UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => shootin' the shit => Topic started by: Monolith on November 18, 2013, 08:08:49 pm
-
After spending what feels like an eternity pondering which scum hole should be the undeserved recipient of my monies, I'm still only moderately further on in deciding which bank I ought to plump for.
I was vibing towards Santander but no matter which bank I seem to moot with other business owners, there does appear to be a sea of conflicting opinion. Naturally I'm looking for the cheapest (or free!) transaction charges and if taking 12 or 24 months of free business banking means that I'll be paying more in the long run, I'm happy to forfeit this initial privilege.
In light of this and after digesting various literature, I'll turn to the fold. What say you?
-
I use HSBC. No cause for complaint but no further insight than that I'm afraid.
-
I was vibing towards Santander. What say you?
Was with this bank a few years (4 accounts, now none). Unremarkable, money did what it was supposed to. Until they cocked up a minorish transaction and I had the pleasure of dealing with customer services. They don't give f.. And they lie.
Never experienced anything like it.
'We'll deal with your complaint and we'll get your money back'. Next letter. 'We've dealt with your complaint and closed the file. And we haven't got your money back. That's your problem now.'
Another complaint.
'We've dealt with it. You need to get your back from the other bank 'we sent it to' '
err, no, you just waited 72 hours and closed the file.
Next letter: 'Ok here's a cheque for the money we lost, can't be bothered to transfer funds into your account. We've dealt with everything to your satisfaction'.
No you haven't. Another phone call.
'Ok I can offer you £5 cheque for compensation right now and close the file' Me "No thanks, I'll wait for the complaint to be properly investigated"
Ten days and a few phone calls later.....
Letter: ' Here's that £5 cheque you accepted, so glad that you agreed that we had dealt with everything and we could terminate the complaint'
:wall: :wall:
This was £50+ they lost. I'd never trust them with larger sums now. They cannot investigate when things go wrong, say that you said things you didn't, send out contradictory letters and don't comply with legislation governing their responsibility to pass money between banks.
But you may want to give them a whirl. Good luck.
-
I use HSBC. No cause for complaint but no further insight than that I'm afraid.
I thought all looked rosy there too Jim until I read of some changes made since Sep 2013 to the terms of free banking. Cue reading thread of disgruntled customers that was so irate I've now even forgotten what the changes were...
Mrjonathanr - This certainly doesn't read like a recommendation and I'm grateful for your precedent.
I've been reading about 'setting-off' too in business banking. General advice is to not set up your business bank account with your current account providers. It sounds like outright theft to me no?
-
Like Underground I use Hairy Scary Black Canary Bank with no problems so far. Used to work there and so seemed easiest to stick with them as I haven't moved my personal account from them since I left. For me it was a case of better the devil you know. I know how their online/telephone/branch banking works as a customer.
Might be worth checking out some industry customer complaints figures. Think Santander were not ranked well if memory serves me right.
Good luck Monolith.
Whoops......I might go read those changes you've just mentioned and then probably doing nothing about it....
-
We use HSBC. No issues with service so far, but the online banking is terrible. You have to carry a dongle to do so much as check your balance, but once logged in it lets you do anything. The online statements are confusing and regularly crash. My own account is with Natwest, whose online setup is brilliant, as is the phone app.
-
Cheers guys, HSBC looking like a challenger.
JB, I'd roll with Natwest bar still owing them some monies from my hedonistic student days. Granted this figure is fast reducing but I reckon I'm still keen to keep things separate.
All quiet on the Barclays front?
-
Barclays top the customer complaints league I think.
HSBC business internet banking isn't great compared to their personal internet banking admittedly.
-
Bank of Scotland / Lloyds have been ok for me for a few years now for basic small business banking. Apart from their phone banking, where the people are very helpful but getting through to them is tricky - if I get the security right it cuts me off, it I get it wrong then it puts me through for a real person to check my password... If you need anything to do with the corporate side (like a euro currency account) then they are utterly useless, the corporate people won't give you any useful information and the normal business banking people don't know anything about the corporate side to help you. But at least their standard response to a complaint letter is "we're sorry you believe you weren't told x, please have £50 for the inconvenience and we'll refund the charges you think you weren't told about".
Barclays were inoffensive when I was with them before (5 years ago) but the monthly charges were sky high compared to BoS.
-
That's the second recommendation I've had for BoS. Seems apt given my product.
-
First Direct (HSBC)are top for personal banking customer satisfaction, but telephone and internet contact only.
I thought Santander were ok till this but they're farcical. You can only be that incompetent (EVERY interaction has either been messed up or not acted on as promised) if you don't care. They are competent to make money elsewhere, after all.
BTW Halifax messed up some standing order dates (at the same point, last few weeks), wrote and apologised, sent unsolicited £25 compensation and sent further requests by letter and phone for feedback on customer service. Like night and day.
-
My experience with Barclays business:
+
- Decent app and online banking interface (but see below)
- Opening an account was relatively straightforward (but see below)
- Manager quite helpful
-
- Online banking only stores transactions for last 3 months. Older stuff goes on a PDF statement.
- Had extensive problems sending correspondence to my business address, as it didn't match the entry in Post Office database to the letter. This took months to not resolve, being passed around various people on helplines.
- Refreshing yodlee feeds to connect with accounting software is a pain, as the physical dongle is required, and takes several minutes
- This all suggests their back end systems are a bit rubbish
- If you call the helpline, they'll try and flog you insurance or other pointless extras.
Initially attempted to open an account with NatWest, but found the whole application process completely inept so sacked it off.
-
I've used Santander and Natwest for business banking.
Santander - utter, utter toss. Unbelievably bad, especially on communication when you needed to sort something quickly.
Natwest - pretty good really. No complaints.
-
We started with LloydsTSB.
Good points.
Very close so didn't need to drive to get there.
Bad points
Only 2 tellers so not very fast.
After 18 months our free banking expired and as we were paying 0.89% in cash banking charges we looked for alternatives. Lloyds didn't even respond to our letters. Natwest did, offering a fixed fee. So we changed.
Since then (5 and a bit years ago) I have found out.
Our local Natwest has 2-4 tellers on most times so much quicker.
Local Natwest is next door (give or take) to the Post Office so we can combine visits (fairly useful for us).
Natwest do a quick drop thing, put your cash in a bag and they count it later. Very useful, saves me waiting while they count the cash. Fairly useful if for no other reason than I don't get irritated waiting in line.
And the important things.
Our bank charges with NW are approx. 1/3rd of what we would be paying with Lloyds. But that might be partly because we are a cash business.
Lloyds internet business banking is totally shit. Downloading statements, payment searches etc are a pain in the arse. With NW they are a doddle.
I guess that each business has it's own unique requirements. Ours needs to track 200+ incoming Standing Order payments plus 200+ out-going payments every month. Internet banking is very, very important to running your business. For us Lloyds was shit and NW is fine, I don't know about Barclays or HSBC but check how often you need a card reader - with NW you only need it to set up a new payee, not to pay out every time.
-
I was vibing towards Santander. What say you?
Was with this bank a few years (4 accounts, now none). Unremarkable, money did what it was supposed to. Until they cocked up a minorish transaction and I had the pleasure of dealing with customer services. They don't give f.. And they lie.
Never experienced anything like it......................................................
I was going to say the same about Natwest - 25 years of unremarkable but hassle free until something went wrong, and I had to deal with customer services who were a clusterfuck to end all clusterfucks. All accounts with Nationwide now, who have been excellent and shown how shit the "unremarkable" service I got from Natwest was. No idea how their business accounts are though.
-
We used to be with Barclays. Largely because when we were looking around to see who to go with the account manager was great. Whilst he was there service was great, but when he left it went from bad to worse. A catalogue of errors/serial incompetence. It was impossible to get hold of anyone to do or change anything.
Now been with RBS for about 4 years and its fine. Can always seem to get hold of someone and it just works. Nothing fancy or flash it just works
-
we were paying 0.89% in cash banking charges
Ah that reminds me, I think HSBC charge us 2% to pay in cash, fucking outrageous! Can I give you some cash money please? Hmm, it'll cost you!
-
Lets face it banks = cunts. Just need to choose the least cuntish of the lot.
-
Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and opinions. HSBC appeared to gain any slight edge that might exist but JB has thrown a spanner in the works with that :'(
BoS and Lloyds will have access to one anothers accounts no? I want to divorce my Lloyds current account from any banking activity with a business account. This 'setting off' shit has my guard up.
-
We were with NatWest for years, but they became increasingly sh*t post 2008 (no surprise there). Just terrible in pretty much all respects. We switched to Barclays last year and I'm happy we did.
-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/10471671/Royal-Bank-of-Scotland-faces-claims-of-killing-off-small-firms.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/10471671/Royal-Bank-of-Scotland-faces-claims-of-killing-off-small-firms.html)
Looks like RBoS are possibly to be avoided.
-
As no one else has mentioned it so far...
And assuming that you're also interested in building society business accounts and not just banks....
We use Nationwide and have found them pretty good.
They aren't as present in the high street as many of the others lsited above but that's OK for us because all of our transactions are electronic.
The online service isn't bad and they've been able to sort out any queries we've had very quickly.
-
Avoid Santander like the plague. I've only had a personal account with them, an ISA, but they made a right hash of that.
Just after I'd set it up they decided that I had asked them to close it down (of course I hadn't). Fortunately they managed to right the mistake but that would have been a nice way to lose a year's ISA allowance.
-
I'm late to this party, and never had a business account, but my accounts are with Smile (i.e. Co-Ops internet bank, use Co-Op branches) and Lloydstsb (formerly TSB, think I've migrated to Lloyds after the recent rebrand). With the caveat that no banks are saints, I've had no problems with either of then, never had need to think about moving. Online banking for both of them is fine, Lloyds slightly better than Smile.
-
The most important thing in a bank account is your manager, a good one works a bad one doesn't no matter which bank you use.
I have been with Natwest for 8 years now and pretty much have a "go for a pint" relationship with our manager, can call him 24/7 and know he will do his best to sort things out. they have always supported my businesses. I moved my personal accounts there as well for the same reason but now my personal manager has left i need to build up a relationship with my new one.
This unfortunately does not give you an answer as you need an account before you get to see how good your manager is, i suggest seeing a few of them but make sure the person you meet is the person who you will deal with; pretty much an interview with the person not the bank.
As far as i can see all banks are the same, they just want your money, so pick a manager not a bank.
-
Where's your branch Gav, the 1950s?
-
Is suspect that companies not having a multi million pound turnover and being very successful will find it slightly harder to get to know their manager as well as you Gav
-
I'll have you know Mr Cholmondley Warner comes from a fine family of bankers, his father dealt with my uncle's accounts, and if you don't like it I'll bid goodday to you sir!
-
But you have to start somewhere Graeme and i still believe its about the manager.
I am not massively into the modern idea of changing all the time, neither with customers or suppliers, and feel that making an effort to build a relationship that goes beyond the "computer says no" scenario reaps benefits. However i agree it takes time, so find someone you feel you could get on with 1st, build from there and dont jump ship the first time they fuck up, which they will.
Work with them to get it right.
I find this works the same with other stuff that those pesky meercats keep telling us that we need to do with. Dont change all the time just ring up the company your with and tell them what you want and how much you want to pay, nine times out of ten the company you are with wont want to loose your custom so will match or beat the price/service being offered.
One thing that you need to insist on is a mobile number for your manager and next in line plus direct email. Nothing worse than those f**king queuing systems.
-
I've had a first hand glowing review about the Triodos bank. I just wondered if anybody here had any experience with them?
The man that I spoke to there was very helpful (there was even a landline number available to call rather than screwing people on premium numbers) and explained the workings of their operation. They use the next working day faster payments service now but they don't offer a debit card. Since I intend to be conducting all of my transactions via the online medium I have to say that this looks a very strong contender for me.
They have arrangements for the paying in of cash with RBS. Hmmmm....
Triodos (http://www.triodos.co.uk)
Their tariffs (http://www.triodos.co.uk/downloads/bb-tariff.pdf)
-
Another option, unrelated to individuals personal experiences, could be to let the ethics of the banks (http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/buyersguides/money/bankingcurrentaccounts.aspx) guide your choice if thats something that bothers you/influences your choices in life.
Co-op/Smile bank are due to change drastically (http://saveourbank.coop/).
(thanks to nathan wind for the pointer to this comparison site).
-
Thanks for that Slackers :)
I've filed an application with Triodos and am buoyed by the conversations I've had today with two of their members of staff. I think more than anything I'm looking to deal with people whose purpose is to facilitate my business operations rather than inhibiting them. Time will tell and I'm sure I'll have some feedback in due course.
-
Important to get a bank that's on your side, rather than just theirs....
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/26/mark-carney-rbs-deeply-troubling-serious (http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/26/mark-carney-rbs-deeply-troubling-serious)
As disgraceful as this is, having read about a few of the cases it seems most situations could have been avoided if the clients had run their options past an independent advisor rather than just doing what the bank suggested.
In my experience, most people who work for banks in small business lending have zero clue about business and can barely read a set of accounts.
A perfect situation is as gme described but this seems extremely rare, so if you've managed to find people you can talk to reasonably already Mono, that's a bonus.
-
Can anyone recommend an account that doesn't charge for incoming foreign money transfers?
I was about to open a Co-op business account but they charge a £6 fee for processing incoming transfers. Given that the transfers I receive will usually be around £200 at a time, this seems rather excessive.
Looking for a cheap to run account that doesn't have such fees...
-
Approaching one year in, Triodos have been brilliant. There is no card facility offered which may present a problem for some but all my transfers and received payments are by BACS. Fantastic customer service, cheap fees and always somebody available to help when you need it.
For what it's worth Bubba, I'd take a look into it if the card facility is no issue. Not too sure on IBAN deets though sorry.
-
I doubt such a thing exists but let me know if you find one. Might be better to look at other options for moving the money?
-
Check out things like fair currency exchange on the web
-
Thanks all - unfortunately I can't change the way that the incoming payments are made (they're generated automatically by a 3rd party) but I'll have a look at Triodos and keep searching :)
-
Could you get a bank account in the same country as the 3rd party?
-
Although currently just 2 currencies I hope to expand to 6 so not really possible.
-
Hmm, have rung all the places I can find and they all seem to charge either £6 or £7. Oh well, just have to put up with it I guess :shrug:
Probably go with Co-op as I have another account with them already.
-
I know it's not about personal banking but if anyone's thinking about switching their own accounts then I can't recommend First Direct highly enough. They have been superb since I switched from Barclays three years ago.
-
+1
I've been with FirstDirect almost since they launched and have never had a reason to complain. About 20 years ago we were struggling for one reason and another and the bank were incredibly supportive and despite being telephone only then I had a named person I could always talk to.
Obviously that was a long time ago and perhaps no bank shows such forbearance now, but day-to-day customer service remains just as good as it ever was. Online has been totally glitch free for me.
-
Same experience for me. The telephone service is superb and their customer management systems are up to date with every interaction so there's no explaining when you call up. Plus their agents are all based in Ireland so there's no translation errors. They were very helpful when I was in financial chaos/limbo two years ago. The online and mobile apps are great too.
-
Another happy First Direct personal banking customer here. Their customer service is absolutely superb. I thought all banks were just a bloody nuisance until I joined them and I just couldn't believe the crap service everyone else gives out has become the status quo. I never have to wait more than a few rings to speak to a real person and they're just helpful and friendly beyond belief.
-
A little bit of info. May/may not be helpful.
www.bytestart.co.uk/sole-trader-bank-account.html (http://www.bytestart.co.uk/sole-trader-bank-account.html)
As a sole trader (or if you are in a partnership), your personal and business income are treated as one for tax purposes. There is no legal obligation to set up a separate account for any business income, although the terms and conditions for your current account may restrict its use for business purposes.
...
2. Some banks will not allow you to use your personal account for business purposes. More likely than not, this is to ensure that you don’t escape paying a monthly tariff on your business transactions.
The buggers...
Obviously different for ltd/llp - as independent legal entities; lower accounting fees, and less hassle may more than offset banking charges.
-
Really useful reading. I need to setup a business account for my business... has anyone any updates since this was last discussed?
-
2 years on with Triodos Ben and I haven't a single complaint against them. A minor gripe is that one can't obtain a card through them but since almost every transaction I send and receive is via BACS/FPS, it's really never been a problem. Having to pay cash from a float or my own pocket is a bit of a nuisance but I guess it depends how much of an issue this would be for yourself.
I've found their customer service to be brilliant and they even supply a landline number to call them on.
-
Thanks Tom. Good info, but I'm really going to need a card. Been leaning toward Lloyds....
-
We use Lloyds who have been good. Think a lot of the banks have a free 1 year trial period which could be a good option.
-
Thanks Tom. Good info, but I'm really going to need a card. Been leaning toward Lloyds....
Lloyd's on-line banking is pretty shit Ben.
-
Back on this quest to set another business account up. Triodos are great for simple BACS payments but I need something that will give me a card for this other entity.
Ben, did you run with Lloyds in the end? I really wish this was a simple choice to make!
-
Lloyd's on-line banking is pretty shit Ben.
Is it? Works for me but must say that they recently starting charging £5/month, which irritated me no end after 20 years of free banking.
-
Hi Tom,
Yes I did. It's been fine so far. The phone App does everything I need and the online service is OK. You get two accounts so you can use one for savings/set asides for CT and VAT, it's easy to transfer money in and out and you can download all the statements for accounting purposes. I do have a very simple business though.
-
Hi Tom,
Yes I did. It's been fine so far. The phone App does everything I need and the online service is OK. You get two accounts so you can use one for savings/set asides for CT and VAT, it's easy to transfer money in and out and you can download all the statements for accounting purposes. I do have a very simple business though.
Thanks Ben. I'm with them for personal banking but know little of their business offer. It's a veritable minefield!
-
Any recent feedback on business accounts? Ben, how has Lloyds been? Mrs T_B needs to set up a business account. She does everything on an IPhone, so easy on-line banking is a must, as well as good intro-offer/low fees as she's only small.
-
We use HSBC which has the benefit of being free but both local branches have closed and the online banking is poor - needs a dongle to login, crashes etc. I haven't used the app.
My photography account is with Natwest who have at least kept Hunter's bar open. Costs £5 a month but online and app both excellent. I had a couple of fraudulent transactions over the summer and the service was impressively good.
A few access types I know use Santander as they do a free web only account.
If you lean towards the bank you have a personal account with check the business app is either different or can access both. You can't have two apps on either the same device or two different devices with the same apple/google account.
-
Good knowledge JB, especially that last bit. Thanks.
-
We use HSBC which has the benefit of being free but both local branches have closed and the online banking is poor - needs a dongle to login, crashes etc. I haven't used the app.
If it's anything like the personal banking app then it's pretty log.
-
I haven't had a single problem with Triodos in nearly four years of banking. To the contrary, they have been very friendly to deal with.
You do have to have a pinpad to login and I'm not sure if they have an app yet. Their charges are pennies rather than pounds (extremely low) and it's good to know these charges contribute towards some good projects.
A big downside is that they don't offer a debit card.
https://www.triodos.co.uk/en/business/
-
I've only got a personal account but the Lloyds iphone app is great. Can log in with fingerprint, setup recipients without a fuss. And the online banking don't need any other shit like pinpads or whatever to use - setting up any recipients you authenticate by text or automated phonecall.
We also have a Smile aka Co-op account, because back in the eraly 2000s they were one of the firs with online banking. However these days the iphone app is poor, almost no functionality, and the web version is to be honest rubbish.
-
Yeah my personal banking is with Smile for the same reason. At some point I will switch to First Direct.
A decent app is essential given Mrs T_B is rarely sat at a desktop.
-
Any recent experiences on this? After a last-straw letter from HSBC saying they were closing our account I was keen to go to Natwest, but it turns out they only do business banking by phone now. I hate phones.
-
We are with Natwest and have been for 15 years. No complaints at all with them and they are happy to come to the office if we need them.Online stuff is easy and rarely have to phone.
I also have a Lloyds business account for a fundraising thing i am involved with that seems easy to operate online, although i had a bit of an arse around getting it all set up.
Only went to lloyds as they had a branch in Alnwick, unlike Natwest, and i need to pay in cash quite often. None of my businesses ever see cash so never have a need to go to the bank, can only see this getting more prevalent.
-
Any recent experiences on this? After a last-straw letter from HSBC saying they were closing our account I was keen to go to Natwest, but it turns out they only do business banking by phone now. I hate phones.
Still a big fan of Triodos, they're very good. I've learnt that they're currently looking at the provision of a debit card at last. I'd argue that it's a no brainer to bank with them once this is implemented. I'll try to update this thread once it lands....
-
I was keen to go to Natwest, but it turns out they only do business banking by phone now. I hate phones.
Not sure what you mean by this, we are with Natwest and I have rarely had to do any business banking by phone, I take cash to the bank, get change from the bank, do most payments and transfers on line. Occasionally I have to pay cheques in (from schools) or write a cheque (eg for skips).
I think the only time I have had to call them was when we had a couple of dodgy DD's set up and when we needed our credit card limit increased.
It's a pain they shut Millhouses and Woodseats branches but other banks are hard to come by, nearest Lloyds or HSBC is ???, Barclays is at Meadowhead and TSB in Woodseats.
-
Thanks guys, I'll probably go with Natwest as my personal experience has been very good and we cant wait for debit cards.
Did you manage to build a relationship with the new manager Gav?
Graeme, I walked into both the Hunter's bar and city centre branches and asked for an appointment to discuss moving our business account to them. In both got a vacuous stare and 'sorry love we don't do that in this branch any more, have you tried ringing?' Well no, that's why I'm here. Ah well...
-
We just have a new contact as our old one Andy Predergast, who was great, has been moved to another bit of the bank. New guy is Kevin Burrows who seems OK but haven't known him long enough to give full opinion.
I have always been a believer in sticking with suppliers as long as you can and if i am not happy getting them to change rather than jumping ship to another. Been with two banks in 20 years and only left HSBC as they properly let us down with funding the one time we needed it.
I have never looked at anything other than the big boys regards banks as i only look at them on a purely practical basis rather than ethics, politics etc. They dont seem to charge a lot for what they do on a day to day basis so cant see moving about being worth the effort.
-
Thanks guys, I'll probably go with Natwest as my personal experience has been very good and we cant wait for debit cards.
Did you manage to build a relationship with the new manager Gav?
Graeme, I walked into both the Hunter's bar and city centre branches and asked for an appointment to discuss moving our business account to them. In both got a vacuous stare and 'sorry love we don't do that in this branch any more, have you tried ringing?' Well no, that's why I'm here. Ah well...
I opened a new account for a new business a few months ago, I think everything was on-line. Our new manager seems fine, maybe drop him a line saying I gave you his details Jonathan.Plumtree@natwest.com
-
Thanks Graeme, I'll drop him a line. Now I've copied his email it might be an idea to delete his email before the poor bugger gets spammed to death.
-
Too late but if any mods feel they can be bothered, feel free
-
Thread resurrection...
Has anyone used Starling bank for business banking?
I have a UK current and Euro currency account with BOS at present. I haven't used the Euro account for a few years and they have changed their online system so I need to register for the new system (which is aimed at corporations rather than 1 man ltds like me) to access it again. Trying to do this (I need to actually talk to someone) is sapping my will to live and making me seriously look at alternatives.
So, is anyone out there with Starling? A quick search makes it look like they do what I need, there's a lot of positive reviews but some personal experience would be useful. Or anyone else who will do a UK current and a Euro account without driving me round the bend trying to set the thing up.
-
I am Chris. I recently set an account up with them as my secondary business bank account (Triodos is my main). I'll probably come to use it exclusively if Triodos don't soon pull their finger out and create a business debit/credit card.
Without yet conducting any transactions, I think the app seems great, the customer service is exemplary and overall fit for my purposes at present.
-
I use their business account, though only lightly. I was a bit tricky getting setup as we were trying to set it up at the same time as starting the rest of the business so ended up in a bit of a catch 22 with our accountant and the bank. Shouldn't be a problem if you're already established.
The app seems good, nice being able to upload receipts/invoices for stuff directly against transactions as means you don't need to keep track of thousands of bits of paper.
-
I’ve two starling accounts - both personal. One mine one a joint AC that is exclusively for building work we’re having done.
Works great. Set up simple etc... the app interface isn’t as good as some or straightforward to see ins and outs - but works fine. ID validation (done be a person I’d assume) is pretty fast - no complaints so far but we’ve done nothing more complicated than deposit a load of money and gradually spend it.
-
Thanks all, I shall have a look and see how I get on with the application process.
-
Update to this, the application process was relatively painless, though slower than I'd have hoped (there was an issue with a digitally signed contract I sent them to verify the type of business I do where the signature was lost in the file upload process) but the account is now up and running. Opening a Euro currency account then took seconds, as opposed to the tortorous process I had to go through with BOS. So looking good so far.
-
Another thumbs up for Starling, previously transferring Euros between my BOS accounts, BOS offered such a poor exchange rate I saved hundreds of pounds by using a 3rd party currency exchange service (www.xe.com). Starling offer a good enough exchange rate for transfers it was marginally cheaper to use their exchange rate rather than the 3rd party service.
-
Nice Chris - does that apply to other currencies too? (Soz if that’s a bit random!) MrsTT part time runs a charity and regularly has real grief transferring smallish amounts of money to Russia, US and other non Euro places…
-
They claim so, though I don't see Russia on their list of countries unfortunately.
https://www.starlingbank.com/send-money-abroad/
-
Nice Chris - does that apply to other currencies too? (Soz if that’s a bit random!) MrsTT part time runs a charity and regularly has real grief transferring smallish amounts of money to Russia, US and other non Euro places…
I ran in to this service while searching for some business bank account stuff a while ago https://wise.com/ With the caveat that I haven't actually used it before, it looks very good if you need to send money at not-extortionate rates.
-
Nice Chris - does that apply to other currencies too? (Soz if that’s a bit random!) MrsTT part time runs a charity and regularly has real grief transferring smallish amounts of money to Russia, US and other non Euro places…
I ran in to this service while searching for some business bank account stuff a while ago https://wise.com/ With the caveat that I haven't actually used it before, it looks very good if you need to send money at not-extortionate rates.
Wise is great Remus, used it loads over the years. Good rates, fast and easy.
-
Does anyone have any up-to-date recommendations? Cheers.