Banking Facilities Made Available For Migrant Community

With a vast number of new workers entering the UK on an annual basis, financial institutions have recently realized the need to offer banking facilities to those that have no national insurance number, no guarantee of employments, and no credit history within the UK. In the past migrant workers have found it very difficult to set up any sort of banking facility, leaving them in a difficult situation if they get work and need to have their salaried paid in.

With over four hundred thousand workers coming into the UK over the past twenty four months, a number of banks have now started offering facilities, such as HSBC bank, which now offers the passport bank account. This is a bank account that can be opened in advance for workers coming over to the UK, and gives workers moving to the UK valuable basic banking facilities. Account holders will have somewhere to have their salaries paid in, can use telephone and Internet banking, can set up standing orders and direct debits, and can enjoy the benefits of a current account with an International Maestro debt card.

However, HSBC has now hit out at an alternative solution that is being introduced by Mastercard. The credit card giant has introduced a pre-paid card onto which employers can pay the employee’s salary. The card holder can then use the card through the use of chip and pin technology, and it can be reloaded at one of thousands of post offices throughout the UK.

Both HSBC and the Halifax have stated that although the card might seem like a good idea for those desperate to obtain facilities and have found it difficult to open a bank account, there are hidden charges that can really add up and make using the card a very expensive alternative to a basic bank account.

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