Multi-currency accounts for US citizens
Momo checked 7 providers. 7 offer a multi-currency account. Of those 7, 2 will take you outright and 5 attach conditions. None refuse. Last checked .
Multi-currency and money-transfer accounts mostly open for US citizens, and they are often the cleanest way to hold dollars and pounds in one place. They also count toward your US reporting.
A multi-currency account holds balances in several currencies and moves money between them at close to the real rate. For an American in the UK that solves a daily problem: paying or being paid in both dollars and pounds without bleeding money on conversion. The transfer specialists generally accept US persons, where a traditional bank might not.
The reporting follows the balance. Each currency wallet is a foreign account to the US, and the combined total feeds straight into your FBAR once it crosses the $10,000 line at any point in the year. It is reporting, not a tax; the account stays useful, you just file.
See the FBAR for what counts toward the threshold and FATCA for the status check at sign-up.
The accounts you can open
Every account below comes from a provider that will take a US person. Read the conversion cost first, since that is what a transatlantic life actually spends, and check where the money sits: two of these are booked offshore and carry a lower compensation limit than a UK bank.
Holds US dollars
Dollars and pounds side by side, which is the point if you are paid, taxed or still banking in both countries.
| Currencies | Cost to convert | Monthly fee | Interest | The catch | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revolut UK FSCS £120,000 via Revolut Bank UK · app-only Updated Source: Revolut pricing plans and the Instant Access Savings (powered by ClearBank) Terms, 2026-09-18 (opens in a new tab) | Standard account (opens in a new tab) | 36 currencies including USD | No fee up to £1,000 a month, then 1% | Free | 0% for US persons | The £1,000 allowance counts currency, crypto and commodity exchanges together, and weekends carry a markup. |
| Revolut UK FSCS £120,000 via Revolut Bank UK · app-only Updated Source: Revolut pricing plans and the Instant Access Savings (powered by ClearBank) Terms, 2026-09-18 (opens in a new tab) | Premium account (opens in a new tab) | 36 currencies including USD | No exchange limit and no fair usage fee | £7.99 a month | 0% for US persons | A £3.99 Plus tier lifts the free allowance to £3,000 instead. |
| Revolut UK FSCS £120,000 via Revolut Bank UK · app-only Updated Source: Revolut pricing plans and the Instant Access Savings (powered by ClearBank) Terms, 2026-09-18 (opens in a new tab) | Instant Access Savings (opens in a new tab) | GBP, EUR and USD | Priced by your plan | Free | 0% for US persons | Closed to US persons: the ClearBank terms require you to be a UK tax resident and not a US person. For everyone else the rate depends on plan, currency and balance, and the deposit sits with ClearBank. |
| Wise Safeguarded, not FSCS-protected · app and online Updated Source: Wise Interest and Stocks eligibility, 2026-08-17 | Wise account (opens in a new tab) | 40 currencies including USD, with local details in 22 | From 0.24% | Free | 0% for US persons | Interest is paid through a fund partner that cannot onboard US citizens. The card costs £7 once, and there is no subscription. |
| Barclays Accepts with conditions FSCS £120,000 · opened by phone or in branch Updated Source: Barclays international account tariff, 2026-08-17 | Foreign Currency Account (opens in a new tab) | US dollars alongside sterling | Reference rate plus an unpublished margin set by payment size | Free | — | Needs six months of an active Barclays sterling account; £6 to receive an international payment over £100. |
| Charles Schwab (High-Yield Investor Checking) Accepts with conditions US persons: needs a US mailing address, so it turns on whether you kept one FDIC $250,000, no UK protection · online and app Updated Source: Schwab Bank Investor Checking, 2026-08-17 | Bank Investor Checking (opens in a new tab) | US dollars only | No foreign transaction fee | Free | Pays credit interest, and rebates cash machine fees worldwide | You must give a US mailing address, and the account is opened alongside a Schwab brokerage account. |
| HSBC Expat Accepts with conditions US persons: its investing arm is closed to US persons, though the bank account itself is not Jersey scheme £50,000, not FSCS · online, app or phone Updated Source: HSBC Expat bank account, 2026-08-17 | Expat Bank Account (opens in a new tab) | GBP, EUR or USD, with savings in up to 19 currencies | Not published | Free while you hold the relationship balance | — | Needs £75,000 in savings or investments, and dropping below costs £50 a month. |
| Lloyds Bank International Accepts with conditions Jersey scheme £50,000, not FSCS · app, online or phone Updated Source: Lloyds Bank International classic account, 2026-08-17 | International Classic account (opens in a new tab) | Sterling, euro and US dollar | No conversion fee on card spending; the margin between accounts is not published | £5 a month per currency account, waived at £5,000 | — | International payments carry a £12 to £20 correspondent bank fee if you pay all charges. |
No dollar balance
These hold other currencies beside sterling but not dollars, so they will not stand in for a US account.
| Currencies | Cost to convert | Monthly fee | Interest | The catch | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starling Bank Accepts with conditions FSCS £120,000 · app-only Updated Source: Starling euro bank account page, and Starling help: who can open a business USD account, 2026-09-25 (opens in a new tab) | Euro account (opens in a new tab) | Euros alongside sterling, and no dollars | 0.4%, plus a 0.5% margin at weekends and on bank holidays | Free | — | You need a Starling personal current account first. |
An institution's name opens its page on Momo, with every account checked for it across the site. Account names link to the provider's own site. No link on this page is paid. How Momo makes money.
New and changed accounts, monthly.
Providers change who they will take, and nobody tracks it. Momo does. One email a month with what moved, plus the occasional note on tax and money for US citizens in the UK.
How Momo handles your address: privacy policy.
Common questions
Can a US citizen open a multi-currency account in the UK?
Yes, several accept US persons. Check whether the account actually holds US dollars: one that holds euros beside sterling solves nothing for someone paid or taxed in dollars.
Do multi-currency accounts trigger FBAR reporting?
Yes. A multi-currency wallet is a foreign financial account, so its highest balance counts toward the 10,000 dollar FBAR aggregate along with everything else you hold outside the US.
Can a US citizen earn interest on US dollars in a UK account?
Not at the two best-known accounts that hold dollars. Wise opens for a US citizen and holds dollars, but its interest is paid through a fund partner that cannot onboard US citizens. Revolut UK opens too, and the terms behind its Instant Access Savings require you to be a UK tax resident and not a US person. Both rows are in the table on this page with their sources. Momo has not yet checked which UK accounts do pay a US citizen interest on a dollar balance, so that is a gap here and not a finding that none exists.
Why this is the rule
FBAR
If your foreign accounts top $10,000 combined at any point in the year, you file an FBAR. What counts, when it is due, and what happens if you miss it.
TaxFATCA
Do UK banks report your account to the IRS? Yes, through HMRC, under FATCA. It is a reporting law, not a tax. Where it bites is access.