Which bank in the UK...

OffTheSideBar

Hi all,

I'm a student and will be commencing a course in London as a Masters student in September and I'm moving to the UK in a few days. I'm wondering which is the best bank to go with and if anyone has any experience here with opening an account in the UK. I've lived in the states for a few months in recent years and bank accounts were very simple to open there, some even giving the debit card to you on the spot (the real one, not just a temp.)

Points I'm trying to consider...

1. Can the account be opened from Ireland?
2. How long does it take to complete?
3. Which banking institutions should I be going to? Was thinking HSBC?

Any other information would be really helpful. I do have an address although it will be changing before I commence study in September....

homer911

I had to open a UK account for my daughter when she went over for a summer internship - We did a day trip a month in advance to organise everything

You need to look at the different CA offerings, some banks are better than others when it comes to fees. We used Nationwide BS. The process is simpler if you dont want an overdraft facility

You will need to do it in person, and you should have evidence of both your UK and Irish addresses. ATM cards etc will be posted to the UK address and may take two weeks

Delta2113

https://www.metrobankonline.co.uk/Personal/Bank-Accounts/CurrentAccounts/

BuffyBot

http://www.lloydsbank.com/banking-with-us/joining-lloyds/new-to-the-uk.asp is worth a read