international bank accounts
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- wwfc
Anyone have an international bank account? Who do bank with?
I am looking into setting up an account that will allow my clients to pay me either in the UK or Spain depending on their location.
Just wondering if anyone on here currently does this and who they chose and why.
Grateful for any recommendations
- agentfour0
HSBC is usually good for international banking. although im not sure if that extends to business.
- Ruffian0
PayPal :)
- wwfc0
yeh - paypal was something I thought about.
HSBC? Don't think they will want to play ball - First Direct which is part of their group have just withdrawn banking services from me!
...leaving me high and dry for getting paid in the UK!***starts to head butt desktop***
- ********0
Citibank is the biggest and most outspread bank I can think of
or just use PayPal.. properly a lot less work that way
- rafalski0
I have a mortgage denominated in Swiss Frank, was wondering if there's an account in a Swiss bank I could open online and that would allow me to convert Euro to Frank at a good rate before transfering it. Any hints?..
- chrisRG0
Paypal to Yourbank is a good option.
I do have an account in UK LLoyds, sometimes US clients pay me thru my Paypal account and than I send it to my LLoyds, so if I need I can withdraw it here in Brazil where I'm currently living.
- wwfc0
...I'll have a look Lloyds see they can put me right.
Paypal would be the one - but some of the clients that I work with would not be all that impressed if they have to set up a paypal just to pay me!Thanks for the replies though y'all!
- rabattski0
wwfc, anyone with a bank account can bank internationally. Just ask your bank for your IBAN (or BBAN) and BIC (or SWIFT) code. That's all you need.
- be prepared for international transfer fees though - they can be steep.emecks
- I think it depends on country and bank. I don't pay that much. Besides you can also split the costs of have the other party pay for it.rabattski
- I pay around €4 in case splitting it.rabattski
- standard Euro transfers are free in EU, banks do charge but pay back when yelled atrafalski
- They are?!? Wow. Didn't know that. Thanks for the tip!rabattski
- You can do transfers within EU in your online banking (at least I could with Deutsche Bank like 10 years ago)ribit
- you can also have the recipient pay all costs on an international electronic transfer.ribit
- rabattski0
Oh and if you work in the EU and do business with other EU companies you don't have to charge taxes (in case of services) but do check with your local IRS for details as well as what you need to state on your invoices to make use of this.
- wwfc0
cheers rabattski - I understand about the IBAN etc... but here in Spain in can be a pain and expensive too!
My old bank have been giving me sh*t for a long time - with one thing and another (mainly clients not paying on time - or part paying - you know the deal) - so have decided to withdraw their services!So I am looking to set up an account in the UK with Spain as the main address - I don't the relevant ID to claim to be a UK resident - but I need to have the facility of paying in cheques over the counter in the UK or posted to the UK.
With that tax thing isn't there a limit of how much you can earn before they will hit you with a tax bill?
- rabattski0
Ah yeah. It really depends on the bank. Some can be a pain in the ass, some don't. Some don't charge that much, some do. But if you have regular cash flowing back and forth it might indeed be a good idea to have a local account.
I don't know what the rules are. But i think it should be possible.
Tax wise, oh dude, every country has their own tax rules, you should check with them. Within the EU there is a zero tariff for certain goods and services but in some EU countries there are strict rules in the paperwork. E.g. in Germany you must state the Tax-ID number of the other party or else you can't charge 0%.
- wwfc0
...yep can be a real pain in the proverbial!!!! Banks? can't live with them and can't rob 'em without getting into trouble!!!
Thanks for the help Rabattski.
- wwfc0
...other quick question for you's! does anyone know the current situation with the illegal bank charges - there was a lot of noise a fw months back about it - I think the legal situation is that it is all on hold at the moment - but am not too sure if claims can still be set in motion - I found this link a few weeks back http://www.unfair-bank-charges.c… - is this still relevant?
If it is I think I'm gonna stick em with a bill of my own !!!
- rafalski0
Rabattski, I just checked: Banks in EU are not supposed to charge you for a standard EU SWIFT transfer more than for a domestic Euro transfer, which often are free of charge. That doesn't apply to urgent transfers though.
The EU transfer takes the account number in IBAN format and needs the receiving bank's BIC (SWIFT) number.
- rabattski0
Cheers Rafalski. Good to know. Both my banks charge money for domestic Euro transfers. I'm definitely going to talk about this with my bank.