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Try opening a bank account in the UK, if you think it's hard in Estonia. Unlike Estonia, you CAN NOT just come to the UK from a foreign country and open a bank
by jdimov9 11y ago
Try opening a bank account in the UK, if you think it's hard in Estonia. Unlike Estonia, you CAN NOT just come to the UK from a foreign country and open a bank account. Even if you've lived here for a while, it's still an unbelievably ridiculous, frustrating and wasteful process.
Let's start with having to call the bank weeks or months in advance for an appointment, like everything else in the UK. Even though your appointment is for a specific hour, once you arrive on time, be prepared to wait hours before someone sees you. You will then need two different proofs of address, alongside endless other documents. For a business account, you need all partners to be present at said appointment and you will be asked endless questions about the nature of your business and your expected cashflow. If for some reason your conversational English happens to be not so good, be prepared to be flat-out refused a bank account, without much explanation. All of this is usually justified by Know-Your-Customer and anti money lanundering procedures, which is a bit ironic, considering that HSBC are the ones doing all the money laundering to begin with.
- briandear 11y agoTotally agree. It has been an exceptionally difficult process to open a bank account for my UK company. Ridiculous amount of nonsense. Your point about the money laundering irony is also spot on.
- speeq 11y agoI moved to the UK from a foreign country (from the EU though) and found it quite easy to start my company and open my accounts. It really depends on the bank and branch you're walking into. My advice: Avoid doing what I did and don't apply for your first current account online. It might seem more efficient and time-saving but it's actually not - because of your non-existent credit history in the UK - they will have to ask you for endless documents. Once you're in the UK, walk into a high-street bank that is actively seeking customers. Lloyds Bank or Barclays comes to mind. Ask for a basic bank account, which they will open for you without proof of address. Make an appointment with the same bank for a startup current account - sometimes they will send you to a different branch - if they don't do business banking themselves. They will ask you about your business and estimated turnover. Make sure you bring your incorporation documents. It's worth noting that I'm the only director of my limited company and the companies registered office was my home address - so no further proofs of address were required. Waiting for your cards to arrive in the mail is what takes the most time, but I was able to use my online banking account even before I had my card.
- potrebitel22 11y agoBeen there, done that. It took me almost two months to open a bank account once I was there and even then I was considered lucky given the requirements at that time. But it is not that easy in Estonia either, second hand experience from a friend - he went there to setup a startup to be used later, but no luck.