UK current accounts that accept US citizens

A current account is the easiest win on this site. UK banks are required to identify US persons and report their accounts under FATCA, the US law that turned foreign banks into IRS reporters; that reporting is routine for the high-street and digital banks, so they take US customers without drama.

Every provider checked so far opens a current account for a US person, and the digital banks tend to be the smoothest route, with the account open before the FATCA self-certification form even arrives.

Building societies come up less here than you might expect, because most of them sell savings and mortgages rather than current accounts; Nationwide is the main exception. Where societies do matter is savings, and every one checked so far opens for a US person: see UK savings accounts.

Expect to confirm your US status at sign-up and hand over a US taxpayer ID. That form is FATCA self-certification, not a tax bill; see FATCA in plain terms for what the bank does with it.

The rest of the application is the checks every applicant faces, arriving in the week you are least able to satisfy them: permission to be in the UK, an address here you can evidence, in-date photo ID and a UK mobile number for the app banks. What you need to open your first UK bank account is the checklist, and answers whether you can start before you land.