Banking in the land of Shakespeare?

Shara's POV:

To bank or not to bank? 

This was one of the first questions I asked myself when I arrived in the UK.  The advantages were being able to write checks, not losing the value of my money due to fluctuating exchange rates and it would be close at hand.  However, it meant that in times of need, such as paying my credit card bill, my parents here in the States would not have had access to my account.  Credit card companies like money. Access was necessary.  It also meant that when I began running out of money, they wouldn't have had as easy of a time transferring much needed emergency funds into my account.  Food is necessary and unfortunately, money is needed for food!

In the end, I decided to to leave my money in my home bank and I added my Mom to the account so she could easily take care of any issues and problems I had.  This choice really had it's plus and minuses.  As mentioned, the biggest plus was having the availability to pay bills however, I lost money much more quickly.  At the beginning of my year there, the exchange rate was $1.50 to 1 British Pound, however, by midway through the year it had changed to about $2 to 1 British Pound.  It doesn't sound like a huge difference, but as you're spending money in the UK, it dwindles much more quickly and by the last two months I was completely out of funds.  I think in hindsight, I would have opened a bank account and transferred some money, but also left a good deal in my home bank.  The money in the UK could be used as spending money and the money at home for bills and hopefully a cushion for my return home. 

Just a note, you don't need to open a bank account to pay for the fees to the University.  These can actually, if you prepare your home bank and the University in advance, be transferred over quite easily. I just contacted the office before I went over to ask how they wanted to work out the payments and then discussed it with my bank.  The bank needs warning or they think your account is being tampered with. They frown on tampering.  When I arrived in England I went to the office to finalize everything and it all worked out just fine.  Also, if you are studying abroad and not going as an international student, you want to check with your own University.  They might prefer you pay them and they send the checks off to the British institution. 

Ultimately research of your bank here, the banks in the UK (such as Barclays, Lloyd's of London, NatWest, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, etc) and your specific needs will help you choose which path to take.  The question I put to you is, which way are you leaning?

-S.

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Money Matters - Banking (Lauren's POV)

Money Matters—Banking

Lauren’s POV

Probably one of the last things on your mind after being accepted to study abroad in the UK is banking. Such banalities like paperwork and transferring money are the least interesting of topics to contemplate. Your mind is more likely focused on all the fun possibilities in meeting new people, traveling, or moving to another country. Depending on your length of stay and banking preferences, there are a couple of ways to go about handling finances. This post will concentrate on the option of opening up a local bank account as it is the route I took during my time abroad. I chose to open an account in the UK because I was studying there for a full year and wanted immediate access to funds without having to deal with the multiple transaction fees I’d get from using my bank at home.

There are a few different banking groups to choose from when opening an account. Personally, I can’t say which bank is better but I would advise researching the different options beforehand (something I didn’t do much of when opening my own account). Some brands include: Barclays, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, and NatWest. Many banks offer student checking accounts; a good way of determining which ones are popular is to take a look around your campus for ATMs and/or small branch offices because they will probably be the most student-friendly. Your university’s orientation packet will also likely advise you on suitable options and what kinds of documents you need such as proof of full-time student status.

My university in Norwich was a little different from most UK schools in that it had a central campus (instead of being broken up into multiple areas). On campus, there were three tiny branches where they made it a priority to open new student accounts during the first week of school. As mentioned earlier, I didn’t put a lot of thought into which bank to choose, so I initially opened an account with the one whose name I had heard of the most. To my surprise, there was a minimum fund limit. I had brought money with me, but nowhere near enough to maintain the minimum, so I was looking at the prospect of losing money because I couldn’t keep the base number in my account. Still, I opened the account thinking that the other banks had similar rules. A couple of days later I found out that the other banks actually didn’t have the same minimum requirement, there were actually no minimums at all. (This was at the time of my stay, but regulations might have changed since then.) So off I went to open an account at a different bank and I closed the first account a few days later. The lady at the desk was most likely wondering why I had opened an account only to close it in the same week. Moral of the story is: research the different banks or ask other students which ones they would recommend.

On a side note, if you currently have a Bank of America checking account, you might not need to open a UK account at all. Bank of America and Barclays are part of an agreement between certain banks throughout the world called the Global ATM Alliance. In the Global ATM Alliance, Bank of America debit card holders can withdraw money from Alliance-approved ATMs (or cash machines as they’re referred to in the UK) without an ATM transaction fee—the kind say, you’d be charged if you were to withdraw money from a Wells Fargo ATM using a Bank of America card. However, you may be charged an international transaction fee. If you rather not go through the trouble of opening a UK-based account and already have a B of A account, or if you are only in the UK for a semester or so, this might be an alternative you want to consider.

-L.