Banking

Steps

1. Choose your bank. High street bank (high street bank), building society (a mutually owned savings and lending institution) or online bank. Check that it is authorised by the PRA (the prudential regulator) on the Financial Services Register and that it displays the "FSCS Protected" badge.
2. Get your documents ready. Anti-money-laundering law requires professionals to verify your name, your photo on an official document, your address and your date of birth, for example with a passport and a bill or a statement. Banks also check the electoral register and credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax): a new arrival is often invisible there, which can make opening an account harder.
3. If you are refused a standard account, ask for a basic bank account. Often you apply for the standard account first; if you are refused, the bank must tell you whether you are entitled to the basic bank account. It is designed mainly for people who are not eligible for the standard account (poor or no credit history, repayment plan, bankruptcy…) and can be opened from the age of 16 (18 at some banks) (MoneyHelper). The designated banks are Barclays UK, The Co-operative Bank, HSBC UK, Lloyds Banking Group (with Halifax and Bank of Scotland), Nationwide and Virgin Money UK (now a Nationwide brand), NatWest Group (with RBS and Ulster Bank), Santander UK and TSB (FCA, July 2026). Conditions: being legally resident in the United Kingdom (including with no fixed address or as an asylum seeker) and not already having an equivalent UK current account (or not being eligible for the bank's other accounts). The bank must open the account or refuse in writing, free of charge, no later than 10 working days after your complete application, giving you the reason, in sufficient detail since 28 April 2026 (unless the law prohibits giving it) and telling you how to complain, in particular to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You do not have to pass a credit check: the bank only carries out a "light" check (soft credit check) used to confirm your identity; it may refuse if your identity cannot be verified.
4. Give your account number and your sort code (six-digit code that identifies the branch) to your employer for payroll, and your IBAN for international transfers.
5. To send or receive euros, compare options: the European Commission lists the United Kingdom among the countries covered by the SEPA schemes, but the European rule of equal charges for domestic and cross-border euro payments is presented with no mention of the United Kingdom: do not assume it protects you. Your bank may charge fees and a foreign exchange margin.

Documents

• Passport, or European identity card: each bank sets the list of documents it accepts, ask for it before the appointment.
• Proof of address in the United Kingdom: bill, tenancy agreement, official letter (the list depends on the bank).
• Without the usual documents: MoneyHelper cites letters from official or recognised bodies (DWP, HMRC, Jobcentre, local council, GP, employer, educational institution…); some banks have their own lists for international students and migrant workers. The nine designated banks committed to the FCA in July 2026 to apply a clear procedure for people without standard documents and to explain it in branches. Registering on the electoral register also helps with some checks. Online, you are often asked for a photo of your ID and a selfie.
• Proof of your right to stay: eVisa and share code for European citizens who arrived since 2021 (banks are prohibited from opening an account for a person in an irregular situation, under the Immigration Act 2014).
• Sometimes proof of income or a letter from your employer.

Costs and timelines

• Basic bank account: free to open; same uses as a current account (salary, benefits, pension, debit card, transfers, direct debits, online banking), without a chequebook. No charges for basic services in pounds sterling (deposits, withdrawals at the counter and at cash machines, direct debits, card payments including online, transfers); no charge if a payment is refused for lack of funds; no overdraft. Transactions in another currency may be charged at a "reasonable" rate.
• Time to open a basic bank account: 10 working days at most after a complete application.
• Charges still possible (MoneyHelper): card use abroad, copies of statements, same-day CHAPS transfer.
• Closure by the bank: it may close a basic bank account only on the grounds listed by law (Payment Accounts Regulations 2015, regulation 26). With at least 90 days' written notice (at least 2 months for an account opened before 28 April 2026): you have opened another UK account offering the same services, no transaction for more than 24 consecutive months, or you are no longer legally resident in the United Kingdom. Without notice: use of the account for illegal purposes, inaccurate information given when opening it, or behaviour towards staff that amounts to an offence (for example harassment or breach of the peace).
• Complaint: the bank has 15 days for its final response if the complaint concerns a payment, 8 weeks otherwise; you then have 6 months to refer the matter, free of charge, to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
• Deposit guarantee (FSCS): £120,000 per person per bank for failures after 30 November 2025 (£85,000 before). Banks in the same group that share an authorisation count as one. Temporarily high balances (sale of a home, inheritance…) are protected up to £1.4 million for 6 months.
• Refund in case of authorised push payment fraud (APP fraud): for transfers made since 7 October 2024 (Faster Payments or CHAPS), the bank must refund you up to £85,000, within 5 working days in principle (35 working days at most if it investigates). Report the fraud within 13 months. It may keep an excess of £100 at most, and refuse if you were complicit or grossly negligent.

Common pitfalls

• Not being able to open an account without an address, and having no address without an account. Ask the bank which proofs it accepts for a new arrival; if it refuses, ask for a basic bank account and a written response.
• Leaving the United Kingdom while keeping a basic bank account. The bank may close it when you are no longer legally resident in the United Kingdom (at least 90 days' written notice for an account opened since 28 April 2026): arrange another account before you leave.
• Thinking a refusal is final. If a designated bank refuses, ask for the reason in writing; other options exist: a credit union account (savings and credit cooperative) or a prepaid card (MoneyHelper).
• Putting more than £120,000 in a single bank. Above that, the excess is not covered; spread it across banks with different authorisations.
• Confusing "online bank" with "bank authorised in the United Kingdom". Some apps are payment institutions rather than banks: the FSCS does not protect money held by an electronic money or payment institution (FSCS, page updated after the move to £120,000). These companies are regulated by the FCA, but if they fail your money may remain blocked during the insolvency procedure; the FSCS advises checking whether your money is held directly in your own account or in a trust-type arrangement (trust). Check the app's status on the FCA register.
• Falling for a fake adviser. Be wary of any call that pressures you to move your money to a "safe account": hang up and call your bank back on the number printed on your card. If you are a victim, call your bank straight away and report the fraud to the police.
• Looking for a mortgage as soon as you arrive. No official rule prevents lending to a foreigner, but each bank sets its own criteria (length of stay, UK credit history, deposit): they vary from one lender to another, ask several.

What changes by country of origin

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: your EU Settlement Scheme status or your visa proves your legal residence, a condition for the basic bank account.
• Irish citizens: your Irish passport is enough to prove your right to stay.
• Keeping your account in your country of origin: this is often useful at the start; the interest and income from that account must be declared in the United Kingdom as soon as you are tax resident there (see UK-IMPOTS-TOUS-001).