Bank Account/Living UK
May 9th 2005, 4:59 pm
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 23
Bank Account/Living UK
I am currently living in the United States and plan on moving to London either this year or the next. The main reason is that I want to experience some new things and also visit Paris and the other Euro cities. I have a British Passport but have not lived in the UK as an adult. The question I have is how would I go about opening a bank account in London. Which banks would you recommend? Royal Bank of Scotland was going to be my first choice. Do they having any minimum requirements (£2000 or greater)? How much money would I need to get set up in London? I am single without any dependents so shared housing would be OK. Thanks to all who assist in this query.
May 9th 2005, 8:15 pm
#2
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 6,360
Re: Bank Account/Living UK
Have a look here http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi...09610116,88950,
This is a fantastic site and has loads of info about every type of finance you will require, plus a chat forum which is very handy.
Hope it helps
This is a fantastic site and has loads of info about every type of finance you will require, plus a chat forum which is very handy.
Hope it helps
May 9th 2005, 8:51 pm
#3
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,848
Re: Bank Account/Living UK
Originally Posted by uk2006
I am currently living in the United States and plan on moving to London either this year or the next. The main reason is that I want to experience some new things and also visit Paris and the other Euro cities. I have a British Passport but have not lived in the UK as an adult. The question I have is how would I go about opening a bank account in London. Which banks would you recommend? Royal Bank of Scotland was going to be my first choice. Do they having any minimum requirements (£2000 or greater)? How much money would I need to get set up in London? I am single without any dependents so shared housing would be OK. Thanks to all who assist in this query.
For temp jobs, flat/house shares, travel planning, finance, classified ads etc. you might want to check out the 'backpacker' website TNT...it's mostly used by travellers from the Commonwealth countries; Aussies, Kiwis, South Africans, Zimbabweans, Canadians but is a good source of info:
http://www.tntmagazine.com
also the London site of http://www.craigslist.com might be useful!
Hope this helps...
May 9th 2005, 9:10 pm
#4
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 79
Re: Bank Account/Living UK
Personally I would not touch Royal Bank of Scotland. Opened an account when we came back and had nothing but trouble. Barclays not too good either, but it is a personal choice. Most of the big guys are pretty much the same.
May 9th 2005, 10:45 pm
#5
Made the move -
Joined: Apr 2004
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 2,910
Re: Bank Account/Living UK
Originally Posted by ags
Personally I would not touch Royal Bank of Scotland. Opened an account when we came back and had nothing but trouble. Barclays not too good either, but it is a personal choice. Most of the big guys are pretty much the same.
Yip, i agree...
as a person who worked for a major bank in the uk for years, my advice would be stickto the smaller banks or building societies, or better still use an internet banking account like Cahoot or Egg or First Direct. good interest rates on their currenct and savings accts as well...
May 10th 2005, 9:57 am
#6
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 6,360
Re: Bank Account/Living UK
I have internet banking with Smile and they've been fantastic.
May 10th 2005, 12:40 pm
#7
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Montreal
Posts: 366
Re: Bank Account/Living UK
Depends on the bank. Some are happy just with a passport (UK, not sure about foreign ones) and proof of address. Others are more more difficult. Shop around though as some of the big banks have terrible policies and/or customer service (from personal experience). 
