kateg60

Hi all, so I think I will need to maintain some type of bank account after moving back to the UK. I'm unsure if I need a stand alone bank or if using my brokerage/IRA bank would be sufficient? The account would primarily be used for taxes and miscellaneous bills I will continue to have in the US. Can anyone recommend a bank or is willing to share how they manage this situation?

durham_lad

I would check with your existing US bank first to see if you can continue to have it when you are overseas. Our daughter has recently checked with her US bank account, Chase, and it will apparently be no problem, and no US phone number needed to validate logins from abroad. She plans to move to England next month.

I have been using a Wise account since the start of the year and it is working great. I have an account denominated in USD and it comes with a US bank account and routing number. I have it linked with my US brokerage account and in fact just initiated a transfer today from my brokerage to the Wise account. (Quarterly dividends have just been paid). Once the money arrives in the Wise account I transfer it to my UK HSBC bank account in seconds.

morpeth

I use WISE the same way and have been very satisfied with the ease and speed of transfer. It provides a US bank routing and account number.And the debit card they provide can be used for £,$, Euro transactions, let alone funds kept in Swiss Francs. On recent trip to France I saved fees using the Wise Card.

I notice two-factor authentication is becoming more common in the States though still much less than the UK, and often via mobile phone text which can or may create an issue in the future. Strangely some may accept a Skype number, some ( like Paypal) do not.

tdrinker

I had a JP Morgan Chase bank account for 10+ years despite not living in the USA. They posted me an annual W-8BEN form to complete, and periodically new cards. I suspect Wise will have lower fees and offer a better exchange rate for transfers.

kateg60

So you do not use US land based bank only WISE? And I would be able to use WISE to pay US bills? Also I thought I had read that WISE is not good for holding funds as they charge for money left in the account after some period of time, is this accurate? I have a WISE account which I have been using to transfer money, but not for regular bank functions.

morpeth

I haven't had the slightest problem using WISE to receive US funds or pay bills, and I am not sure why one would park significant funds there. I have never had charges for balances left in the account no matter what the currency. As it provides a routing number and account number , not much different than a US bank in terms paying bills especially recurring ones.

The only issue I could see would be if one was purchasing an item and a billing address was needed and the UK address not accepted, however I haven't had a problem with that either.

durham_lad

I stopped having a land-based bank in 2005 when I switched to Bank-of-Internet but they didn't support overseas customers so I switched to HSBC USA, which didn't have any branches within a thousand miles of me but do accept overseas addresses. When HSBC USA decided to get out of retail banking they started switching customers to another bank which insisted on US mobile numbers for security at login which is why I started using Wise.

I haven't used my Wise account to pay US bills so it is good to see that morpeth has good experience in doing that, and that like me he is unaware of any charges for money left in the account. I certainly have not experienced that either. I never have more than about $20 in the account most of the time because I shift the money out as soon as it comes in and have never been charged for having a low balance.

One thing they do charge for which my old US bank did not charge for is incoming wire transfers. When choosing to transfer money from my Vanguard account to my bank I used to choose wire because it was faster but now I choose ACH to save a few bucks on incoming wire fees.

tdrinker

Wise increased some fees from 1 October, so it's worthwhile to periodically check that it remains the most cost effective option.

morpeth

Thans Durham lad for that info though I haven't used Wise for incoming wires.

durham_lad

It is definitely worth it to me to do the ACH free method rather than a wire. Monday morning this week I initiated an ACH transfer from Vanguard this week, and at lunchtime today (Tuesday) I got the notification on the Wise app that money had arrived in the account from Vanguard. I then immediately, from the Wise app, transferred it to my UK bank and it arrived in the bank in less than 30 seconds. I love it, really easy to use.

Now, if I initiate an ACH transfer on a Friday, the earliest I can expect it to arrive would be Monday, unless that was a Federal Holiday then it would be Tuesday.

lds

Quick question about Wise - can you have a UK salary paid into the account? I'm planning on moving back and, assuming it will take me a while to get the documentation together to open an account, will need somewhere to have my UK salary deposited. Any advice?

durham_lad

I’m pretty sure you can because you will have a UK bank sort code and account number. I do the opposite, live in the UK but have a Wise account denominated in USD with a US bank routing and account number and the payments from my retirement account go directly into it.

tdrinker

If you have a UK passport or driving licence there aren't any documents to collect to open a bank account. It can be done in a few minutes, in branch, by phone or online. I'm sure it used to be necessary to show proof of address, but this has been dropped (you have to provide your address but not prove it).

https://www.lloydsbank.com/current-a...k-account.html

Otherwise Wise should be OK, but an investment company I researched opening an account with said they wouldn't pay to Wise, so it's possible some companies would object.

morpeth

durham lad, i second that. I have received funds in pounds, or dollars, into my Wise account with no problem.

tdrinker

Wise is useful as a pass through account, especially when moving funds between currencies. But it's a supplement not a replacement for a normal bank account, that (in the UK) will be FCA protected up to £85,000 funds, provide a credit card, possibly account benefits such as travel insurance, etc.