I am a Swiss resident and have my money here, but I would need a simple credit/debit card to pay my expenses in the UK, where it seems I cannot obtain even a prepaid card without being resident. I already own a Swiss bank account in GBP (but without any card), so FX rates would not be a problem.

Not possible at all, don't know any that allow this.

What you can do is open an offshore account with Lloyds International, Nationwide International etc

They open a GBP account for you and give you a debit card to use, problem is they charge lots of fees and signing up takes a lof of time and paperwork. Not for everyday use.

Thanks. Just to say that in some other European countries there are some services that allow these operations, like WeSwap, but they do not (yet) operate in CH.

Furthermore, just to remark that I do not want a bank account in the UK while being resident in Switzerland, but "only" a credit/debit card in GBP which may even be issued by a Swiss bank; e.g., PostFinance does release credit/debit cards in EUR and USD as well.

Why not? The statutory definition of residence that is now law, makes no reference to holding bank accounts in the UK.

It's not a market any Swiss bank wants to enter, so they have not. The USD is the world's reserve currency, the Euro is almost a 'Swiss' Currency so thats why they are offered.

I do not want a bank account in the UK simply because I can't open one
Basically all institutions in the UK requires some proof of residence for issuing even prepaid cards.

If you have a good reason you always can.

Without residence in the UK no good reason seems to hold. In any case, you are free to disagree with evidence

Well HSBC Premier will open you an account in any country they have a network if your a Premier customer in another country. As the 70k can be held as www.fundsmith.co.uk / www.fundsmith.eu so it's all at zero cost to me.

First question might be what kind of expenses are you talking about?
If they're just the kind you'll run up during a holiday then there's really no reason (beyond having to pay exchange rate/bank fees per transaction) for you not just using your swiss cards.
My sons spend time in England each year and simply use their Swiss Postcards for car hire, hotels, supermarket shopping, for example without any problems. They're lucky in that I could add them to my own UK cards as secondary holders if they really needed to have more permanent access to a UK bank... not an option for you as I think you're Italian??
If you're intending to spend longer than a couple of weeks in England (exchange visit, studies?), then you need to find another solution (it is not possible to get a basic account with a British bank without residency, FMF is a law unto himself in these areas), so you need talk to either your swiss bank, or maybe an Italian one in your home town.; it's not an un-common problem, there must be a solution.
If you're in the UK as a student or working then you'll have a residential address, which is what most banks there ask for when you open an account ( plus a bit of capital of course; not a lot, it's England not Switzerland).

I moved away from the UK 10+ years ago but have kept (or been allowed to keep, rather) my UK accounts open - current, savings and credit card. However: every so often the bank will send me a message saying that as I live overseas I can't open new savings accounts (although I've done this a few times over the past few years through the online banking interface, possibly before a change in policy or possibly because the residency requirement isn't (yet) rigorously enforced *for me*).

When I moved here, the Abbey National wouldn't let me keep my account, but First Direct were quite happy.

I can't see the point in having a credit card in GBP - at some point you'll have to pay it off in CHF (e.g. by putting CHF into your GBP account - or do you have a GBP source of income), so you get hit by conversion charges no matter.

Not 100% true. CS offer a platinum Amex that can be denominated in EUR, USD or GBP. At GBP 450 annual fee it's not cheap (but actually cheaper than the Bonviva Platinum package, but obviously lacks the other features of the package).

Of course it can be combined with a GBP current account at CS to minimise any FX conversion issues.

Whether it makes sense obviously depends upon how much you spend in GBP and what value you place on the platinum benefits eg travel insurance, concierge service and airport lounge access.

I have your answer right here!!

The Revolut card can be loaded from your CS account in GBP and you can then pay for whatever expenses you have in the UK with it.

If your source of income is not in GBP, there are other ways that we have discussed at length which minimise the FX costs for you. (pop me a message if you need to)

http://www.englishforum.ch/finance-b...edit-card.html

FX rates are of course unavoidable if the income source is in a different currency to the expenses currency. But there is no reason to pay through the nose by going with the mainstream banks specially for repeated transactions.

Travelex have debit cards that you can pre-pay and load at any time online and at any branch in the UK.

Their fees are extortionate!

Many thanks, really! <3

Finally somebody who has answered my question, without making dumb assumptions on my situation. I am asking for a debit card in GBP because I need one and I do not care much about FX rates because I already have a bank account in GBP in Switzerland (but with no possibility of having a card).

If there is something I hate of the Internet is when people spit judgements without knowing anything at all.

Paying a GBP bill with a GBP account in CH won't be cheap, waiting for a complaint thread soon

Hi,

what about https://www.entropay.com/prepaid-virtual-visa ? I use it when I need a UK credit card.

Have fun
Martin

They charge around 5% in fees to charge the card.

Attached Thumbnails