The Euro, our money and damned banks

[Penny29]

Hello Everyone,

Can anyone come up with a suggestion/solution to this scenario:

1.Have a capital sum of around 25,000 that we would like to stick in a Euro savings account now (with view to using as deposit when we buy a house in France in around 18 months time).

2.Also, we are coming to France on a long-term rent-free let in 2003.Can we open a euro current account in the UK now and use same account in France to pay for shopping etc? Or do we have to wait until we get to France?

3. If we have to wait until we get to France what happens if we have no proof of address (the owners of the property are keeping all the bills etc in their name). Presumably - we can't open an account!

4. OR is their any such thing as a UK bank which has branches abroad?

[Anton Redman]

1. With 25,000 you should be able to open a Euro savings account with your current UK bank. I think this weeks decline in value of the pound has more to do with currency speculators than real trade but a lot of people think the pound is likely to continue to decline.
2. I would not recommend opening a UK Euro current account to pay for shopping. The cheques will take a long time to clear and may incur charges which will upset relations with local trades people., the credit or debit card wont be easy to use in France and you may find you are hit for commission twice.
3. If you know the people who you will be house sitting for could not they introduce you to their bank ? We opened out bank account on the strength of passports, and bank statements showing our UK address before we had any proof of ownership in France. It is designated as a non resident account but this is no problem to us.
4. My recollection is most of the UK banks had a few branches in France, normally France, Cannes Bordeaux etc. but they did not seem very keen on retail business.

[Mazan]

Several of the UK banks do offshore Euro denominated accounts with a Euro Visa debit card that will be accepted everywhere in France and on which there are no charges for purchases. There may be a small charge for cash withdrawals though.