Look here first -> Banking in the UK

I've had similar experiences to others - it is such a hassle to transfer money back and forth from Canada-UK. AND lloyds charges almost 40 bucks (can't remember the pounds)! JUST to transfer back to Canada.

And I totally got confused as the Lloyds website say that they don't charge commission for travel money ordered online, and picked up at a branch. I'm not the brightest bulb in the tree, cuz I thought that meant there were NO charges. Not true. I found that after I did the currency conversion, that I ended up paying at least $20 more than I should have.

This gets to be quite pricey as I travel back to Canada 3-5 times a year, and each time I transfer money.


I dont know about other people, but I didn't have a choice about where to bank. My employer has an "agreement" with Lloyds so that they would open an account for me with my passport and an official letter of employment, with my annual income clearly stated.

sunny

u do have a choice about where to bank. open a nationwide flexaccount for the sole purpose of overseas travel (but don't say this on the application form). u do not need to pay ur salary into it. i don't!

nationwide charges £20 for international transfers, plus a fee of 1% of the amount sent; u must specify the sterling amount to send (so that the canadian bank does the currency conversion) and ensure that the nationwide member of staff understands this - if u specify a canadian dollar amount, then the exchange rate will be inferior. in addition, if u use ur flexaccount visa debit card in a canadian atm, there is no fee and no exchange rate charge (unlike lloyds tsb, which charges 2.99%, if i remember correctly).

ian.

additional atm info: the usa has some cash machines which charge american non-customers. i used my nationwide flexaccount visa debit card in such an atm near detroit airport to withdraw $20 and there was no withdrawal fee, presumably because my card was not american.

i think there is also a charge made by the cash machines at pearson airport for canadian non-customers. i don't know if this applies to non-canadian cards and i didn't fancy trying it, since i wasn't desperate for cash at the time. i know that atm withdrawals at td bank don't cost me any fees and there is no reason to assume that nationwide has any special relationship with td.

ian.

Any suggestions how to arrange banking/money transfers from Canada, (where I have a credit union account) to England, where I will be attending university for 10 months? If it is going to take a couple of months to open a UK bank account, as I've been told, I'm going to run out of cash, and I also don't have enough savings to be spending 15 to 20 pounds on a transfer fee each time.

i'm unfamiliar with credit union accounts. if u have a debit card or atm card that has the visa, plus or cirrus cymbol on it, then u can withdraw money from almost any bank's atm in the uk while u're waiting for ur account to be opened. i expect that the charge will be a 3% exchange rate fee plus a flat atm usage fee per withdrawal of a few $ (u'll have to ask ur credit union exactly how much it charges). a typical uk bank atm will charge nothing extra, but most machines in pubs, petrol stations and shops will charge an additional fee of £1 to £2 per withdrawal.

it will normally not take over a month to open a bank account. ask ur university's student union whether there are banks on campus. these branches will be fully familiar with the needs of students and the staff will know the information required to open an account with the minimum of hassle.

ian.

hello everyone,

this is richard edward.

work here in london in insurance firm.

So, would it be a good idea to keep my Canadian bank account open? can I set it up so that I can transfer the majority of my savings to a british bank account FROM Britain if I talk to TD canada first and sign an agreement to preapprove the transfer of funds?

is there a way to print a free version of an equifax credit report?

https://www.econsumer.equifax.ca/ca/vie ... duct_2.jsp

ian.

Has anyone here ever tried to cash cheques at a bank in a foreign currency? Looks like I'm gonna have issues on this one.

Has anyone had any luck with opening up a UK account while still in Canada?

I want to open a British account now, so I can put savings into it for the next 6 months before I make the big move.

Any thoughts/experiences with doing this?