The Financial Services Authority (FSA), is the independent watchdog set up by the British Government to regulate financial services and to protect the rights of financial customers. If you are in doubt about opening a bank account in the UK, visit the FSA website http://www.fsa.gov.uk/ and view their comparative table tool to make sure you are getting the right product for your needs.
Savings accounts If you are planning to live in another country you should look in to setting up a savings account ASAP. Savings accounts pay a higher rate of interest than a standard bank account and are a great way to build up a sum of money to use, not only on travel, but for a deposit on a new home or for buying a car. To discourage withdrawals savings accounts do not usually come with cheque books and debit cards.
The most important thing to consider before opening a specific savings account is to check the rate of interest. The two types of interest on savings accounts are:
Make sure that you do not base your choice solely on the interest rate as there are other features to consider when choosing a savings account, such as:
Read on to find out about another savings account option, offshore savings.
Internet banking security Thanks to the internet, traveler’s now have the flexibility of doing their banking on-line from anywhere around the world at anytime of the day. But is internet banking safe? The short answer is, yes. However, it is strongly advised that you avoid using internet cafes or unsecured, open wireless internet connections, as other users may be able to view your screen or tap in to what you are viewing on-line.
In general, internet banking has come a long way with more and more customers opting to pay bills, transfer money and view their accounts on-line. The banks are doing all they can to encourage increased usage as the cost of running internet banking is a lot cheaper compared to running a bank branch. In fact, a recent survey found that banks needed to employ one person for every 130 customers who used their branches, and yet that same person can look after 2,500 on-line customers.
While no website is ever 100% secure, the FSA has stepped in to make sure that all UK-based internet banking sites are encrypted and therefore secure. This means that all the information you send is scrambled when it leaves your computer and then decoded at the bank's end so that anyone eavesdropping on your transmissions can’t actually make sense of what you are sending.
These days you have a greater chance of being ripped off when you hand over your credit card to staff at a restaurant than you do using current internet banking facilities.