Bank account London

Hey guys - as I am a European currently with Revolut/N26, I would like to open a UK-based account since I will soon start working in IBD London. Anyone has hints and advices on which one to choose? (i.e., Barclays, HSBC, etc.) 

20 Comments
 

Barclays is better to earn a salary into. You will qualify for Premier Banking a lot easier than you would for HSBC (you need to take out some product with HSBC to qualify). That said, HSBC has a really swanky Premier Banking credit card Mastercard that gives you like lounge access and whatever else.

 

Yes, so I believe it's £75k annual salary for both. For HSBC it's this + having an active product with them (insurance, mortgage etc). 

Barclays, as far as I know, is a bit weird bcos they have the 75k salary requirement and at least 3300 paid into it monthly (which is less than 75k so idk)

 

This, but they're being a bit more picky about who they accept nowadays. I don't know how picky banks are for setting up accounts for European nowadays

 

Bump

Aren’t other challenger banks like Monzo and starling also good? The thing with Revolut is that the money is actually not protected, unlike monzo and starling. Otherwise I like it a lot.

How do the above compare to the Barclays offering mentioned?

 

Problem of Revolut is that usually you already have an European account and you cannot just switch it into an UK one. You should delete your account and create a new one once get an address in UK

 

Speaking from a few years ago here. I moved from South Africa to the UK for a grad job and heard that other grads in years before me struggled to get a traditional UK bank account (HSBC, NatWest etc.) on arrival as they required proof of residence and proof of work in UK to sign up for an account. Obviously a problem if you are emigrating to a new country and haven't officially started work yet! 

Best bet is Monzo (or Starling or anyone of the other challenger digital banks). You can sign up and get the card sent to your office or another trusted address so that you can hit the ground running when you arrive in the UK. If you are so inclined to change to a more traditional bank once you have all of the proof then by all means do but I have found Monzo to be a perfect transactional account.

 

Avoid Revolut and all these shitty neo banks. Sure, it’s ok to get started and all but I would never receive my salary on it. Long story short, I was robbed at gun point and forced to give my debit card details, they emptied my Monzo account and it was such a struggle to get reimbursed by Monzo, had to get a lawyer and all… A traditional bank would have reimbursed me much faster as they’re required by law…

 

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