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Post by space99 on Aug 21, 2014 8:28:38 GMT
Dear fellow UK expats, I just want to getguidance on offshore accounts with UK banks. One of the banks is saying that they do charge an amount everytime your account will be credited as a result of international payment into your account. Do you know if Aramco remit salary through its bank accounts in UK and this is then treated as a domestic transfer or does it actually use its bank accounts in Saudia who then remit GBP on to your offshore account? If its uses bank accounts in Saudia then are employees liable for any fee charged by banks in Saudi to send the salary on to UK bank accounts?
Appreciate some guidance from experienced members.
Many thanks and kind regards
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Post by GroveWanderer on Aug 26, 2014 5:13:46 GMT
I suspect what the bank means is that if they receive funds from abroad in a foreign currency, to be deposited into a sterling account, there will be a fee paid for the currency conversion. Assuming you are on Global Payroll and Aramco remits your salary in sterling (which they will do if you request it) there should not be any fee charged.
In all the time I have worked here (and using a couple of different banks in UK/Jersey) I have never been charged anything when my salary was remitted to the bank.
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Post by fishfash on Aug 26, 2014 9:20:11 GMT
Hi - what bank account/bank were you using in Jersey and what benefits did they offer you?
Please advise.
Thanks!
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Post by space99 on Aug 26, 2014 9:39:55 GMT
fishfash,
HSBC can't offer me expat as soon as they heard that I'll be moving to Saudi Arabia. I think Lloyds can offer international account with no charges for incoming payments and very low minimum balance requirment but i think they don't have "secure key" device for login. Its only user ID and passwords which i am not sure how safe these are. Natwest offers international account with secure key token but they are saying there will be a charge for incoming payments unless these are from Domestic banks. Appreciate if you can suggest any names to go for in the forum or through private message. Many thanks.
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Post by amna78 on Aug 26, 2014 17:24:58 GMT
I believe if you designate a bank account outside US - the bank will have to send money via international wire transfer or remittance. TD Canada Trust charges $17.50 for incoming wires and $34.0 for outgoing wires.
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Post by GroveWanderer on Aug 31, 2014 14:23:43 GMT
I have had accounts with both the Bank of Scotland (now defunct) and Royal Bank of Scotland in Jersey. The main benefit (for a UK citizen) is that Jersey banks do not deduct tax on interest at source as mainland banks do.
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Post by GroveWanderer on Sept 1, 2014 7:30:46 GMT
Based on my personal experience the company will remit your salary for you without any charges being levied on it.
When a wire transfer is made, the remitter has the option to pay all the charges or to have the receiver pay some of the charges (at least, I always have that option when I make an international payment from my account).
So apparently Aramco pays all the charges for the money it transfers. Whatever amount is mentioned in my salary statement, that is exactly the amount that gets credited to my bank account. There are no deductions.
If my bank took $17.50 for incoming international transfers (and $34 for outgoing), I think I would consider using a different bank. (I make quite a lot of international transfers).
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Post by amna78 on Sept 2, 2014 19:01:26 GMT
I will ask my bank manager if there is such option.
Do you recommend any other Canadian bank that would all free or low cost intl. transfers? I agree the cost is so high - these Cdian banks are expensive and there are only few. There are hardly any foriegn banks in Canada either. Any suggestion would certainly help
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Post by GroveWanderer on Sept 3, 2014 4:07:40 GMT
amna, (I will ask my bank manager if there is such option).
I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. The option of whether to pay all the charges for an international wire (SWIFT) transfer is with the remitting bank, not the receiving bank.
If the receiving bank has a fixed charge for receiving a transfer, the bank (or person) sending the money can agree to pay those charges, or not.
(Do you recommend any other Canadian bank that would all free or low cost intl. transfers? I agree the cost is so high - these Cdian banks are expensive and there are only few. There are hardly any foreign banks in Canada either. Any suggestion would certainly help)
I'm sorry, I have no knowledge of Canadian banks. However anyone can open an account in the Channel Islands, for instance Jersey or Guernsey where at least some of the banks offer foreign currency accounts including Canadian $ (IIRC).
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