UK Digital Bank

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UK Bank Fees and Procedures:

The Bank of England is mainly divided into two major systems: one system is dominated by Barclays Bank, Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds, and some building capital financing cooperatives; The other system is National Westminster (NatWest), TSB Bank, Clydesdale Bank, Ulster Bank, Isle of Man Bank, Coutts, Bank Northern, National Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, Abbey National, Halifax, and some construction finance cooperatives. The opening hours of banks are generally from Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In particular, the British Post Office does not have deposit business. Generally, deposits are made in banks or some construction fund financing cooperatives (similar to credit cooperatives in Taiwan).

There are roughly two types of bank accounts: current account and saving account. A current deposit account has a low interest rate, but you can write checks or withdraw cash at any time. Fixed deposit accounts generally have terms and conditions, with a minimum amount limit, and some offer the same transfer and cheque book items as current deposits. If you want to withdraw money, you need to give 90 or 30 days' notice in advance (there is also instant access that can withdraw money at any time). Otherwise, you will be fined, but the interest rate is higher.

Other live savings accounts include a cheque account, a cash withdrawal card account, a telephone banking account, and a postal account. The latter two have more restrictions but better interest rates. They use telephone or mail to schedule deposits. The prerequisite is that there must be another live savings account for transfer. Sainsbury Bank, C&G, First Direct, Direct Line, and Bank of Scotland are more famous. In addition, couples may consider opening a joint account, saving many unnecessary hassles.

There are several types of automated teller machines (ATMs) in the United Kingdom, with quite a variety of functions. In addition to making withdrawals (you can choose whether to require a receipt), you can also query the balance of your deposit, change your personal identification number (PIN), deposit cash, roll checks, pay various bills (such as phone bills and credit cards), and transfer money to different accounts. In this way, the public can have access to necessary services 24 hours a day, which is quite convenient for the people, but not all branches of every bank provide these services. In addition, most banks have a 24-hour hotline service that provides customers with services such as checking deposit balances, applying for new checkbooks, and transferring funds.

Credit card application

Although it has been easier to apply for a credit card in recent years, it may still be rejected. Unpaid fees, insufficient deposits (up to £ 2000), short stay in the UK, lack of financial information, or suspicious address may all be the reasons. Remind company directors who want to apply for a credit card that if the credit status of using a credit card is poor, it will affect the willingness of other banks to issue cards to the same company in the future. Visitors to the United Kingdom or companies or enterprises that have no or little business dealings with companies that actually operate in the United Kingdom are generally reluctant to provide credit cards.

British businesses accept Visa more than Master Cards, so it is best to give priority to applying for Visa. If it is not possible to pay off the credit card bill at one time, it is necessary to consider the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) applied by each bank. In order to attract customers, some banks provide annual fee free for the first year or corporate annual fee free, which can be given priority.

pay taxes

When opening an account, remember to apply for tax exemption at the same time. As we are not British nationals, we can be exempt from tax when paying interest on our deposit. The UK tax year is one year until the end of March. The bank will withhold interest income tax from the deposit interest of the company's account. According to the current UK tax law, foreign companies are not required to pay interest income tax (exemption of £ 1965) if they stay in the UK for no more than four years. However, banks usually do not actively inform this, so be sure to request a Not Ordinarily Resident Declaration from the Inland Revenue to apply for exemption from interest income when opening an account.

However, not every bank provides tax exemption declarations for foreigners, as the IRS authorizes banks to handle them at their own discretion, and the IRS occasionally conducts spot checks. In order to avoid the trouble of verification, some banks simply do not handle (such as Barclays) and require depositors to apply for a Tax Voucher/Certificate from the IRS in the future.

Overdraft

Most UK banks do not provide overdraft limits, especially within two to three months of opening an account. However, some banks, such as NatWest, HSBC, and Barclays, will have a certain interest-free GBP overdraft limit (typically around GBP 1000 to GBP 2000) after successfully opening accounts. However, if you do not want this discount, you must specifically indicate it on the application form to prevent unauthorized overdraft. Other banks need to fill out a separate form to apply for approval, which may vary depending on the branch manager. However, the bank has the right to demand payment of the overdraft amount at any time. Special attention should be paid to the fact that if a customer inadvertently overdraws (the bank grants the customer an overdraft limit without the customer's consent), they can reasonably argue with the bank for exemption from interest payments. For details, please refer to the Moneyfax manual published by the Office of Fair Trading.

Check

The exchange of bills in the UK requires at least four working days, for example, cheques drawn on Monday are debited on Thursday, and cheques deposited on Monday are available for collection on Friday. Remember to sign when invoicing, otherwise the holder will be fined (around £ 10) by the bank when rolling the bill. Post dated cheques do not prevent the holder from requesting withdrawal. "If the holder requests payment in advance before the agreed presentation date, the drawer has no right to refuse payment.".

"Bounced/Unpaid Cheque is not included in the data of credit reporting companies in the UK, unless it refers to the payment of monthly loans or mobile phone calls. However, banks will keep records, which may have an impact on future applications for overdrafts.". If there is a risk of ticket skipping due to poor turnover, the bank must be notified immediately to stop paying specific cheques (transactions with financial disputes can also be handled similarly). The handling fee for each stop payment at the Clearing House is £ 7.5. If the clearing house is allowed to skip tickets, a processing fee of £ 25 will be charged to the general account, while a handling fee of £ 5 will be charged to the company accounts of Barclays and Halifax (calculated by day, not by piece). In addition, any cheque with a face date of six months is valid for payment, and the bank may not perform the payment obligation for cheques older than six months.

Remittance

If a customer wire transfers from overseas to a UK account, they usually arrive immediately after the transfer. Generally speaking, when remitting money from overseas to the UK, a part of the handling fee must be paid to overseas banks when purchasing pounds, such as Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank, which will deduct a handling fee of 6-15 pounds before transferring it to an account with a UK bank.

Close account

If a company director wants to close an account for any reason, don't forget to apply to the bank as soon as possible. At this time, the bank will consider the time for closing the account based on the company's operation.