Customers must have a Starling personal current account to open a Euro Account

British mobile-only bank launches Euro Accounts. Source: shutterstock.com

This week Starling Bank is launching Euro Accounts to provide its UK customers with a secure and simple way to hold, send and receive euros for free.

With no monthly fees, the new Starling Euro Account is the first of its kind from a UK digital bank, the press release says. The account, which will be rolled out on a phased basis, has been designed for UK residents who:

• are European expats living in the UK and sending money back home;
• work in the UK, but are paid in euros;
• travel frequently to and from Eurozone countries;
• have family and friends living in Europe;
• own property in Europe;
• make regular payments in euros for a pension or mortgage in another country;
• are UK residents working in Europe for a defined period.

For those who conduct a lot of transactions in euros, the new Starling account can help reduce exchange rate risks. Transfers into the account will be made at real market exchange rate with no markup, so it’s free to make payments from and receive payments into the account.

The bank mentioned that thousands of customers have signed up to the waiting list for the accounts since it opened in September.

Euro Account holders will initially be able to hold, send and receive payments in euros. Later this year, Starling personal account debit cards will be enabled to work with the Euro Account.

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