UK Banks – post Brexit

Are you a UK citizen living in Italy or thinking of moving here, what have been your experiences with your UK bank?  We are hearing that many people are having a problem with their existing UK bank. Although the UK Government web site advises “Most people living in Europe should not see any change to their banking after 31 December 2020.” some of the major banks have already advised their customers that they will be closing accounts held by people resident in Italy.

If you no longer have any UK assets or income this may not be a problem for you. However many UK ex-pats resident in Italy receive pensions or other income from the UK. My personal experience is of receiving a state pension and a personal pension. While the pensions could be paid into my Italian EUR account I prefer to have them paid in GBP and convert to EUR when it suits me. The solution for me is to have Transferwise Borderless accounts, one in EUR and one in GBP. The GBP account comes with a UK sort code and account number and both my pensions are paid into it, without problems.

We would like to hear your experiences with UK financial providers and, if you have had this problem, how you resolved it. We are putting together a list of UK banks that are closing accounts of customers resident in Italy. If your bank has written to you and is closing your account please let us know. Your input would be very much appreciated.

The following banks are closing the accounts of their customers who are resident in Italy

• Bank of Scotland
• Barclays
• Coutts
• Halifax
• Lloyds