Paphos People

BARCLAYS is set to abandon its expat customers on November 16 by terminating the accounts of anyone without a residential address in the UK. Because of Brexit, the bank will cancel all credit cards of Brits living abroad full time.

https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2020/09/16/expats-in-chaos-as-barclay-card-to-cancel-credit-cards-in-november/

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Dave
Moira And Dave

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

Not just Barclays but most Banks.However when we lived in Cyprus we had closed our UK accounts and managed perfectly well with the Cyprus Banks and our UK pensions were paid directly into them at a very reasonable exchange rate. However on our return to the UK we could not open any Bank account initially until we could provide utility bills etc and the Bank of Cyprus UK( now called something else) was a godsend to us.

This is a very thought provoking topic and one that is scary, just to add to this and not wanting to inflame things, the NHS has also taken a view on this, okay it was initiated by the Government but the NHS has come out in full support.

Going forward if you do not have a UK address and prove that you are a UK domiciliary citizen or your company employs you overseas, then you will not be entitled the benefit of the NHS, and that includes prescription medication or operations.

Basically the UK have massive financial issues especially with the money being paid out with Covid, the Government and most companies like the banks will want to rake that money back.

Tough times ahead.

This is not hear say or conjecture, just google it and read.

I seem to remember that happened while we were still living there. 2013?

My sister lived in Barbados for 20 years ...and when she returned back to the uk ...they had to pay in for 6 months to get back their NHS ...so not as new as it sounds

I have been told by the department of works and pensions that my S1 will guarantee all of my future uk NHS needs

So is this rule for tax payers ..Who haven,t paid into the uk system? Low voltage ?

I received a copy of this letter dated 23 September 2019. Information may have changed but currently looking at a No Deal Brexit so who knows what benefits will remain in place, or for how long:

S1 scheme
At the moment, we understand you get state-funded healthcare under something known as the S1 scheme. The S1 scheme supports certain people, including UK state pensioners, some workers and people receiving UK benefits who live in the EU. This is funded by the UK government and administered by the NHS Business Services Authority.
The UK’s participation in the S1 scheme will continue until at least 31 October 2019. The UK would like to continue this arrangement after leaving the EU. The UK Government has offered to continue paying the country you live in for your healthcare in the event of no deal, just as it does now. However, this depends on the UK making an arrangement with the EU, or with the country you live in.
The online country guides www.gov.uk/uk-nationals-living-eu have all the latest information for countries affected by Brexit.

Pensions
If you receive a UK State Pension, your payments will automatically continue after 31 October 2019. Your pension is not affected by the UK leaving the EU.
Your UK State Pension will also be uprated in line with UK increases for 3 years up to and including 2022-23 while you are living in the EU. The government plans to negotiate an agreement with the EU to ensure your State Pension will carry on being uprated in the longer term.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... brexit.pdf

Cynergy Bank, as BoC UK is now called, will no longer open accounts for anyone overseas. They won't even change my sole account and OH's sole account to joint, even though we already have those accounts with them.

There seem to be very few options for expats now. If all you need is an account with a debit card, try opening one with TransferWise. Easy to do and you get better rates on transfers than you get from the banks.

To Migmogs and other good members.

When I read this last night I thought wow, coupled with the NHS I made further enquiries, for those that do not know my daughter is in the medical profession, I sent her a message to find out what the latest is on NHS for expats.

One thing she said, the government site has all the latest information on it, just a matter of being patient and reading through the nonsense.

But to help she has sent me this link for publication on the forum, if you need any further help I will try to find out when I speak to her next.

Hope this helps

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/health ... ealthcare/

I know I have just posted info on the NHS but I have kept this separate for ease of reading.

Rang Lloyds this morning because if this Virus ever goes away I will be back, so how does it effect me, well after getting put through to one department to another, I got nowhere apart from being given this link below which ties in with what Dave started, please form your own opinions.

Thanks to Dave for giving us the heads up.

https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news ... -the-dark/

OK, it's the Daily Mail but this article indicates that individual banks can make their own agreements.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8752653/British-expats-Europe-stripped-UK-bank-accounts-weeks-post-Brexit-rules.html

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Dave
Moira And Dave

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

Message from The British High Commission

Dear Friends,

We shared a post on our Facebook page yesterday regarding UK banks’ decision to close accounts belonging to EU/EEA residents: https://www.facebook.com/204010523005302/posts/4444548365618142/?extid=C86CfIpy64GDufh5&d=n


For those that don’t use Facebook:


Some of our UK nationals in Cyprus may have seen recent media coverage about some UK banks’ decision to close accounts belonging to EU/EEA residents, and we wanted to share the latest information.

Whether UK banks can service EEA-based customers after the end of the UK Transition Period is a matter of local law and regulation in each country, and may be impacted by how firms are set up and what steps they have taken to continue to serve customers. We expect UK banks to comply with the law at all times.

If you are affected, your provider will contact you directly.

As we are unable to provide any financial advice, you should contact your bank or an independent financial adviser if you have any questions.


More information is available from the UK Financial Conduct Authority here: https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/how-brexit-could-affect-you


If you could share this in your network it would be appreciated.

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Dave
Moira And Dave

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

I have done some serious research as this is now going to effect me, will try to keep it brief.

I managed to get a meeting with my local LLOYDS branch (due to Covid was hard work), I was with them for about 20 minutes and this is what I was told, Lloyds who confirm that they have written to all of its overseas (European customers) informing them of the changes, unless you have a permanent UK address your account will be closed.

The UK have no deals set up with the EU (blame game started) to trade bank to bank, they need a license which is called Passporting, to set up this post Brexit is costly and the banks are not really interested in the financial costs, went on a bit but I got the picture.

I was told there are a couple of options to get over this.

1. Do digital banking which is way above my head, so non starter.
2. Find an International non British bank and get your money paid to them, then transfer your money into your Cypriot account, could be messy as proof of identity is needed and other legal bits and bobs but worth a shot if you are up for it.

3. May be a better solution, I have spoken to these people and they will do it for a small fee, please bear with me as it is a bit long winded.

When I lived in Cyprus I used FC Exchange (based in Paphos) to move my money from from Lloyds into their account then into the Bank Of Cyprus, paid a small commission but got a better exchange rate it worked for me and I believe some of you may well be aware of them.

FC Exchange is now known as Global Reach, but same principle, yesterday I spoke to them and this what they said.

As you have an address in Cyprus which is your main address, you can have your pensions paid into them, then get it transferred as you want, there is more to it than that but that is the basics.

This is the address for the Paphos branch including telephone number

Global Reach Afentico Anna Office 303, Cr. Tapeleniou & Korytsas Street, Telepeniou, Paphos 8010, Cyprus
Opens 7:30AM Mon
Phone: +357 26 933164

It is not far from the District Court.

Hope this helps sorry for the long explanation

You may be better off going to TransferWise as per my comment above. They are one of the biggest currency transfer companies and, as well as transferring cash from the UK to Cyprus, they can also give you a UK debit card and and UK sort code and account number. The application is straightforward and is all done online.

Here is the link for more information.

Effsie, That is brilliant, I am going to look into that, I have various pension including my disability pension and I do not want that to go wrong, I will ring them tomorrow, I will let you all know how I get on.

I would have concerns about this statement taken from the above link? 'however it is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and therefore is deposited at your own risk'. How do you keep my money safe section.

What that section actually says is as follows:

"TransferWise is an authorised Electronic Money Institution independently regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.

This means we're required by law to keep your money safe by storing it in a low-risk financial institution - in Europe this is in our UK account with Barclays, in the US this is in our US account with Wells Fargo.

These accounts are reserved for customer money, this means your money is kept in a separate account from the money we use to run the business.

In the unlikely event TransferWise ceased to exist, your money would be paid back from this account, ie from Barclays or Wells Fargo, however it is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and therefore is deposited at your own risk. You also cannot earn interest on the money in your TransferWise account.

Millions of customers trust TransferWise with their money. We move over £4 billion every month, and we take the safety and security of your money seriously.

The TransferWise debit Mastercard is issued by TransferWise Ltd under license by Mastercard International Inc. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design on the card is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. TransferWise is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011, Firm Reference 900507, for the issuing of electronic money."

TransferWise are regulated in the same way as FC Excange, which is also mentioned/suggested above.

I am not suggesting that anyone would wish to deposit their life savings with these people, but for currency transfers of pensions etc. and for the maintenance of a day to day balance to make sterling payments by card in the UK (or elsewhere) it strikes me as about the best option if the mainstream banks are closing accounts.

Currency transfer companies only hold the funds for a very short period of time before making onward transfers. Bear in mind that many, many thousands of people have used these companies to transfer significant sums for property and business purchases and the like. The funds are held in client accounts (the same as solicitors do - in the UK anyway) so, even if the company goes under the funds should be safe.

I am not here to promote TransferWise, or any else. Personally I have always used CurrencyFair, but they haven't set up their bank account operation yet, although they say it is in hand.

Whether or not anyone opens an account with them is a personal choice but, having had a good look at my options, that seems to be the best, if not only option, that I have, so I thought that I would share.

When I opened my account with them a couple of weeks ago, I had to upload copies of various documents including utility bills and a selfie of me holding my passport. It cost €7 for the debit card, which arrived a week later. I can deposit funds by bank transfer or straight from a debit card. So far it is all looking good.

Choose wisely!

I have spoken to transfer wise, took ages to find the right number and get through, they came across as a bit miffed that I rang, but were helpful (sort of) , they pointed me to their online site which by the way is what it is all about, very little customer interaction, could pose a problem for the senior members here.

This is purely a money moving company with a risk, I have copied an extract from their site which they directed me to, very reluctant to go deeper, you can form your own opinion, one thing I learned was if you have savings look elsewhere, they are not a savings bank.

Extracted.

Your Transfer Wise multi-currency account is an electronic money account. It's different from a bank account because:
• you won’t be able to get an overdraft or loan
• you won’t earn interest on your account
• although your bank details are unique, they don't represent real bank accounts, but simply "addresses" for your electronic money account. You can still use them to receive payments though, like a real bank account
• your money is protected and safeguarded, but not guaranteed by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) that you may get with a bank account

Bullet points 2 and 4 sum it up, in a nutshell it is not for me.

You are quite right, it is not for everyone. My suggestion was that if you need to receive a UK payment, such as a pension and be able to transfer money to Cyprus at a good rate and also be able to use a debit card, it is a good option if your mainstream bank is closing your account.

It is not somewhere to to keep your life savings, as I said above, but it is still a viable option for making transfers and running what is, to all intents and purposes, a basic, no frills bank account.

Today I have spoken to my bank (Lloyds) regarding this issue, I asked them if I could use my daughters address when I come back to Cyprus, this was their answer.

I can use my daughters address as long as I am living there, I must be registered with the council for council tax purposes or proof that I live there from time to time which must be in the form of a utility bill, if it was discovered that I do not live there I could be prosecuted for providing misleading and false information.

I then went across the road the HSBC, told them my sorry story and they said I must have a UK address to bank with them and got the same story as what Lloyds told me.

The upshot of it all, Brexit is going to hurt a lot of people and there will be a lot of grief come January 1st.

Looks like I have to go down another route, what route that will be I do not know.

Friends living in Cyprus are in the process of moving their bank account to HSBC - using their Cyprus address.

From the HSBC website:

New HSBC Expat customers must be 18 years or over and meet one of these criteria:

hold a minimum of £50,000 (or currency equivalent) with us
have a sole salary of £100,000 (or currency equivalent)
have already qualified for HSBC Premier in another country

Many expats all looking for cheap housing to get a UK address. Park Homes are getting a lot of interest as they tend to be cheaper than bricks and mortar. ( I am not talking caravans on holiday sites ) .
Currency accounts look to be one of the favoured routes to take.

Health cover may be a problem for some too.

Good luck all.

Alexis, as you are 2 hours ahead of me I saw your reply earlier, I thought I must have misheard what the lady in the bank said, so rang them and spoke to another lady who concurs with her colleague and my previous post stands.

I think your friends have go it slightly wrong, no way can I get an account with HSBC or hold an account with any UK bank whilst permanently living in a EU country post Brexit.

Having just read what Effsie has said, she is correct, that HSBC want the following

Hold a minimum of £50,000 (or currency equivalent) with us
Have a sole salary of £100,000 (or currency equivalent)
Have already qualified for HSBC Premier in another country

How many of us have that type of collateral or have a Premier account so that is non starter

If you can get more information from your friends and publish it on here, I am sure like me, many members would be interested to see how they got round this problem.

''HSBC, for example, has confirmed you can open an online account from any EU member state. Currently, HSBC reportedly has no plans to close expat accounts. Again, it’s wise to check first about expat policies before you open an online account''.

https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/11/01/do-y ... nk-account

Alexis, About an hour ago I got off the phone with HSBC customer services, I got put through to a senior member of the new accounts department who deal with expats living overseas IN EUROPE not world wide because that is a different scenario, the man I spoke to was called ADAM.

I explained what my issue was and past on some of the comments you have put on the forum, (I read them to him) also informed him about the two visits to my local branch.

This is his reply, Under no circumstances can I hold an ordinary bank account whilst living in Europe as an expat, I must have a checkable UK address.

I can have a EXPAT bank account but must fulfil certain criteria as noted by Effsie and stated in the link you provided, he also went onto say that account has limitations which is explained on the HSBC site. He also said that the majority if not all the major UK based banks are implementing the new regulations regarding Brexit by the end of the year.

My own bank Lloyds and Barclays and now HSBC cannot be wrong, they all say the same thing, unless I have 50k plus and have large amounts of money then it is a non starter.

As Adam says, your friends are wrong in saying that as Expats they can have a UK account in its normal sense, unless you can get them to tell you more, I feel with respect you may have not understood what they trying to achieve.

Their new bank account will be set up on similar lines to my UK current account - just had to provide proof of a regular monthly income. No idea if there is a minimum amount required to open the account, so that is something you will have to check.


UPDATE FROM FRIENDS: ''Anyway their reply came back that the account was open, and on receipt of the usual certified identification documents would go live''.

Curiosity also got the better of me and I called HSBC today.

Yes, they will open accounts for people in Cyprus, but the amounts detailed above to open the account do apply.

I have had another look around and have come up with this. I am not making any recommendation, merely posting a link to an account that some expats might find useful.

Standard Bank

My friends of many years have assured me they meet none of the aforementioned criteria to open a HSBC bank account
They are just an ordinary retired couple who completed the on-line application after an initial phone call to HSBC.

That's strange. If you try and complete the application for an expat account online, it won't let you go past the country of residence as Cyprus is not on their approved list (it says "Based on your country/region of residence, due to cross border guidelines and HSBC policy, we may not be able to offer an HSBC Expat account. Before applying, please call us on +44 1534 616 055."), but they will open it over the phone, subject to the financial criteria. They did say that they give you 3 months' grace to come up with the money, but that is as generous as it gets.

Unless they already have HSBC accounts, there doesn't seem to be any alternative to the financial criteria. I wish them well, but it does sound like they are applying for something other than the expat account that HSBC are offering.

Effsie, Spot on that is what I have been saying, unless you have loads of money and most of us have not (just pensions), you cannot open an account or have an account in the UK if you live in Europe, believe me I have tried I have gone down every route possible.

If you saw my post above, Standard Bank will open an account and just ask for a minimum balance of £4,000 per quarter (or they charge you £60).

They have offices in the UK but they are South African owned.

Potentially an option if you haven't got £50K.

Also, I had a call back from the manager of the person that I spoke to the other day who confirmed that the minimum amounts required to open an account (as mentioned several times above) are not negotiable. They give you a 3 month grace period after the account is opened to come up with that initial investment, but will close the account if you don't. He also confirmed that it is not possible for a Cyprus resident expat to open an account online. As soon as you enter Cyprus as your country of residence, it won't progress any further and they can only deal with it over the phone.

HSBC Expat are based in Jersey and only deal with higher end clients. They are adamant that there is no option for us regular folks to open an account.

I am not sure what Alexis' friends have done, but HSBC say there is no alternative for opening an account if you are a permanent resident of Cyprus. Maybe they have access to a UK address?

Effsie, I agree

HSBC Expat based in Jersey? This is a completely different account.

I am now looking at HSBC UK: https://www.hsbc.co.uk/current-accounts ... k-account/

HSBC Bank Account
A simple everyday current account

Who can apply?
You can apply for an HSBC Bank Account if you:

are 18 or older and a UK or EU resident
are happy for us to do a credit check against your name (if you live in the UK)
can provide ID and proof of address if needed


Apply online
If you live in the UK or EU and don't already hold a current account with us, you can apply online. It just takes a few minutes.

Well, that explains things. What is still confusing though is that when you search for banks that offer accounts to expats, they only quote the HSBC account that we have discussed above.

Thanks for the link.

Hi, if it helps I wrote an article on this.

https://talanews.blogspot.com/2020/09/b ... .html#more

Good luck all

Seen a few comments on FB recently from people who have successfully opened an account with HSBC and all up and running smoothly.

Two members of my family are opening accounts with HSBC. One had their PIN sent by courier on 6 December, which has never arrived and the bank can't even find a tracking number. The other completed the account opening procedure weeks ago and HSBC have "lost" their ID and proof of address and want it all again and it is now too late to get it all sorted before their other account is closed next week.

Tread carefully folks!