Long time no see! Whether you started following this series when I started it last spring or are jumping in for the first time, I’m here to break down the basics of what you’ll need to know as a student moving to London. I’ve talked a bit already about transport and sim cards, and next up, you’re going to need to sort your financial situation.
If you have an international bank such as HSBC or Charles Schwab, overseas banking is going to be a little less painful. But if you don’t, you’re going to want to get a UK bank account ASAP, because every single purchase you make on an American card will charge an international transaction fee of a dollar or so, but those fees add up quick.
So to set up a UK bank, you’re just going to need one thing! Once you pick which bank you want to open an account with (most will do, but I’d recommend HSBC or Lloyd’s!), go to your university Student Affairs office (or at Richmond, you can request this online), and get a “bank letter.” This is just a letter verifying that you’re a full-time student and that your university will sponsor (allow you to create) your account. Then go to your chosen bank, tell the teller you’d like to open an account, and they will either help you then or set you up with an appointment. Make sure to take your Bank letter and a couple of forms of ID to your appointment, and you’ll be all set. To set up the app some banks offer, you’ll also want to have a UK sim card already (see part 2).
Lastly, to transfer money from your American bank to your British bank, you have a couple of options! There’s the old-fashioned way of “wiring” money between banks, but this usually comes with a hefty fee and is very slow (can take a week or two). The next best option is an app called Transfer Wise, which is a lifesaver. It’s specifically meant for sending yourself money between international bank accounts, has super low fees and is pretty fast! It takes at most three days to receive the money you’ve sent yourself. Lastly, if you’re really in a pinch and three days is too long to wait (we’ve all been there), you can pull money from your American account at an ATM and deposit it in your British bank, and it’ll be in your account the same day. But beware of the exchange rate! Especially if you’re moving a lot of money at once, if the exchange rate is very high, you may lose a lot in American dollars! The pound ranges anywhere from the $1.30s to the $1.40s, and if you’re moving more than a hundred dollars at once, that makes a huge difference. I’d suggest keeping an eye on the exchange rate, and if you can, only moving money when the pound is down. Of course, finances are tricky and there is always more to learn, but those are the ABCs of banking abroad, and more specifically in the UK. Next up in this series I’ll be talking about actually living in London, AKA getting an apartment (or dorm) – you won’t want to miss it.