Getting paid in UK pounds, living in Qatar
hello you wonderful ql-ers!
I am shortly going to move to doha from the uk on a long-term assignment. i was wondering if someone could tell me the best, most cost-effective way of dealing with my money.
as i am on secondment, i will still be getting paid in the uk, so:
i know there a lots of questions, but i also know there are so many knowledgeable intelligent people on this forum, so i'm really looking forward to your help!
thanks in advance..
I agree with the other poster re Nationwide. Also note local cards are insured agianst fraud (learnt from experience) and the chances of a Qatari bank going under are less than a US/UK one at the moment.
If you are in the UK the best option is to open an account with Nationwide. I bank with them and I have no bank charges - whatever I withdraw over here I only pay the exchange rate - no charges. Same when I use my credit card - only pay exchange rate and no additional charges for using it abroad. Plus with online banking you can keep track of it all very easily! I promise I don't work for them or anything - they really have made my life easy whilst working abroad!
You know, you do pay through the nose to access money from abroad. However, I keep very little in Qatar, just enough for emergencies. I use US credit and debit cards and realize I'm being heavily penalized but it's the price I'm willing to pay to insure the safety and security of my money. If a Qatari bank goes under, I'm pretty sure I won't be seeing my dollars. US credit cards are insured against fraud, local ones are not. If there is a legal dispute I suspect the local account would be frozen. My US cards are accepted in all ATMs and I pay by credit cards elsewhere. For the 1-2% (or perhaps more) I'm OK.