The impact of the UK leaving the EU is that rules on whether banks can provide accounts to their customers who are resident in an EU/EEA country may change.
Would UK providers still be able to provide financial services to UK nationals living in the EU and EEA?
Countries and banks are taking different approaches.
This will mean:
- some EU/EEA countries will not allow UK banks to continue providing accounts to residents
- some UK banks will be closing accounts for people who are EU/EEA residents
- some UK banks will continue to serve EU/EEA residents with existing accounts but will not allow new accounts.
What you can do?
Your bank should contact you to let you know what they are planning to do. If you have any concerns about whether you might be affected, please contact your provider.
If your UK bank account or other financial product is being closed these are the main options available:
- Find a UK bank that is operating in the country you live in and check you can meet their eligibility criteria for opening a new bank account and that the account will meet your needs. For example, they may require you to have a minimum income or deposit with them.
- If you are still a UK resident, contact your bank to update your details and remove the non-UK address.
- Find a local bank account that will accept payments from the UK. If you are not eligible for one, ask them if they can offer you a basic bank account. We pay pensions to overseas bank accounts using Western Union. Please visit the Retiring Abroad page of our website for further details.
If you are changing your bank account to a different UK bank account, you can let us know through the ‘My details’ section of your My Pension account or by completing the pension in payment form available on our website.
If you are changing your bank account to one outside of the UK, you will need to complete a bank mandate and send it to us.
Please make sure we get the details of your new account around two weeks before your normal pay date. That way we can make sure the updates are carried out in time.