Open an italian bank account in London

I would try one of the Italian Banks, such as Monte dei Paschi di Sienna (the world's oldest bank). They do have an office in London, but I do not have their address. We deal with them in Bagni di Lucca and they are very helpful, although we opened our account in Italy. Do you already have your Codice Fiscale number? Otherwise, you must obtain that document first.

http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/legal/8876-italian-bank-account-opened-u-k-2.html HAve a look at this thread from our archives may be of some help. Gromit

Monte dei Paschi London 6th Floor Capital House 85 King William Street Tele: 207 645 7800. Gala is correct. World's oldest bank and a real Italian institution. Generally not the cheapest, but your cheque won't be questioned.

Following on from the above, your best bet may be to go with one of the local popolare banks (Italian equivalent of building societies). Many are owned by the larger mainstream banks and some have London offices. I'm not sure which region you are talking about but just google "banco popolare" and your "region". Also remember that Italian banks, similar to banks in most other European countries operate from a "transactions" based medium. ie you pay for every transaction made, whether it is taking money out from a cashpoint or paying a cheque into your account. Fees totalling €200 per year are not unusual. Again as Gala says, you can open an account fairly easily in the UK but you do need your codice fiscale. Also bear in mind that non resident accounts are usually more restrictive. (You may or may not, get a cashcard etc). The Post Office (Posteitaliane) is the other route to consider. Charges are normally cheaper than the banks but range of services offered is again more limited and (I believe) you can only open an account when you are in Italy.

Thanks Gala and Capo Boi yes, Gromit I did have a look at that thread but I was hoping someone had some more up to date info. Castel I need a draft drawn on an italian bank and I don't have time to go to italy.

When I tried I was told that it is not possible to open a bank account in London, you have to do it in Italy - laws on antirecycling etc - and more recently I had clients whotried to open an account with the MpS in New York and were told the same thing. However, i know someone who managed to open an account with Unicredit in the UK - don't know how they managed it however, technically it is not possible.

Why would you want an Italian account in UK? not sure I understand what you mean by an Italian account. I have a Euro account in the UK with a UK clearer and a Euro account with a local bank in Italy. If an account is open in the UK its a UK account (might not be in GBP but its still a UK account) What are you trying to achieve with the "Italian" account.