Bank Accounts - Revolut and UK Spending / Foreign Transactions

Last activity 30 October 2024 by XTang

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DesertLife888New member29 October 2024 11:06:25

Hi All

I will soon be moving to Riyadh and my wife and son will be in the UK for the first year and may need to spend from my Saudi account - yet to be opened.

For future planning, is there a Saudi bank card that has zero rate foreign transaction fees that I can supplement my wife with?

Could my employer pay into my Revolut account that I already have in the UK and have her spend from that as an alternative which has multiple currencies and foreign transaction fee free.

Thanks in advance

XTangBahrain/UAE/Saudi Arabia Expert30 October 2024 07:36:13

11729

I don't know about the first part but the second, no. They have to pay via WPS into a Saudi bank account if they want to comply with labor legalities.

DesertLife888New member30 October 2024 08:53:55

Thanks for that. Is there a Saudi current account which has no charge for foreign transactions?

XTangBahrain/UAE/Saudi Arabia Expert30 October 2024 09:33:12

11729

I don't honestly know as I don't do any foreign transactions on any Saudi bank account or card. I have a SABB premier which does same time transfer to my HSBC account in Bahrain which is what I use for onward foreign remittances.

In terms of fees though, if you are asking about transfer fees, most banks WILL charge for SWIFT transfers to foreign accounts. Also FX conversion for SAR to USD will be a bit lower than open market (more for GBP). But if you hit a premier or privileged relationship (based on deposit size), transfers become free. My SABB premier transfers, before I started using Global transfer, was still free for normal SWIFT.

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