How Has Brexit Affected Banking Customers in the UK?

Living or staying in Britain, at some point this question has popped into many people's minds; How has Brexit affected banking customers in the UK?

Brexit has become a problem for banking customers in the UK for a number of reasons. If you are banking in the UK, you may have a hard time dealing with continental banks. If you are sending money overseas, you may have an issue with those transfers. Plus, exchange rates have been skewed, banks are not offering the same types of loans, and the British pound is dwindling. Read more to learn how you can work around the problems Brexit has caused.

1. Sending Money Abroad is More Difficult

When you want to send money abroad online, you need to use a transfer company, wire service, or bank. These companies may need to charge extra fees when sending money overseas, or your recipient may need to pay a fee to pick up the cash you have sent.

The wire service or transfer company you use may not be allowed to send large amounts of cash, or the exchange rates may be poor. You should do your research before sending money overseas because Brexit could cause you to lose money. Do not settle for bad exchange rates, high fees, and slow transfers. Some of these companies must slow transfers because Brexit created security concerns for international banks.

2. Exchange Rates Fluctuate

Exchange rates around the world have changed quite a lot because Brexit caused concern among investors and speculators. Anyone who was investing in the foreign currency market was afraid of how the Euro and British Pound would change due to the Brexit vote. Investors do not want to put too much money into either one of these currencies, and the currencies are dropping in value.

If you were investing in the foreign currency market, you need to find a much safer way to invest your money. Plus, you will find that exchanging money for a vacation is difficult because the exchange rates do not favour UK customers.

3. Interest Rates Rose

Anyone offering loans to British banks raised their interest rates because they feel their risk is much higher than normal. When interest rates rise, it is hard for customers to get loans that will help them manage their finances. If you want to finance a car, your monthly payment could be quite high. If you are trying to finance a home, you may have a hard time financing the house at a rate that you are comfortable with.

The people who are setting up savings accounts will not get good rates. You cannot invest in a COD or money market account because the rate is not high enough. Plus, these accounts could lose money slowly as rates drop. The customer does not make money on their savings, and the bank may stop offering certain personal investment accounts.

It's important to follow the latest bank news in the UK so you can stay up-to-date.

4. Investments may not be Allowed

Customers may be barred from making certain investments because other countries do not allow UK customers to make those investments. You need to do your research to learn which investments are still allowed. There are other investments that are not viable because the interest rates are not very good. When you are trying to get around new Brexit rules or interest rates, you may need to use several small investments instead of one big investment account.

5. Business Taxes, Tariffs and Customs Fees

A business that has overseas customers may need to send money abroad online to help their office function. The company will need to spend more money just to send cash to an overseas office. Plus, the company will need to spend more money on business taxes, tariffs, and customs fees. The fees will continue to rise as other countries sour on the idea of working with UK customers. If you are paying customs fees to ship items overseas, you may need to pay more because you are in Britain. The instability that has been caused by Brexit may make other countries nervous about what you are shipping across their borders. Plus, you cannot simply get a secondary business loan from a foreign bank because they may not want to work with British companies if they do, they will charge fees that are much higher than what you are accustomed to paying.

There are a number of things that happened when Brexit was passed. Countries around the world became concerned about how Brexit would impact the global economy. Customers in the United Kingdom are paying more in interest rates, and these customers are getting much lower returns on their investments. If you are a UK banking customer, you must do your research before working with overseas companies. Plus, you need to be careful when sending money overseas. You need to know which companies will work with you, what the exchange rates are, and any limitations that may be placed on UK customers.