#1 HSBC International Bank Account

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.

#2 Santander International Bank Account

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 The minimum account balance is £75,000 but the information on interest is outdated and not to be relied on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.

#3 Lloyds International Account

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.

#4 Starling Bank

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.

Do you actually need an international bank account?

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)

#1 Wise Multi-Currency Account

The Wise multi-currency account is specifically for frequent travellers, immigrants, and nomads. Allowing users to hold balances in 54 foreign currencies, with 10 of these actually local to the country they represent. A USD account for example is held in New York. This drastically improves the ease to which transfers can be made to and from friends and businesses in the country you live in and ensures payments remain local. The Wise debit card can be used in over 200 countries worldwide.

FX fees can be as low as 0.35% and generally hover around the 0.5% mark. The only downside is that the ATM withdrawal fee-free allowance is capped at £200 per month – beyond this ATM withdrawals incur a 1.75% fee. Though if you add their minimal FX fee to this it still works out better than the 2.75%+ charged by traditional banks.

#2 Revolut

Before Revolut launched a whole bunch of alternative financial services, it shot to fame for its smart multi-currency account and international currency card. International payments from the UK are charged a 0.3% fee which is capped at £5. That means no matter how much you send internationally, the real exchange rate can be achieved and you won’t have to pay more than £5.

ATM withdrawals attract the real exchange rate but a 2% fee is charged above certain limits depending on your account. Standard plan users have a £200 fee-free limit per month, premium users a £400 fee-free limit and metal users a £800 fee-free limit per month. Users can spend abroad with their Revolut card in over 150 currencies and enjoy the real exchange rate.

Moneycorp

Moneycorp is MoneyTransferComparison’s best international money transfer service for business FX. As Moneycorp is a currency brokerage, when you sign up with Moneycorp you will receive a dedicated currency expert that will escort your business in all FX-related challenges, gain access to complex currency hedging tools and similarly to Wise’s solution – get virtual IBAN in multiple countries and currencies to receive funds into. Moneycorp’s solution is more holistic than others for business owners, but it is also an excellent fintech solution for High Net Worth internationals.

Best in UK Upon Arrival – Wise Multi-Currency Account

As the largest fintech provider of immigrant banking, Wise provides the most flexibility for internationals to register for a Wise multi-currency account prior to arriving in the UK. The Wise multi-currency account is available to residents in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Switzerland and EEA. Meaning individuals who plan on emigrating from these countries to the UK can already establish digital bank accounts in over 50 currencies and receive a corresponding debit card to spend their balances around the world. The Wise GBP account is based in London and has its own UK sort code, account number, and IBAN. Making it easy to make and receive payments within the UK. If you’re moving for work, for example, those first few salary payments can easily be paid into a Wise GBP account until you register for a standard UK currency account.

Best in UK Upon Living at a UK Address – HSBC

Not only is HSBC one of the big four UK banks (found on most UK high streets), it has branches in over 80 countries. So it’s a good choice for immigrants given its global reach, particularly immigrants arriving from Asia. HSBC will also allow part-opening of the account ahead of arriving in the UK. Simply supply your ID at a UK branch on arrival to complete the account opening. It’s easier if you’re an existing HSBC customer but new-to-bank customers can also apply if they have valid proof of residency, visa and identification documents.

MTC top tip – Opt for a standard current account with HSBC that you run alongside a specialist immigrants banking provider like Wise. HSBC will be best used for domestic purposes whilst Wise will almost certainly prove a cheaper option for holidays abroad and sending money home. Should you wish, you can always upgrade your HSBC account to an HSBC International Bank Account if you have a minimum £50,000 deposit or £100,000 salary.

UK immigrants Emigrating to Europe – Starling Bank

Starling’s euro account is a full current account with its own unique IBAN, meaning total Starling deposits are covered up to £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. It’s easy to convert euros into pounds and vice versa. Simply convert money between Starling accounts for a very reasonable 0.4% conversion fee. There are no hidden commissions or unknown extra charges. What’s more, Starling charges zero ATM fees, regardless of how much is withdrawn internationally. Through the app, users can easily switch between whether the debit card deducts from GBP balances or EUR balances.

UK immigrants Emigrating to Rest of World – Wise Multi Currency Account

For the same reasons that Wise proves a great option for immigrants  arriving into the UK, Wise is also the best bank for immigrants  leaving the UK. Brits can easily register for a Wise multi-currency account ahead of emigration and will be able to open local bank accounts in 10 countries around the world including Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Truth be told, Wise is also a brilliant option for UK internationals emigrating to Europe too but the fact that Starling Bank provides a fully fledged euro bank account meant it just pipped Wise. Really, you couldn’t go wrong with either. Wise exchange rates and fees speak for themselves.

Best International Savings Account – Wise Currency Account

By comparing interest rates on USD savings accounts, GBP savings accounts and euro savings accounts, we can ultimately determine the best international savings account based on the rate of return you can achieve.

It’s worth noting the accounts provided by HSBC, Santander and Lloyds are similar in that they are UK Island accounts. The accounts provided by Starling are held in the UK, whilst the Wise Currency account holds its GBP account in the UK, EUR in Germany and USD in the US.

The following foreign currency savings account rates are as of 16 June 2023 and apply to instant access accounts where money can be withdrawn at any time.

*Earn the bonus gross interest when you do not make a withdrawal in any given month

**An additional bonus interest is available to customers within the first 12 months of account opening with Lloyds International Bank Accounts. This ranges between 0.45% – 1.05% on GBP, 0.25% – 1.00% on EUR and 0.6% – 1.55% on USD, depending on the amount held in the account (over 1 million of the relevant currency to access the highest return).

At an initial glance, Santander provides the worst rates of all, but the interest rates for the GBP and USD Santander International Bank Accounts have not been updated since 2016 and 2017 respectively, whilst interest rates on their euro savings account have not been updated since 2022. We think it’s frankly astonishing that a bank at the scale of Santander can have such outdated information on its website.

Of the accounts with current information, HSBC provides the worst return on euro savings account interest rates by quite some way. To access a better rate of return on EUR with HSBC you have to opt for one of their fixed-term deposits. HSBC also provides a less favourable rate on GBP and USD if you regularly need to access your savings. The bonus gross rate is only applied to the months where you do not make a withdrawal. Should you access funds in any given month, you’ll only qualify for the lower rate.

The Lloyds interest rates are higher in the first 12 months of opening an account but after this they drop off substantially. After the initial welcome period, the sterling and dollar savings account earn the same 1.25%. Substantially below what’s available elsewhere.

The Wise Account provides by far the best rates of return. Amazingly, the best international high yield savings account is in fact a current account! There are no commitments and you’re free to spend your balances whenever you like, whether by bank transfer or by debit card.

However, if you’re looking specifically for an ‘overseas savings account’, i.e. one which is ‘offshore’ or ‘island based’ then you’d probably want to opt for HSBC if you know that you don’t need to access the account on a regular basis.