Cyprus-Forum.com

[sunspot]

My partner and I are UK citizens and will soon move to Cyprus. We will need to open an ordinary euro bank account, for paying utility bills etc. Can anyone recommend a bank that is relatively easy to deal with? Ideally they would not impose excessive maintenance fees. Many thanks.

[miltiades]

I have been living here and still use my Barclays debit card for paying bills and othet expenses. Its good to have a Cypriot account but not imperative. When you get here a Cypriot bank acc is the least of your priorities.
By the way, you are making a good move, Cyprus is Paradise.

[sunspot]

Thanks, miltiades. Is your Barclays account in the UK? Euro-denominated? How do you pay for utilities? Do you go to their offices with your debit card?

[miltiades]

My Barclays debit card is in Stetling.
I pay my bills mostly by phone or by visit.
You can pay just as you do in the UK. Contactless also. Realy not having a Cypriot one makes no difference. Ok you are charged a small amount for overseas use but its minimal. You just use your UK card as if you were in the UK.
Personally I do not have much faith in Cypriot banks following the 2013 " daylight robbery " of my money. Been here 2 years, never been happier. People are friendly, weather is good, personal safety is at a high level compared to the crime capital of the world, London. Another plus no fucking traffic wardens. You just have to watch your driving since Cypriot drivers think they are riding bloody donkeys. Road sense is virtually non existent.

[cyprusgrump]

My partner and I are UK citizens and will soon move to Cyprus. We will need to open an ordinary euro bank account, for paying utility bills etc. Can anyone recommend a bank that is relatively easy to deal with? Ideally they would not impose excessive maintenance fees. Many thanks.

I came to Cyprus in October 2002 and opened an account with The Bank of Cyprus and have never regretted it...

They have the on-line banking, debit cards, cash points everywhere, everything you could need and the staff are accessible and helpful.

Just back from two weeks in Cape Town, they arranged my currency before I went and my BoC debit card was accepted everywhere.

[Sotos]

Ok you are charged a small amount for overseas use but its minimal.

I wouldn't call 2.75% minimal https://www.barclays.co.uk/travel/using ... rd-abroad/

If in a month you make €2000 worth of payments you would be paying €55 in fees. That would be €660 per year. Not a smart move

Personally I use Bank of Cyprus, Hellenic and RCB, and I used Coop before it was merged with Hellenic. Between Bank of Cyprus and Hellenic, Hellenic charges lower fees for most things I use. I also have a Revolut card from Primetel which has no fees and has several benefits, and Primetel gives you 1MB of mobile internet for every euro you spend with Revolut. https://primetel.com.cy/about/en/primet ... s/revolut/

There is a government website for comparing bank fees, but it seems to be only in Greek: https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/Comparefees/ ... endocument

Bank of Cyprus has the advantage of having the most branches. Second is Hellenic. Everybody else has very few branches and ATMs.

[sunspot]

Thanks, All. Very helpful.

[miltiades]

Ok you are charged a small amount for overseas use but its minimal.

I wouldn't call 2.75% minimal https://www.barclays.co.uk/travel/using ... rd-abroad/

If in a month you make €2000 worth of payments you would be paying €55 in fees. That would be €660 per year. Not a smart move

Personally I use Bank of Cyprus, Hellenic and RCB, and I used Coop before it was merged with Hellenic. Between Bank of Cyprus and Hellenic, Hellenic charges lower fees for most things I use. I also have a Revolut card from Primetel which has no fees and has several benefits, and Primetel gives you 1MB of mobile internet for every euro you spend with Revolut. https://primetel.com.cy/about/en/primet ... s/revolut/

There is a government website for comparing bank fees, but it seems to be only in Greek: https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/Comparefees/ ... endocument

Bank of Cyprus has the advantage of having the most branches. Second is Hellenic. Everybody else has very few branches and ATMs.

Had you had suffered a severe " haircut" you too would be cautious with Cypriot banks. The charges are " my insurance "

[CrookedRiverGuy]

Had you had suffered a severe " haircut" you too would be cautious with Cypriot banks. The charges are " my insurance "

Did you suffer a sever haircut?

Even if you did, there's no logic in the way you act. There's no chance of a haircut on smaller deposits.

I transfer 1000-3000€ from my local currency bank every now and then. The fee is approx 2.5€ for each transfer and its exchange spread is way below the +/- 2.75% you're subject to.

[CrookedRiverGuy]

My partner and I are UK citizens and will soon move to Cyprus. We will need to open an ordinary euro bank account, for paying utility bills etc. Can anyone recommend a bank that is relatively easy to deal with? Ideally they would not impose excessive maintenance fees. Many thanks.

For electricity, road tax, ++ you can also pay online ( https://www.jccsmart.com/ ). Jccsmart works very well