Best Multi-Currency Accounts For Businesses & Personal Banking

If you want a bank account where you can hold lots of different currencies, you need a multi-currency account, but what are the cheapest? We have compared the best multi-currency accounts that accept deposits in euros or dollars and give the best exchange rates.

Multi-Currency Account Exchange Rates Compared

*Starling is not currently opening new euro accounts. These rates show the approximate pound-to-euro and pound-to-dollar exchange rate mark-ups for a range of multi-currency accounts, based on the difference between publicly available data and the midmarket rate given by Wise.

What are Multi-Currency Accounts?

Most current accounts will accept deposits in euros or dollars, but they will automatically convert the currency into pounds. However, they may well charge you a fee, and you are unlikely to get the best exchange rate.

If you want a current account that can hold both euros and dollars then many of the high street banks offer this type of foreign currency account including; HSBC, Barclays and Metro Bank.

If you want an account where you can hold your euros, dollars and pounds in the same place you need a multi-currency account.

HSBC’s Global Money Account has no monthly fee and allows for transfers without a fee from the bank. To set up this type of account you need to have an already active current account with HSBC  (excluding its Basic Bank Account, Appointee and MyAccount) and have the bank’s mobile app downloaded on your phone.

If you convert your money it will be done at the HSBC exchange rate, which is lower than the interbank rate.

A HSBC press representative said the bank could not reveal its margins but noted “an HSBC exchange rate includes the mid-market rate, the cost to HSBC, the FX risk that we manage plus a currency conversion margin.”

Here’s how to open a free euro bank account if you only need to hold money in euros.

Currency platform Wise’s Borderless account allows you to hold up to 40 currencies in the same place, including Euros and US Dollars. There are no fees for same-currency transfers and exchanges are at the interbank rate.

However, Wise does also charge a fee for converting currency, which varies according to currency and the amount being exchanged. For pounds-to-dollars, this starts at 0.35% and for pounds-to-euros it starts at 0.33%, but the fee declines gradually for amounts above £20,000.

The Wise borderless account offers a debit card which lets you spend anywhere at real exchange rates. You can access your account through the app or via the free online account that Wise offers when you set up your account.

Wise isn’t a bank, so be aware that your money won’t be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The platform states its customer accounts are ring-fenced, however.

In 2020 Starling Bank launched a personal euro account with no fees for transfers, which uses the interbank exchange rate without any fees or commission. However, it has since paused the opening of new euro accounts.

How to get the best exchange rates from your bank account

If you open a multi-currency account, be aware that financial services firms and especially banks are often reluctant to disclose the difference between the exchange rate they use the benchmark, or “midmarket”, rate (though they determine this). They may offer considerably less favourable rates than you can get elsewhere.

Challenger banks and fintechs have brought some transparency to this space, and typically offer more favourable rates.

Wise stands out here for exchanging money at the midmarket rate, without any mark-up. However, as noted above, it does charge a currency exchange fee, which it makes explicit.

When we asked a range of banks and platforms to disclose the mark-up on their exchange rates. HSBC and Barclays declined, while some other providers did not respond by the time of publication. I would avoid those, as none-transparent exchange rates are a clear sign you are being over charged.

The exchange rate for Lloyds and Natwest is set at the Mastercard/Visa exchange rate, which is not quite the same as the midmarket rate but generally fair. As with Wise, other fees may apply.