Question
I am a us citizen who has family in the uk. I am trying to open a bank account and establish credit history. Anybody from the uk have any ideas?
thanks
Answer
It's not easy. You'll need a UK address, probably a letter from a UK employer, and [semi-seriously] three different forms of biometric identification for the account. The credit card will require another round of the same.
Answer
It's not easy. You'll need a UK address, probably a letter from a UK employer, and [semi-seriously] three different forms of biometric identification for the account. The credit card will require another round of the same.
you'll need to be on the electoral roll to get a credit card (in addition to the above), unless your banker can provide a special "vouching" on your behalf
Answer
Try an "offshore" account in the Channel Islands. You don't have to be a UK resident (actually I think you MUST be a non-resident to have an offshore account, but I'm not sure about this). You can get a checking account ("current account") denominated in pounds, which for all practical purposes is like any regular UK bank account.
Look here:
http://www.offshore.hsbc.com/