´ó¿§¸£ÀûÓ°Ôº

That's good to know! I use Wise as well, but haven't yet set up a Bg bank account,

I use wise and bank with FIbank, transfers used to take days previous to the introduction of the Euro, now it arrives in an instant here too.

@cyberescue1

I'd guess it's not a Wise/UBB thing, it's a Bulgaria is now in the Eurozone thing.

It sounds as if the change to the Euro have been good for something!

It sounds as if the change to the Euro have been good for something! - @janemulberry

Don't be too sure about that!

As of this January 1st year, a couple of very intrusive regulatory instruments are in force, specifically DAC 8 and CRS 2.0 (and CARF, if you were hoping that your crypto holdings would remain under the radar).  They also apply to institutions like Wise/Revolut et al, as well as banks that were traditionally offering client anonymity as their USP, such as Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and the Channel Islands. Even the Cayman Islands are now out of the picture, and those of us using UK bank accounts as a form of "data silo" are now centre stage as HMG are the most enthusiastic adopters. Banks are required to ensure that they know exactly where their clients are legally tax resident (as opposed to where their accounts are held or which addresses they're "theoretically" living at while being actually resident in some other country); if they can't satisfy themselves that the information is genuine, they are now legally required to freeze/close the accounts.

The regulations will really bite come 2027, so make hay while the sun shines - and remember that it can take many months to sort out frozen/closed accounts, and every penny in there will be totally inaccessible (to the holders) for the duration...

The good news is that it will make no difference to the really wealthy tax-dodgers or actual money-launderers, so it's all for the best, isn't it? 🤑

That's why I didn't say it was good for more than one thing! 😜

I think my crypto holdings will be safe -- as they total £0.

That's why I didn't say it was good for more than one thing! 😜
I think my crypto holdings will be safe -- as they total £0. - @janemulberry

Everyone's crypto holdings will be "safe" - the government will keep a watchful eye on them...😎

@janemulberry

Yes, at least we've got that!  Got to say, banking as a whole is a lot better than it used to be.  I remember the days of putting the phone down on someone who told you "a cheque is in the post" and then working out how long it would be, before you actually had withdrawable money in your account and you prayed the cheque didn't bounce.

@cyberescue1

I have a Revolut account and they are instant transfers too.

@janemulberry
Yes, at least we've got that! Got to say, banking as a whole is a lot better than it used to be. I remember the days of putting the phone down on someone who told you "a cheque is in the post" and then working out how long it would be, before you actually had withdrawable money in your account and you prayed the cheque didn't bounce. - @cyberescue1

Oh, the glorious days of being paid by cheque! Hubby once quit a job because the paycheck bounced three times in a row! His boss couldn't understand why he was upset about that, her answer was "Don't worry, I'll write you another cheque!"

@jeanmandredeix

Revolut just got its UK banking license, so it is now officially a proper bank rather than an an e-money account like Wise. This means customer funds are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £120,000.

Good to know!