Should I keep my UK debit card now that I'm back in the US?

October 30, 2018 4:38 PM

I lived in the UK a few years ago and have now returned to the US. Since returning, I’ve maintained a small balance in my no-fee UK current account because I thought it might come in handy at some point. I’m now wondering if this is really the case and am thinking of transferring the balance and closing the account. Assuming I won’t be living in the UK again, is there actually any benefit to keeping this account that I many not have considered?

I’d originally thought it would be useful to maintain the account because the debit card was easier to use around Europe than my American cards — especially at unstaffed locations like train ticket kiosks, luggage lockers, and bike shares where my American cards would often not work. But this difficulty with American cards doesn’t seem to be so much of an issue anymore, at least as far as I could tell on brief trips to the Netherlands and Italy earlier this year (this might be due to a change that Visa & Mastercard made to their merchant requirements in 2015).

So, for a US citizen who probably won’t be living in the UK again, are there any other reasons it might be beneficial to keep a UK account?

posted by theory to Work & Money (7 answers total)

You have to disclose any overseas bank accounts to IRS, so keeping one might be more trouble than worth.
posted by zeikka at 5:22 PM on October 30, 2018 [2 favorites]

I keep mine. It's useful for contactless card payment on the tube and in pubs, and in situations where I need a card with UK billing address (which is maybe once a year, most often when using a government service, but I'm a British citizen and probably retain more ties than you.)
posted by caek at 5:52 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

You only have to disclose foreign accounts if their total value exceeds $10,000; by the way.

If you visit the UK periodically it seems like it could be helpful, unless there's some downside you're not mentioning.
posted by thefoxgod at 5:59 PM on October 30, 2018 [3 favorites]

I kept mine and found it useful to purchase things for people who live in the UK, or buying digital media that comes from a UK website.
posted by taskmaster at 9:01 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If you're absolutely sure you'll never, ever want a UK bank account again, then close it. If you think there's even the remotest possiblity that you might, possibly, some time in the future want a UK bank account without actually being a UK resident, for the love of everything holy, do not close that account.
posted by krisjohn at 9:51 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: London let you use tap credit and debit cards as a means to travel the underground; it's a weird and strange magic I happen to appreciate on occasion.

Personally I've found fraud on uk debit cards to be rare to nonexistent, possibly because it's used so infrequently, so I don't really see a downside here. It's handy for the occasional GBP payment, either to of from your account. It also means I can bulk transfer money, should I need to, using TransferWise rather than playing 'no fee, really' games with cards when I'm visiting (which are always lies). Also, it's a complete nightmare to get a UK bank to give you an account if you ever needed one again, and it will stay open for a reasonable time even with no activity and a zero balance.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 11:15 PM on October 30, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: KrisJohn has it. It is such an unholy nightmare to open a bank account, even as a new resident. I'd keep, just in case.
posted by teststrip at 12:33 AM on October 31, 2018 [4 favorites]