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Hey everyone,
Almost year to the day from the launch of the new polymer 5 pound note, its big brother the 10 pound note arrives tomorrow! Like the fiver, the new 10 pound note is made of a plastic polymer and is cleaner, will last longer and can even survive a trip through the washing machine! The note will feature the 19th century author Jane Austen, who is most well known for the Pride & Prejudice novel.
Last years fiver caused some upset to the vegan and some religious communities as the polymer contained trace amounts of tallow which comes from animal fat. Unfortunately the 10 pound note will still contain tallow, as will the planned twenty pound note due in 2020.
On the plus side the new notes feature enhanced security features such as micro lettering and holograms and will have raised areas to help the blind and partially sighted 
After using the new style fivers for a year what do you think of them? Are you a fan or would you like to return to the more traditional notes?
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@ComaChameleon wrote:Yes, we have to pay for it. Just people with a high income get it free.
My bank wants 4€ per month for my account plus card (you HAVE to have one)... And additional fees if you want to print your details in the bank itself. If you want to send money it's only free if done online. If you let them do it, it costs... I think like 2,50€.
Other banks (like Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Targo, Santander - the private ones) say "if you have more than income x€ it's free.
Like ING Diba is an online one, that's completelly free WITH Visacard.
If you want an additional debit it's like 5€ per month (husband/wife or so) up to the fees you already pay.
EDIT: If you want to get money in a foreign country it costs fees too. Like Netherlands Rabobank it's free to get money all over Europe from ATM.
Well I've certainly learned something new. Clearly we here in the UK take free banking for granted. I certainly did until you told me about Germany. I'll never take it for granted again.
We are very lucky in the UK
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They charge fees in Thailand too. 500 bahts a month which is around £11. It was a tenner until the exchange rate plummeted. Annual fees around the same for both debit and credit cards. Still cheaper than using an atm to draw cash with a UK card. The Thai banks charge a fiver to use the atm and then there is the UK bank charge. Exchange rates though tend to be much better than UK rates so it's much better to have a Thai account.
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I am happier and happier I live in the UK and only have a UK bank account.
Though I guess there are other advantages to living in Germany, Spain and Thailand.
Never been to Thailand. Loved Spain and Germany when I visited.
Unfortunately my Spanish is very rusty, though I do try. My German, however, is just a few words.
Though I guess there are other advantages to living in Germany, Spain and Thailand.
Never been to Thailand. Loved Spain and Germany when I visited.
Unfortunately my Spanish is very rusty, though I do try. My German, however, is just a few words.
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@jonsie wrote:They charge fees in Thailand too. 500 bahts a month which is around £11. It was a tenner until the exchange rate plummeted. Annual fees around the same for both debit and credit cards. Still cheaper than using an atm to draw cash with a UK card. The Thai banks charge a fiver to use the atm and then there is the UK bank charge. Exchange rates though tend to be much better than UK rates so it's much better to have a Thai account.
Is it easy to set up an account there as a foreigner?
Una cerveca por favor... Or so 
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Yes very easy. You just need your passport and proof of income.
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I incur charges for a Spanish bank account and they add additional costs for handling monthly direct debit transactions. That's because I am an non Spanish citizen. I used to pay my wifi in Spain via a different bank every 6 months.I took euros to the bank to pay. At one time it was free... but then they started to charge 10euros per transaction. So I got round that by paying it from home via Paypal Cashless cards are fine in many instances. However, try going away with a group of friends for a boozy weekend when we all put money into a 'kitty' which we use for all our drinks etc. Cards wouldn't work at all...
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@Cleoriff wrote:I incur charges for a Spanish bank account and they add additional costs for handling monthly direct debit transactions. That's because I am an non Spanish citizen. I used to pay my wifi in Spain via a different bank every 6 months.I took euros to the bank to pay. At one time it was free... but then they started to charge 10euros per transaction. So I got round that by paying it from home via Paypal Cashless cards are fine in many instances. However, try going away with a group of friends for a boozy weekend when we all put money into a 'kitty' which we use for all our drinks etc. Cards wouldn't work at all...
kitty?! o_o
wow, thats easy 😮
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@ComaChameleonWe are a group of 8. A 'kitty' is when each couple handover a set amount of money to one selected person who is responsible for it. All drinks and snacks are bought out of the communal 'kitty'. When we run low...the person holding the 'kitty' tells us and we all hand over more money. They are extremely boozy weekends....
