Bank accounts/Credit cards.

Sam4321 wrote:

At the moment we're still using our French bank account and credit card, but we'd like to have the same banking facilities based in Malta as we do in France.  We've not opened a bank account in Malta yet because it just seemed easier to keep using our French account for now.  Using the bank account is fine, but I doubt we should still be using the credit card.  After asking BOV about credit cards, we've been told they block €5000 of your own money if you want a credit card with a limit of €3000?  Is this always the case and if so, what's the point in having a credit card?

yes this is standard for all banks and its because you haven't been here long enough so they take a deposit to cover themselves however  may i suggest using yes money  you get a lower limit but no deposit is required .

it seems it is normal practice  = and i suspect not quite legal - at least questionable  but then they will argue they have a right to assess you as a risk..and that to me does seems fair.... maybe consider offering them details of your credit history if its important to you or maybe consider a credit card when you have built up a credit history with them..

I dont see any problem with using a non maltese credit card in malta

i totally agree no point in having one if theyre going to block the same sum from your account until they deem you trustworthy as thats what this is about

immediately you set foot on the tarmac you are deemed a flight risk in almost anything, bank accounts, credit cards utility billing, internet accounts, mobile phones.....

guilty until proven innocent !!!!!

If you have a Maltese ID you can apply for the Yes Card (Soon to be changed to the Insignia Card) or alternativley you can use the New Universe Prepaid Card

https://www.yesmoney.com.mt/index.phpHttp://www.theuniversecard.com/

Hope this helps

Julian

Thanks, that's great!

We've only just handed the forms in this morning for the residency, so it'll be a while until we can apply. We'd been waiting for our tax registration certificate.

I'm not bothered about a high limit, just some form of credit to get a credit rating here so the Yes Card will be fine .  The bank wasn't interested in our credit rating in France and just said not to give up anything in France until we had something in place in Malta.  I'm not sure if what we're doing is even legal because we've not done a change of address yet with the credit card.  It's all on the internet and our mail is being redirected so I daren't ask if we can still use it now we don't have an address in France.  It gets paid off every month, but I'd not want to lose the security before getting a replacement if possible.

My husband has just phoned Yes and was told a €700 limit is normal to start with, which would be fine for now.

Sam4321 wrote:

Thanks, that's great!

We've only just handed the forms in this morning for the residency, so it'll be a while until we can apply. We'd been waiting for our tax registration certificate.

I'm not bothered about a high limit, just some form of credit to get a credit rating here so the Yes Card will be fine .  The bank wasn't interested in our credit rating in France and just said not to give up anything in France until we had something in place in Malta.  I'm not sure if what we're doing is even legal because we've not done a change of address yet with the credit card.  It's all on the internet and our mail is being redirected so I daren't ask if we can still use it now we don't have an address in France.  It gets paid off every month, but I'd not want to lose the security before getting a replacement if possible.

My husband has just phoned Yes and was told a €700 limit is normal to start with, which would be fine for now.

my uk bank is to a uk address with mail redirected it was easier then having to fly back with proof of address to get stuff sent to malta lol

robpw2 wrote:

my uk bank is to a uk address with mail redirected it was easier then having to fly back with proof of address to get stuff sent to malta lol

We had no problem changing the address of our French account, they just froze any online payments until they got proof of address through the post.  The credit card came in useful then, so that's why I'm scared to change the address on that just yet.  I like to have two forms of payment in case one fails. 

We've had so much bad luck with our move here that it's like a security blanket.

Glad to have been of Help, if you have any problems then please PM me.

J.

scubaboy wrote:

If you have a Maltese ID you can apply for the Yes Card (Soon to be changed to the Insignia Card) or alternativley you can use the New Universe Prepaid Card

https://www.yesmoney.com.mt/index.phpHttp://www.theuniversecard.com/

Hope this helps

Julian

I do not have or use credit cards but on occasion, other than here or in the UK, it would be useful to have one purely to satisfy car hire companies in other countries.  (Avis UK and many car hire companies in GOZO take my Debit card. )

The prepaid card you mention would not be acceptable but what about the 'yes card', is it a 'proper' credit card and is it accepted by all businesses including European and US car hire companies?

Ray

Ray,

The prepaid card is acceptable as it is actually a VISA card.  The actually proper description is a Secured Credit card, even to the fact that the premium version does have the facility to become a credit card. The "Yes" card is also a Fully functional Visa card like any one you get with the banks, just not tied to a bank.

J.

scubaboy wrote:

Ray,

The prepaid card is acceptable as it is actually a VISA card.  The actually proper description is a Secured Credit card, even to the fact that the premium version does have the facility to become a credit card. The "Yes" card is also a Fully functional Visa card like any one you get with the banks, just not tied to a bank.

I am surprised as most car hire companies specifically exclude prepaid cards because they can't 'ring fence' the deposit/excess, I have a Travelex prepaid Mastercard as a standby and used to have a FairFX Visa card, neither were accepted.
I would also have doubts about most cards issued by Maltese banks, my debit card does not have embossed numbers and this, in itself, causes problems.

I am not doubting what you say above, but has anyone hired a car in Europe using one of these cards?

Ray
J.

The problem with prepaid cards and hire cars is it takes a while for the hold to be lifted, so they suggest not to use them.  I didn't know some hire companies actually refused them, they'll quite happily take the cards you've mentioned in America, but I don't know about in Europe.  I'm assuming the YES card will work just like any other credit card and not a prepaid credit card when it comes to holds being put on them.

My HSBC advance works fine abroad with hertz, Europacar and enterprise.  As these are hybrid cards as in not true prepaid but secured credit cards as Long as the money is on the card then it's accepted, the yes card is obviously a standard credit card so again as long as the credit is available then it's fine.  The HSBC standard quick cash will not work in hire companies, and I don't know how the Bov would fair either.

I can however guarantee that as long as the required amount is on the card that they ring fence then you can hire on the Universe, actually you could hire the car through the concierge on the universe premium and get the discounts as well.

I have had so much grief trying to open a bank account that i have advised my uk bank that i live in gozo and please accept all transactions be it cash withdrawals or purchases. They have agreed and for the sake of a few quid in charges my mind is easy plus you overcome a lot of the tax implications, so good luck but dont rely on to much help from the banking fraternity in this country.

mikgrigor wrote:

I have had so much grief trying to open a bank account that i have advised my uk bank that i live in gozo and please accept all transactions be it cash withdrawals or purchases. They have agreed and for the sake of a few quid in charges my mind is easy plus you overcome a lot of the tax implications, so good luck but dont rely on to much help from the banking fraternity in this country.

We have two accounts still with UK banks who are aware we are in Malta and one bank in Gozo which we opened with just a passport and it was done same day!
We have pensions paid into the UK banks and then use 'Transferwise' to transfer to our Maltese bank.

Generally, if you remit money to Malta from the UK, unless it is from capital, it is taxable, so I am not sure that you will avoid tax implications.

Ray

scubaboy wrote:

My HSBC advance works fine abroad with hertz, Europacar and enterprise.  As these are hybrid cards as in not true prepaid but secured credit cards as Long as the money is on the card then it's accepted, the yes card is obviously a standard credit card so again as long as the credit is available then it's fine.  The HSBC standard quick cash will not work in hire companies, and I don't know how the Bov would fair either.

I can however guarantee that as long as the required amount is on the card that they ring fence then you can hire on the Universe, actually you could hire the car through the concierge on the universe premium and get the discounts as well.

Thanks, will look into them purely for car hire purposes.
Cheers

Ray

Thanks Ray, good advise, I will put it to the test
Regards
Mik

I'm Maltese & have a Australian Govt pension paid every 4 weeks & yet BOV refuses to give me a credit card because I  don't have a job.
Stupidity reigns supreme here.

We are from the uk. My husband applied for a bank account here and 7 weeks later we are still waiting to hear from them. He went with all the correct information to Bank of Valleta and it appeared they were happy with everything, the assistant went away to photocopy and clearly spoke to someone and came back to tell us they needed to write to his bank in the uk and get a reference.

In the meantime his old company sent a cheque to reimburse him to Malta which we have had to post back to his mum so she could bank it in the Uk.

This has got to have been the most frustrating and stressful part of our move here. Its not often im reduced to tears. Ive had major rows with my kids, just to move funds around whilst we waited for him to get paid ( by cheque also) by his employer and they didnt pay him on time either,  thank heavens he could cash his employers cheque in  HSBC, so our first few months havent been without its challenges.

Guys regarding BOV if they don't give you an account straight away or they claim to be getting bank references - I would advise you strongly to go back and try someone else - when matt went in to find out why bank references were taking so long another colleague said they weren't needed and just a contract Id and proof of address is all that was required - it seems that many of the bank staff make up there own rules and you just have to navigate the red tape . HSBC on the other hand opened the account straightaway but we had too book an appointment

Hey everybody ! Stop struggling realy this HSBC and BOV don't keep us for people,terrible thing I ve heard from them , don't go even try. HSBC corrupt doing money laundering and still do not care insult customers.
Go to Banif!!! No problem give document and open without any stupid question. Banif simple and no matter what nationality u are.

Most delays are down to "anti-money laundering" requirements that Maltese banks have to follow.

http://www.ccmalta.com/publications/mal … laundering

Any banks that don't leave themselves open to prosecution!

Terry

We've got all this to come.  We don't intend to open a bank account until we have residency because there's no rush with us having a euro account in France.  Our accountant advised us to do it this way because he said it can take a long longer trying without it.  I'm not sure if that's true, but that's why we stuck with the French bank account to lessen the hassle when moving.

Sam4321 wrote:

We've got all this to come.  We don't intend to open a bank account until we have residency because there's no rush with us having a euro account in France.  Our accountant advised us to do it this way because he said it can take a long longer trying without it.  I'm not sure if that's true, but that's why we stuck with the French bank account to lessen the hassle when moving.

We also moved from France and the issue we had was HSBC sent the in inquiry to our French bank in English.
The French bank refused to respond until it was sent in French.

Ask the Maltese bank you choose to send any request in English and French (you can write it out for them)  that's what we did.

Terry

tearnet wrote:

We also moved from France and the issue we had was HSBC sent the in inquiry to our French bank in English.
The French bank refused to respond until it was sent in French.

Ask the Maltese bank you choose to send any request in English and French (you can write it out for them)  that's what we did.

Terry

We deal with the bank in English, so luckily they're okay with getting the request in English.  We checked with the bank before coming to Malta about leaving the account open and everything. I'm not sure how it happened because we set the account up with Credit Agricole in French when we first arrived, not expecting anything in English.  Then one day, out of the blue, we got a letter inviting us to a vineyard where we were given a glass of wine and told we now have an account manager assigned to us so we can do everything in English. I'm not even sure how they knew we were English because we never gave them any references to open the account, just the fact we had children in school straight away seemed good enough for them to get a residents account.  It doesn't sound that simple here though!

scubaboy wrote:

If you have a Maltese ID you can apply for the Yes Card (Soon to be changed to the Insignia Card) or alternativley you can use the New Universe Prepaid Card

https://www.yesmoney.com.mt/index.phpHttp://www.theuniversecard.com/

Hope this helps

Julian

For anyone who may be thinking of applying for the 'Yes' card, don't bother if you are retired and have a rock solid pension!
I was told you cannot even be considered unless you are employed.

Even with a guaranteed income in excess of 24000 euros a year which only ceases if you die they don't want to know. They apparently would rather take the risk of someone losing their job.

Never mind

Ray

Banif bank- you do not need to be employed. They have saving accounts which u can have with debit card or with out . in Malta withdraw from any Maltese bank cashpoint without charges - good for pensia  I guess.

KJulii wrote:

Banif bank- you do not need to be employed. They have saving accounts which u can have with debit card or with out . in Malta withdraw from any Maltese bank cashpoint without charges - good for pensia  I guess.

Wrong!   We are talking 'Credit Card' not 'Debit Card', we have three of those!

We went to Banif first because we have been banking with them for over 2 years, but the answer is: - Of course you can have a credit card, put 1000 euros, minimum, in an account you can't touch and we will give you a credit card! (Credit limit 1000 euros)

I only want one for car hire purposes so would, hopefully, never actually owe anything as it would only come into play if I had an accident!

Never mind, I will try Indigo Car Hire who can source companies throughout Europe who will accept debit cards but I would not be sure about it till I was at the car hire desk to pick up the car!

Ray

go to banif,e card,housing contract passport,bank account 15 mins, I went to st.pauls branch,really good,    dave

maltadave1 wrote:

go to banif,e card,housing contract passport,bank account 15 mins, I went to st.pauls branch,really good,    dave

Already have a Banif account, see my post, No.30

Ray

I looked @ application for YES card no option for pension.
Same stupid thinking as other maltese banks even though pointed out many times my pension is for life & more than average wage.

mkiel wrote:

I looked @ application for YES card no option for pension.
Same stupid thinking as other maltese banks even though pointed out many times my pension is for life & more than average wage.

Incidentally the link to the 'Universe card' did not work and when I Googled it I found nothing!

Ray

Just updating for anybody that's searching for credit card or bank account information. 

As soon as we got residency we opened a bank account with BOV, it was no hassle at all. They just wanted a reference from our bank in France, which was sent directly to them and then the account was opened straight away. We did it all by email.

As for the credit card, we applied for the Insignia Card (was the Yes card) as soon as we got the bank account.  It took four weeks for them to process it, but they eventually got back to us offering an initial credit limit of €1500 with a review in three months time.  That's fine for now, so thanks to the people who suggested it.

Things definitely take a lot longer in Malta, but you do get there in the end.

Do you have to be employed as in have a contract to apply for it ?

I've no idea, sorry.  We're self employed, but my husband does have a contract with just one client, so we used that.

I am self employed that was the reason for asking, thank you

I am still using my non maltese credit card - no problem at all.

My point is that Maltese Banks do not like issuing credit cards to foreigners even if you bank with them regularly.