In summary, the best way to hold euros in the UK is with a multi-currency account. This allows you to manage, convert, and spend euro easily. Top providers include Wise, Zing, Revolut, and HSBC.
The solution to this is to choose a banking service designed for an international lifestyle.
A handful of exciting fintech companies serve this need, but you might be surprised to hear that come high-street banks also let you hold euros.
My lowdown on 7 euro account options
Wise offers a euro account to UK customers and is a very appealing option for managing your money globally.
The service is known for its transparent fee structure and simple but effective mobile app. You can also use the service in your web browser.
You can spend abroad using the Wise debit card, and receive euro by sharing your IBAN with the sender.
Account fee | No fee |
|---|---|
GBP / EUR conversion fees | From 0.3% |
GBP / EUR conversion markup | 0% markup |
New to the UK in 2024, Zing lets you hold euros as well as pounds and other currencies.
The money app, by HSBC, is only available on mobile and has lower limits than Wise.
However, Zing's fee structure is very competitive for smaller, frequent transfers and conversions between GBP and EUR.
Account fee | No fee |
|---|---|
GBP / EUR conversion fees | From 0.2% |
GBP / EUR conversion markup | 0% markup |
One of the original digital banks in the UK, Starling supports the holding of euros in a dedicated account.
Unfortunately, Starling does not publish their currency conversion fees. Their Rates, Fees & Charges documentation for their euro account states that Starling will use the exchange rate and fees shown in their app when you want to convert. Not very transparent.
Please note, as of 2nd October 2024, Starling Back is not accepting applications for euro accounts. They say they'll be avaliable to apply for again soon.
Account fee | No fee |
|---|---|
GBP / EUR conversion fees | Shown in app |
GBP / EUR conversion markup | Shown in app |
Revolut, the highly popular digital money service, lets its users store, spend and convert euro.
Revolut offers a free Standard plan, as well as Plus, Premium, Metal and Ultra subscriptions that vary from £3.99 to £45 per month.
For exchanging between GBP and EUR within your Revolut account, the rate depends on your monthly allowance. Standard and Plus plans limit you to £1,000 and £3,000 worth of monthly fee-free currency exchange. The top three plans have no limit.
Be aware that even if you're getting fee-free conversions, you're still paying a hidden fee. That's because Revolut's exchange rate is not the mid-market rate. We sampled 12 transactions, and the average markup was 0.3%.
Account fee | Standard: Free Plus: £3.99 per month Premium: £7.99 per month Metal: £14.99 per month Ultra: £45 per month |
|---|---|
GBP / EUR conversion fees | Standard: No fee up to £1,000; 1% fee above Plus: No fee up to £3,000; 0.5% fee above Other plans: No fee Weekend conversion fee: 1% extra |
GBP / EUR conversion markup | Revolut uses their own exchange rate, which is worse than mid-market rate |
HSBC, while being a traditional banking institution, does offer relatively strong support for European and international use cases.
Account fee | None |
|---|---|
GBP / EUR conversion fees | None |
GBP / EUR conversion markup | Call for a quote |
High-street bank Barclays caters to Brits wanting to hold euro.
Unfortunately you have to visit a Barclays branch in order to apply for the account.
Account fee | None |
|---|---|
GBP / EUR conversion fees | Free between Barclays accounts in the same name |
GBP / EUR conversion markup | Margin is undisclosed |
Lloyds Bank has an option for adding a euro-denominated currenct account.
To be eligible, you'll require annual income over £50,000, or savings worth £25,000. Lloyds Bank also offers a savings account in euros.
Account fee | €8 per month |
|---|---|
GBP / EUR conversion fees | None |
GBP / EUR conversion markup | Unknown |
Monese is a subscription-based money service that offers an EUR account in addition to GBP.
The service is trying to carve a niche out for itself in the UK, but it continues to charge conversion fees that you'd expect from a high street bank.
So while it's worth a look, the fee structure is really not competitive compared to the best options above.
Account fee | Simple: £0 per month Classic: £7.95 per month Premium: £14.95 per month Up to 30% off for paying yearly |
|---|---|
GBP / EUR conversion fees | Simple: 2% fee + 1% additional fee on weekends Classic: 0.5% fee Premium: No fee |
GBP / EUR conversion markup | 2% markup |
Examples of UK euro account benefits
You have family or friends in Europe
Many of us living in the UK have close connections with the continent.
It's common for money to flow to and from these connections, whether it be repatriating a UK salary, sending money back and forth for gifts or to cover expenses, or anything else.
By keeping a euro account open, you can easily send and receive euro payments without worrying about exchange rates or fees.
You regularly travel to Europe
If you're lucky enough to be making frequent trips from the UK to Europe, then you might want to avoid a regular UK debit card for your spending.
While some current accounts do offer competitive rates for spending in Europe, it's the exception, not the rule.
By bringing a multi-currency card loaded with euro, you can spend like a local. That's for both physical cards, as well as virtual cards using tools like Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Your employer pays you in euros
Receiving a euro salary into your GBP bank account is a recipe for wasted money.
Unless your employer has provisioned a low-cost method of transferring your funds to pound sterling, it's safer to receive in euros.
This will let you convert the currency to pounds at a time and rate of your choosing. You'll also be able to bypass the majority of the conversion fee.
You do freelance work for European clients
As above - any income paid in euro, influcing freelance payments, should be converted to pounds very carefully.
You receive rental income from a European property
You guessed it - more euro income, but this time generated more passively from a rental property in Europe.
Having the ability to hold this euro can be very helpful. Even more so in this scenario, as you'll probably incur expenses in euros too, which can be paid straight from the rental proceeds without any currency wastage.
You want to hedge against fluctuations in the value of the pound
It's strange to think of it this way, but keeping pounds in your bank account is an investment in pounds.
Depending what happens in global markets, those pounds could either gain or lose purchasing power.
So if you want to hedge against such currency fluctuations, a multi-currency account lets you spread your eggs across multiple currency baskets.
Euro accounts for businesses
Businesses can be just as exposed to currency risks and conversion costs as any individual.
Quite a few of the options I listed above also cater to businesses.
However, there are a range of euro account providers that solely focus on the needs of corporate clients - from freelancers and small businesses to global firms.
I've listed a dozen or two of them on our business FX guide.
