Nat West Bank question for when coming to Cyprus

[Keith]

Does anyone have an account with Nat West in the U.K. and they are OK about you living in Cyprus and still let you keep the account open?
Also have they sent you a debit card through the post for you to use or will they not do that?


Again thanks for any replies
Keith

[Poppy]

I'm afraid I don't know about Nat West Keith but as we are doing the reverse of you and returning to the UK we have opened a Bankof CyprusUK account. They only have Branches in London and Birmingham so it is all Internet Banking but it was the only Bank that would allow me to open an account in te UK without proof of a UK address so they may be OK for you if Nat West aren't.

[chatsworth]

Yes, we have had no problems providing you update them with your new address you should be ok.

[Keith]

Chatsworth does that include sending you a debit card through the post when the old one expires?

Keith

[mazza]

I am with NatWest and have no problems with them sending anything here. My debit & credit cards are sent here no problem.

Mary

[Keith]

That's Fantastic, thanks all.
Keith

What a great site this is.

[PolemIan]

I used to work there before we moved here. No problem changing the address, if you are registered with NatWest online banking you can do it as a secure chat with a member of staff, they will ask a couple of security questions though. Be aware though that if you have a packaged a account such as NatWest Black, Platinum etc that comes with things like travel insurance, it will not be valid.

[Rita Sherry]

Hello. Like Mary above I have an account with Nat/West (I came here in 2007) and have no problems receiving cards etc as and when they expire. Just told them I was moving to Cyprus, changed my address and all continued as before. I would recommend retaining your account in UK as it is, as has been said, difficult to open a new account if you should return to the UK at any time. The only thing I lost about 3 years ago was the right to free travel insurance under my Advantaged Gold Account Card(EU rules deemed overseas residents could not be included in travel insurance schemes)so as the other advantages of that card were of no use to me here I cancelled my annual subscription and reverted to a normal card.

I also have my pensions etc paid direct into that account and have a quarterly transfer of living expenses made to me here through a Currency Firm so as not to have too much balance sitting in the Cyprus account.

Hope that helps but if you require any further information just ask.

Rita

[smudger]

I'm so glad I kept my Nationwide account in the UK when I moved out here 10 years ago. Albeit, it was pretty dormant for a few years, I had reason to reactivate it and its proved invaluable since.

So to anyone moving out here, keep a UK bank account open if you can, its hellishly difficult to open one on return without proof of home address etc.

[Kili01]

I also have NatWest bank accounts. The only problem I have had with my UK mainland branch was that they refused to send my new cards to Cyprus. I had to have them sent to a UK address. However my NatWest branch account in the Channel Islands sent me a new debit card to my Cyprus address! So, there must be different rules.

Dee

[PhotoLady]

My only worry would be the way Nat West are closing UK branches..... The way they are going there will only be branches in big towns or cities soon.

[Rita Sherry]

Julie

I dont have a branch - I use any wherever I am in the UK without problem and I also have online banking - my correspondence comes from Manchester whilst in the UK I lived in London. The posters (Keith) present branch will be able to give details I would think. It is not the only bank closing branches and presumably in the future banking will be like shopping all online mores the pity.

Rita

[Keith]

We are like Rita in a way, the reason we need it open is because the Prudential will not send my pension direct to a Cypriot bank. (Anybody else had this problem)?
So we now have to have it sent to Nat West then go through an exchange company to get here, that's why we need our debit card over in Cyprus.
One good thing I suppose is that we can wait till we get a decent exchange rate before we change.

Keith

[Rita Sherry]

Keith

I do believe others with Prudential pensions have had the same problem it is, I understand, Prudential policy and nothing to do with the bank. I suggest you have a word with your bank re your forthcoming move indicating your wish to retain your account and go from there. I dont know why Dee cannot receive her cards etc from UK Nat/West because I, and it appears others, have done it since moving here particularly where the account is very much active. Good Luck

Rita

[Poppy]

Strange because my husband has a small pension paid annually from Prudential and they have always paid it here but it began 10 years ago so maybe they are just honouring the older pension?

[PhotoLady]

It's mad how services we all depend upon keep closing physical buildings though..... banks and post offices appear to be the main culprits

The bank in our village (Nat West) closed a little before we arrived back in UK earlier last year. Apparently, there is a mobile bank which comes to the village every Tuesday for an hour but the services it offers is limited. My mum doesn't use any kind of banking cards and cannot make withdrawals at the mobile bank. Her nearest Nat West bank is 10 miles away....

We kept our UK bank account operative when we left UK in 2004 and are glad we did.
After being away for just over 12yrs whilst living in Cyprus we found not being on the local electoral roll, holding no UK utility bills etc left us with some small issues when we needed a credit reference in the very early days of our return.

We're with Yorkshire Bank and they've always sent our UK issued cards to our address in Cyprus.
As someone mentioned earlier, maybe some banks are honouring old agreements but not setting them up for new requests?

[Kili01]

Rita,l don't understand either why my Mainland NatWest Branch won't send bank cards to Cyprus, though they sited security issues(in Cyprus?). So my nephew had to post them on to me using courier which was expensive, but quick. NatWest Guernsey on the otherhand took a much more sensible view & just posted one to me..... I use internet or ibanking which works fine for arranging transfers of cash. Like you, I am careful to keep a small credit balance at my Cyprus bank, Alpha.
My bank branch in UK, is largely mechanised now with a number of cash machines, But I noticed that the two members of staff who stand behind an informal looking desk, are still kept very busy with often long lines of customers waiting patiently to voice their queries. There is still an obvious need for personal service with a human touch! Also some of the older customers are clearly unwilling to do their business using a cash machine.. Hopefully NatWest won't decide to close down this small branch in a prosperous little Cotswold town.
Dee