[mubeeng]

I am an international student coming to England to study and to do my Phd and I am investigating which bank to go with. I do not seem to be able to get a consensus so I thought I would ask. What is the best bank account to open for a post graduate student? Some reasoning would be helpful to.

Thanks

[katieeeL]

i would like to know this as well

[Ghost6]

I suppose a basic, free account should do. Banks must provide those by law but they obviously will try to sell you something more lucrative for them, e.g. a student account.

[*Corinna*]

Most banks want you to pay a monthly subscription to keep the account open which I find very annoying. I ended up opening two accounts, one in Loyds and one in NatWest, both free but of course quite basic. I am OK with them though, no complains.

[Akkuz]

Perhaps HSBC? They have a vast number of international branches. If they have branches in your own country, that may help may banking slightly easier.

[*Corinna*]

With HSBC you either open an account in your country, which means all you can do here is draw money out, but you don't actually have an account in the UK, if you want an HSBC UK account I think you need to pay a monthly fee

[mubeeng]

(Original post by Ghost6)
I suppose a basic, free account should do. Banks must provide those by law but they obviously will try to sell you something more lucrative for them, e.g. a student account.

Yeah that would be the best idea. The real problem is being international. And that is what I was looking for advice on. It seems most of the student accounts (the ones that have no monthly charge) all require you to be living in the UK for three years prior to opening the account. So a basic, free account, that is open to people who have just moved to the UK is what I am searching for. No much luck so far.

[mubeeng]

(Original post by *Corinna*)
Most banks want you to pay a monthly subscription to keep the account open which I find very annoying. I ended up opening two accounts, one in Loyds and one in NatWest, both free but of course quite basic. I am OK with them though, no complains.

Yes, fees suck

The two accounts you have, are they available for people who have not lived in the UK previously. Most accounts seem to carry that stipulation.

Could you post the name of the accounts so I can go and have a look at them on the websites? Thank you

[*Corinna*]

(Original post by mubeeng)
Yes, fees suck

The two accounts you have, are they available for people who have not lived in the UK previously. Most accounts seem to carry that stipulation.

Could you post the name of the accounts so I can go and have a look at them on the websites? Thank you

No, there was no condition like that as I haven't lived in the UK before I can't remember, but I am pretty sure it's simply Loyds Basic and NatWest Basic. But if you go there and you tell them you want a free account they'll suggest it themselves.

[kassiopeia]

HSBC and Barclays charge you for the 1st year.It's about 8 and 6 pounds respectively.

[edjunkie]

Contact you university or college, they may have an arrangement with the local bank branches. Some bank branches which are local to the university may have a policy for helping international students to open accounts. Under these circumstances you should be able to open an account which does not charge monthly fees, it may be a basic bank type account . You will need your college ID, a letter from your university/college, passport, biometric card (if you have one) and proof of address.

If your university or college does not have an arrangement or the local banks have no policy about international students, then always ask for basic bank account, rather than a fee paying bank account. It is unlikely that any of the benefits offered will be of use to an international student. Bank staff may recieve a bonus for every fee paying account they persuad someone to open,

HSBC and Barclays have in the past opened accounts for international students who have recently arrived in the country.