Is Opening UK Bank account necessary?
TIP: The answer is almost always yes with the sole exception being students on courses that last 3 months or less. Even then, we would recommend opening one given how easy it is to close them these days.
- Direct Payments: You may be required to make certain payments (such as your rent, gym or phone subscriptions) by direct debit especially if such payments are made in installments. This can be done using a foreign account but given the extra cost (of exchange and transfer fees) and the frequency with which these payments are to be made (usually monthly) you may be better off just getting a UK bank account.
- Converting Currency: In years past, international students travelled with traveller’s cheques and/or cash which they duly converted into British Pounds (GBP) on arrival. Few problems with this:
- You risked losing the traveller’s cheques or cash;
- You risked being questioned at customs on the provenance of such large deposits of cash;
- And even if you made it to the UK with cheque and cash intact, you would probably have to deposit them in a UK account anyway.
Moreover, most UK banks these days allow you to open an account from anywhere in the world and have internal exchange mechanisms within the account where you can deposit funds in your home currency and have exchanged into GBP and withdrawn or spent on arrival.
- Forex (meaning ‘Foreign Exchange’) cards is also another way you can hold and exchange currency into GBP. Some forex cards can be used directly to make purchases especially if they are tied to one of the major payment platforms (VISA and or Mastercard). The major downside to a forex card is that it will not be linked to a UK bank account which effectively renders it a foreign account with the extra fees and convenience mentioned above.
How do I choose a UK bank account?
TIP: You are a foreign student moving to the UK. You want something mobile, reliable and easy to access. You are not looking for a mortgage or car loan refinancing so ignore the “extra benefits” incentives that banks offer and go for a bank that is easy to access and offers a simple exchange mechanism.
We have put together the most popular and commonly used banking services account by international students:
How do I send money from the UK overseas?
TIP: We recommend using one of the services below especially if it is for smaller sums (£1,000 or less). Going through your bank may be more costly and some of the services below transfer funds mobile phone-to-mobile phone within seconds.
