long as you are square with HMRC and it is a basic current/savings account no one should bat an eyelid.

I have a Maltese current account and VISA credit card registered to Maltese address and phone number...my local branch manager is aware I live outside Malta but my details are set up as if I live in Malta. My relatives hold the mail for me and I pick it up once a year when I visit. If I need something I have them take a pic and send it to me. My most recent new CC renewal I just typed the numbers into apple pay, so I dont need the physical card.

DigitalGhost

Is there any law that says you can't do this? I was planning to just change the address on mine to my family home and leave the accounts open but the problem is that UK banks are now crazy about SMS based 2FA and I don't think most of them accept any number that doesn't have a +44 dialling code. Sometimes they won't let you pay for certain debit card purchases until you positively respond to an SMS message confirming that it was you.

It's not like you can just keep a UK SIM card from abroad indefinitely and use it for the incoming verification calls/messages either because if you stop paying for the contract or topping it up then the UK network will kill it.

BristolUK

Or by regular mail that always worked for me
This is where you pay for something using your phone I guess? Now that strikes me as being not very secure. Is there some other security aspect involved that stops someone having your details on their phone? Especially if you don't have the card, meaning it's somewhere else.
Granted you could have your card and it could still be cloned but you still need a PIN to go with it...unless using Tap, which, to me, is just asking for trouble.

I still can't get over that...all these warnings about Fraud awareness and card providers create a situation where anyone can find or get hold of someone's card and pay for something with no more than a wave of the card

It does seem to be more difficult than it used to be. My one remaining account, the UK bank said they'd need a UK number for such verification and they never did get around to saying what the alternative would be. But for the moment they're only needing a verification check on 'new' payments, so my regular activity is already established and needs nothing further.
But there may come a time when just accessing the account needs a check I can't satisfy - and that's when I'll set up a transferwise borderless account to replace it.
I could have my UK income paid to my Canadian account but Transferwise seems to be significantly cheaper.

christmasoompa

Maybe I'm being overly simplistic (and my technical knowledge is non-existent) but for the sake of a few pounds a month could you not keep a SIM only deal in the UK and then switch SIM's to put your UK one back in if you are expecting a text from a UK bank? You could also keep money in the UK account to pay for it, which may help keeping the UK account open too if there is a regular payment coming out of it.

As I said, my knowledge is non-existent so may well not work but thought I'd ask!

christmasoompa

Also, just another thought, there are banks in the UK that don't require a text message for authorisation - I'm with Starling (best bank ever IMO), and they send me an 'in app notification' instead. Could that work?

Jerseygirl

I’m with the Nat West and use a card reader when required. They sent a new card reader to our Canadian address just before Christmas.

BristolUK

My bank introduced one several years ago but then they told me my regular payments were so regular I needn't do it anymore.

Last year they reintroduced it. The battery was flat but it was the same type as the one in my glucose meter so I swapped it in when needed

But then they decided on the text to a UK number or by email, with a suggestion that the email option was only short term. We're past that now I think and it seems I'm okay with my regular activity.

Jerseygirl

I’ve only ever used it to transfer large amounts of money from the UK.

DigitalGhost

If you guys are talking about the little calculator looking card reader thing then those are still around but have mostly been replaced by smartphone apps at this point. Those were only ever really used for first time login and the purpose you've mentioned there JG.

My main bank will occasionally text me before they approve purchases though and there seems to be little rhyme or reason behind it. One day they can allow you to spend 2 grand on flights without a bat of an eyelid but the next they'll block a £20 concert ticket order until you approve it by text message.

Incidentally, not sure if you're aware, but if you do need one of those card readers then they're the same for every UK bank. The banks like to pretend otherwise but a Barclays card will work in a NatWest or Santander verifier and vice versa. That saved my bacon once when I transferred quite a lot to the UK from Toronto and the battery in my normal reader chose that precise moment to die. Fortunately I was able to use my girlfriend's from another bank.

DigitalGhost

I do have a Starling account but I barely ever use it. I should probably look to use it more really since nobody ever seems to have anything but good things to say about them.

Looking at their app, it does seem you can change your phone number to an any international one easily too but they do require you to declare if you're tax registered in any other country.

morpeth

One option could be getting a UK number via Skype.

DigitalGhost

The problem is that you end up paying for that if you need to keep it long term and at that point you might as well just get a £5 p/m basic contract or something similar and keep it in a spare phone.

morpeth

Faur enough , but with all the need to respond to text messages with banks or credit cards in the UK, seems unavoidable to have some option in place. Really annoying now to check credit card balance a text message necessary so often now.

One credit card I have is crazy, need to
1. type in last six digits of credit card.
2. type in first letter of firth name.
3. type in last name.
4. then received code via text to type in
5. then finally type in password.

DigitalGhost

That does seem a bit OTT tbh. With my UK credit card, I can make payments and manage it entirely through an app on my phone and it authenticates me using my fingerprint.

Logging in with my ISA provider is a gigantic pain in the arse though.

DigitalGhost

For anyone who is interested, I've looked into this and the most economical way appears to be via a GiffGaff sim which can be topped up with the minimum £10 top up and will continue to work as long as it is used at least once every 6 months. I'm sure a similar thing can be done on other networks but GiffGaff seem like quite an easy option since they're an entirely virtual network.