International Money Transfers Top 10 & Guide
Immigration-friendly bank accounts, also known as international bank accounts or a multi-currency bank account, are accounts provided by banks (both legacy and challenger) for individuals who are frequently on the move or permanently living outside their home country. The best international bank account will largely depend on what the individual is looking to achieve, their financial status, and where they are located. The shared commonality across all accounts is the ability to hold multiple currencies and receive foreign exchange payments from abroad. With rising interest rates around the world, we'll also take a look at the best foreign currency savings accounts, including both dollar savings accounts and euro savings accounts.
Please note that these are the best international bank accounts in UK but not the best bank accounts for international transfers.
The HSBC Expat Bank Account (which was temporarily named the International Bank Account) is arguably the most well-known international bank account to be provided by a legacy bank. Current accounts are available in GBP, EUR & USD, with all accounts being held in Jersey (Channel Islands). Savings accounts are available in a further 16 currencies (more on this later). To open an HSBC International Bank Account, applicants are required to inject either a £50,000 deposit into their HSBC account, or show proof of a minimum £100,000 salary.
There are no fees for withdrawing money at an international ATM but a 2.75% FX spread is applied – significantly higher than that of a fintech challenger bank! Payments fees also apply to international payments and the FX spread on these with HSBC is not clear.
Another offering by banking giant HSBC is the HSBC Expat bank account! This account is more multi-currency oriented with holding, sending and saving in 30+ currencies. The account is based offshore (Jersey) and offers as well as saving options everything from a debit card, to investing. Very useful for internationals.
Like HSBC, Santander offers international bank accounts available in GBP, EUR & USD that are held in Jersey. The minimum account balance is £75,000 but the information on interest is outdated and not to be relied on
FX fees can be as high as 3% when using a debit card abroad and SWIFT payments can incur a fee of £20 through online banking and £30 when arranged over the telephone.
You guessed it – the Lloyds International Account allows customers to open current accounts in three currencies – GBP, EUR & USD but their accounts are held in the Isle of Man. The qualification criteria is slightly more generous with Lloyds asking that an applicant's salary is a minimum of £50,000 or that they have a minimum of £25,000 to deposit into the account. Customers are able to open an overdraft on their GBP accounts.
Lloyds international accounts incur a £7.50 monthly fee. To send a CHAPS payment in the UK a £30 fee is charged. More about Lloyds international payments here.
Starling Bank, particularly when compared to other traditional GBP current accounts, provides some of the most fair pricing for international card use. Unlike most UK debit cards, Starling won't charge you for adding money to your card, withdrawing cash from an ATM or for making transactions on your card. Starling uses Mastercard's exchange rate and doesn't add anything on top.
The fact there is no cap on the fee-free allowance for international ATM withdrawals makes Starling a great choice for immigrants. We don't know exactly what spread the Mastercard exchange rate is, though it is thought to be close to the real/interbank exchange rate at the time.
The issue with Starling bank is that Starling Bank's international payments could be expensive.
Best International Account - Wise Account: Fast Payments⚡. Free Debit Card 💳. Best App 📱. 
For most people, an appropriate substitute for an international bank account would simply be a multi-currency account (virtual IBAN account) supplied by a variety of leading money transfer services. These will allow you to save balance in multiple currencies, exchange between balances with great rates and no fees (resulting in much lower international bank transfer costs than with actual banks), and some will allow you to pay with a debit card connected directly to that account (Wise Account). The companies we recommend are supervised under stringent money transfer regulation by the FCA and handle millions of satisfied customers globally with a much better average rating than the ones received by UK's banks.
(Bank alternatives with dedicated IBAN in multiple currencies that you can use to receive funds locally and make payments)
The best bank accounts with multiple currency support are designed to provide a good interest rate on savings (in multiple currencies), supply a debit card with low FX fees, supply a strong online and mobile banking app, all while reducing the foreign exchange costs associated with international banking. By running through options provided by both major banks and challenger fintechs, this guide will serve two purposes - to determine the best banks for immigrants in the UK and the best UK bank account for Brits living overseas.
Read moreLegacy banks tend to have high minimum deposit or salary requirements, whilst challenger banks tend to be open to all. Personally, we prefer the later approach - we believe financial services should be accessible to everyone - no matter their income. They also prove cheaper than traditional banks too.
If you require traditional banking services, such as paying in cheques and interest-bearing savings accounts, then it might be that a legacy bank provides the best multi-currency bank account for you. Though it's worth pointing out that even immigrant bank accounts provided by the likes of HSBC will not be eligible for overdrafts in foreign currencies, e.g. USD. And because the accounts are held in the UK it would not be possible to set up Direct Debits on currency accounts either, such as those processed via ACH in the US.
Unless you have a specific requirement to open a Jersey based account, we can't understand the benefits in selecting an immigrant bank account provided by traditional banks. The high minimum deposit seems unnecessary and some of the FX charges, whilst better than that on standard current accounts from traditional banks, are still higher than those provided by dedicated international banking providers.
If you want to get the lowest foreign exchange and payment fees possible then a challenger bank/fintech (i.e. multi-currency account such as Wise Account) is almost certainly going to be your best option. For this reason, we divide the international bank accounts for internationals into two categories - traditional banks and fintech challenger banks - with three international bank accounts to choose from each.
*It's worth discussing how your funds are protected in digital bank accounts with your provider. Depending on the bank that provider uses to open accounts and the country this is in, funds may be protected under other schemes. Money transfer providers are regulated too, in the UK by the FCA.
** It's increasingly difficult to open a foreign bank account before you have a permanent address as you can see on our guide on how to open a US bank account without residency.
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