Bank Accounts

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Yet another of those increasingly strange questions.

We are going on a world tour (setting out in March for 4 or more years) and I was wondering if anyone knows of a bank that does not charge for overseas transactions etc - my current one does. Or what are the world wide banks that recognise people travel?

I appreciate that most of the time I am going to be using cash and it seems that I will need to carry a variety of US Dollars and Euros with me in 'new' notes (as well as what ever the local currency is), but I can see that from time to time there is going to be a need to withdraw said cash or pay by card and I was wondering which bank has the least amount of additional charges (at this point in time).

Don't worry - I will research and won't hold anyone to their recommendations, but I have not needed to worry about this in the past - I have just carried enough cash and picked up any charges if needed (for example when i forgot to get the additional cash out of my panniers last summer and was at the checkout without enough cash ) for what I needed, now that is not possible

Just decided that 4:30am is not the best time to try to make my thoughts clear

thanks

 

[HelenD123]

Have a look at Moneysavingexpert.com. There's a really good article on the cheapest way to withdraw money abroad and which cards to pay with. The Nationwide current account used not to charge for withdrawals but that's recently changed. Now MSE recommends using a particular credit card to withdraw cash because it works out cheaper. It's worth keeping an eye on the site and sorting it out nearer your departure date.

 

[yello]

I haven't read the moneysaving expert article but I'd be surprised if the Nationwide isn't still worth considering. Yes, they have started charging but it's worth checking the conditions on that, and the exchange rates they use tends to be pretty good (they don't add a bit as well!). Plus, I believe they now have some level of free travel insurance included. As I say, worth looking at least.

I only know this because I read a few ex-pat forums and, after the initial complaints about the charging, people have said the Nationwide is still the best option for them.

 

[andym]

I would also recommend Money Saving Expert. Here's the link:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money

In the end I went with a card from www.fairfx.com (newcastle Building Society in fact). It's a prepaid card which you need to laod up with money from your UK bank account as it runs out. this is very very easy - although you do of course need internet access - I haven't looked into whether you could make standing order payments to it, and you could also get a trusted person to make payments into it.

I carry a Santander Zero card, which I have set to pay off any outstanding balance the following month. I use it for purchases rather than cash - although it's there for emergencies.

As for Nationwide, well I tried applying online, but they were so useless I gave up. things may have changed, and of course you could always open an account in person.

BTW (and off-topic, but something you've touched on in previous posts): I got a quote the other day for reasonably-priced long-term travel insurance from DownUnder Insurance. It had some strong points and weak points, strong points were that it seemed very flexible, had a long maximum period, could be renewed from abroad, and most importantly, didn't exclude touring cycling. Weak point was that it doesn't provide sufficient coverage against theft. For medical insurance outside the EU it might well be worth considering - although unfortunately I suspect a pre-existing condition like asthma might not be covered (but check). BTW I got my quotes from moneysupermarket.com - it might well be worth comparing their prices against those offered direct.

 

[mcshroom]

I know that the Cumberland BS still advertise free withdrawals abroad from their current accounts

So you can withdraw cash at ATMs and pay for goods in shops where you see the Visa sign anywhere in the world and we won't charge you or pass on any fees levied by Visa. The Cumberland does not charge you to use your Cumberland card but the provider of an ATM or retailer may apply a charge.

I'm not sure whether you have to be a Cumbrian resident to open an account though

 

[Brains]

It's a decade since we did long distance travelling, but back then the best options were an account with HSBC and an AmEx card.

We paid all we could on the credit card and they paid it off 'at home' using our local to home account

 

[chrishodges]

I have recently been accross europe and took my nationwide card with me. I notified them before so they didnt block my account due to extensive travel, and it workied fine everywhere.
They do charge a small fee of £1 per transaction but that is a lot less than other card issuers and as is mentioned above, i believe they are currently offering some form of free travel insurance.

I would certainly recommend nationwide.

 

[coddy]

Nationwide have made changes to their Flexaccount charges as from 1st November 2010.

For debit card payments and cash withdrawals they now charge a fee of 2% of the transaction and an additional £1 per transaction if the card is used to withdraw cash.

 

[andym]

Nationwide have made changes to their Flexaccount charges as from 1st November 2010.

For debit card payments and cash withdrawals they now charge a fee of 2% of the transaction and an additional £1 per transaction if the card is used to withdraw cash.

Which seems a bit steep - fairfx.com charge a flat £1.50 (although in practice most cash mahchnes will only cough up a maximum of 200 euros).

 

[coddy]

Have I got this right. I'm crap at maths.





Current exchange rates may need looking at for withdrawing sums of around £100

Fairfax £100 = 115 ..... (£1 = Euro 1.150)

Nationwide (using Visa wholesale rate) £100 = 117.70 ......(£1 = Euro 1.177)

difference when exchanging £100 = euros 2.70


Transaction costs....

Cost of £100 worth of Euros withdrawn using Nationwide = £2 commission plus £1 transaction fee = £3

Cost of £100 worth of Euros withdrawn using Fairfax = £1.50



Difference when withdrawing £100 worth of Euros from a cash machine = 2.70 Euros (btw....Nationwide doesn't charge the extra £1 on point of sale transactions)

(Nationwide 117.70 Euros - Fairfax 115 Euros = 2.70 euros)

2.70 euros = £2.30

If I pay £1.50 extra in costs using Nationwide but gain £2.30 extra in exchange rates, by using Nationwide I'd have an extra 80p to spend on some beer that wouldn't even fill the bottom half of my glass.

Am I right in reasoning that Fairfax would be better for withdrawing larger sums and Nationwide better for shopping trips if spending modest amounts given that the £1 transaction fee is not applicable?

Moneysavingsexpert reckon Halifax Clarity is the way to go if you settle your account within the month. I have used the flexaccount card quite a lot on eastern European tours, mainly withdrawing smaller amounts due to a lot of border crossing and the modest costs in the region. The lack of transaction costs with the Clarity card makes it an attractive alternative as I always pay off the debts asap.

 

[andym]

Have I got this right. I'm crap at maths.

...

Am I right in reasoning that Fairfax would be better for withdrawing larger sums and Nationwide better for shopping trips if spending modest amounts given that the £1 transaction fee is not applicable?

Your calculations seem right to me.


Well yes, no and maybe. My experience with the fairfx card is that most cash machines have a limit of 200€ - some will let you withdraw more, but there doesn't seem to be any way of knowing in advance (understandably I guess) so I usually don't bother trying to withdraw more than that. I don't know whether this is a limit imposed by fairfx or the banks - so it might be worth checking.

 

[elduderino]

The free travel insurance with nationwide is only if you've deposited a minimum of £750 a month between April 2010 and July 2010 and covers Europe only

 

[Norm]

In the end I went with a card from www.fairfx.com (newcastle Building Society in fact). It's a prepaid card which you need to laod up with money from your UK bank account as it runs out. this is very very easy - although you do of course need internet access - I haven't looked into whether you could make standing order payments to it, and you could also get a trusted person to make payments into it.

I spent the summer working for a company that offers NBS pre-paid cards and I have never seen such a dodgy industry.

The customer turnover is immense, just about the only people who keep using their cards after 2 months, when they have spotted all the hidden costs, are those who cannot get bank accounts.

Charges could include monthly charges, load charges (which will vary for different types of loading), payment charges, cash withdrawal charges, balance checking charges... etc

How long does the card last? Do you need to get a new card every 12 or 24 months? Is there a load limit on the card? Either in a single transaction or across the life of the card?

There's a whole bunch of stuff that I couldn't post but I'm not sure how long some of the card issuers will stay in the prepaid market... allegedly.

I have more but I'm at work.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

The free travel insurance with nationwide is only if you've deposited a minimum of £750 a month between April 2010 and July 2010 and covers Europe only

you will also find they exclude conditions such as asthma (well all pre-existing medication conditions and you can't really hide asthma from them if you need to claim!) - I have had to pay an additional £100 for covering myself for my holiday last summer (though the travel insurance is for 12 months, but will not cover us for what we want once we leave the UK for the 2nd time, or more to the point won't cover us after 3 or 4 weeks after we leave the UK for the 2nd time).

 

[andym]

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