Joint international bank account

[80anthea]

Has anyone done this?

I want to set up an account so we can both add money to it to pay for visas, plane tickets etc. I have no idea how it works if you're in different countries? Is it easier to set one up in the UK or US, which will incur less fees?

[Louise_B]

Sweetie me and justin tried doing this.

When he tried it the states asked for my serial number - but we dont have one for our accounts.

so when i opened a savings account this end with Lloyds for me to put money into for my next trip to the states i did ask them about a joint bank account and the woman said unless he lives over here we cant do a joint account!! It was so annoying.

me and Justin has the EXACT same idea as you and we havent got anywhere far with it yet :/

[digitalfever]

You can always add their name to the account but they do need to be present to do that. OR you could simply set up the account and get a second card and send it to him/her so that they have access.

[80anthea]

I've been looking online and can't see a way of it working. There must be a way..... there's always a way!

On the UKBA website it says 'share financial responsibilities with your partner, such as a joint mortgage or tenancy agreement, a joint bank account or joint savings, and utility bills in both your names' so there must be a way.... will keep investigating!

[Louise_B]

will keep investigating!

Haha yes there is always a way .. just a bloody pain trying to find that way!! and when youre friends arent in the same boat as you they bloody dont know how to help either! LOL.

Ill investigate too. Let me know if you find anything darling

[80anthea]

You can always add their name to the account but they do need to be present to do that. OR you could simply set up the account and get a second card and send it to him/her so that they have access.

That would work, but it would only have one name on, or can I ask for his name on the bank card?

[80anthea]

What worries me are the fees involved. I bank here with Natwest, if I want to send money to a foreign bank they charge £10 per transaction and to receive is only £1 (if less than £100). I assume he'll face similar charges in the US so money is just going to be wasted, it may actually be easier to save up in our own countries and transfer larger amounts. I was hoping for something where we could keep putting smaller amounts away together.

[digitalfever]

That would work, but it would only have one name on, or can I ask for his name on the bank card?

Have you looked into "online banks"?

[Alsfia]

The little experience I've had with UK banking has been a complete nightmare, fair enough I was in a shitty branch but the system differs so much from here that it even confused the clerk... I'd suggest that you share IBAN and BIC codes to a savings account and put in money there, alternatively share a paypal account, if you don't find a way to make it work. My SO and I use the IBAN and BIC codes to put money in to our accounts but flights are fairly cheap between Finland and England so we rarely actually need to transfer money... Anyhow it's better than nothing

[Captivated]

I work for a financial institution. You won't be able to open a joint account in the US unless he has a social security no. unfortunately. There are many checks and compliance issues a bank here must adhere to in order to open an account for someone. Online US banks such as CapitalOne 360, formally ING, are even worse with their policies. I'd say just save on your own.

[80anthea]

I work for a financial institution. You won't be able to open a joint account in the US unless he has a social security no. unfortunately. There are many checks and compliance issues a bank here must adhere to in order to open an account for someone. Online US banks such as CapitalOne 360, formally ING, are even worse with their policies. I'd say just save on your own.

Sadly this is the conclusion I am coming to

[AussiesPet]

Just a thought here, use paypal. If you both already have accts in your own countries you can both add to your own paypal accts and transfer through there. I have sent my SO funds when needed using paypal.. My personal paypal is also a business acct, with business accts you can have more than one person access them if it is set up properly. I am admin over my job's paypal acct and set this up for us. Like much we face for our SOs it's not easy but might be a little bit more so than fighting with our "land based" banks..