The money problem…

I have a problem. It’s a good problem, but still a problem.

I’ve sold my house and now I have money in the bank. Life is sorted, for a while at least. But what’s the best thing to do with that money?

First off, I looked at interest rates in Portugal. Blimey, that was a shock! Less that 2% in most cases. I looked at interest rates in the UK as a comparison, and found one bank that was FSCS (the Financial Services Compensation Scheme) protected and offering 7%! But you have to be a UK resident. Bummer. I’d have been very happy with 7%.

Having said that, the protection element caught my eye and I investigated further. In the UK, banks under the FSCS guarantee your money up to £120k. In Europe, under a similar scheme, it’s only €100k. Mmmm… maybe I should have remained a UK resident!

I then had a look at Wise: 3.25% for funds held in sterling and 1.98% for funds held in Euros, plus the fact that only up to €20k is protected. Bloody hell… Still, I decided that I would at least move the money that I will have to pay to the tax man next year (the Capital Gain on the house) to Wise. I thought about converting it to Sterling to gain the improved interest rate, but once I took into account the conversion fee, the tax man and the limited amount of time I’d have the money in that account, it was hardly worth it. Still, I’d made my first decision, and moved some money into wise.

I then started thinking about the fact that only €100k was currently protected in my Credito Agricola account. That needed sorting. I would need to move a large portion of the sale money into another bank account to ensure that the full amount was protected. But which bank? I wasn’t worried about interest rates at this point. It was purely about spreading the risk, and ensuring that most of my money was protected.

I looked online and found Activo Bank. It looked good: with an online setup option. That would save me the hassle of a face-to-face application in a branch somewhere. So, I started the process…

…and realised that things weren’t going to be so easy after all. There were three options: use your ‘Chave Móvel Digital’ (digital key) to authenticate; partake in an online video session to prove you are who you say you are; or visit a branch.

There were problems with all three options. In reverse order, Activobank is an online bank and its only physical presence is up north somewhere – I wasn’t going to be able to visit a branch. The online video option was a possibility, but you need to be a citizen (not just a resident) to utilise that option. That left the ‘Chave Móvel Digital’ option – but I didn’t have a ‘Chave Móvel Digital’.

I’m sure that life should be easier than this.

I investigated how I could get hold of a ‘Chave Móvel Digital’ and perked up a bit. All I had to do was take my Residency card to a ‘Loja de Cidadão’ and they would sort it for me. The nearest one was in Tavira, so I caught the train, walked down to Gran Plaza, went upstairs to the ‘Loja de Cidadão’, and ten minutes later, I had my ‘Chave Móvel Digital’ – that meant that simply authenticating with my phone number would prove who I am. Fantastic.

I then (to celebrate my small step forward) walked back to Fuzeta. Due to the heat, I stopped in Livramento for a satisfyingly cold beer, and subsequently decided to abort my walk and catch an Uber home. I love how easy it is to travel by Uber around here – and cheap!

Anyway, I digress. So, I arrived home, went online immediately and applied for an Activobank account using my newly acquired digital key. I filled in the details, clicked the button and waited with bated breath while the small timer whirled around in the middle of the screen… before stopping as a message came up.

I can’t remember the exact wording, but basically it said that my digital key was only associated with someone with residency, not citizenship, and so I would need to go to a branch and apply in person. Bloody hell. When it asked for a ‘Chave Móvel Digital’, there was no mention of it needing to be associated with citizenship. So, Activobank was off the list.

It was at this point that I realised that I would have to bite the bullet and head to a branch of any bank in person to sort out a new account. I investigated and saw that Milliennium (sic – that’s how they spell it in Portugal!) Bank had a reputation for speaking English and a half decent App as well. Millennium Bank it was then.

On Monday, I headed into Olhão, entered the bank (close to the railway station, fortunately), took a ticket and waited. It wasn’t long before I was called forward. I sat down and we began:

‘How can I help you?’

‘I would like to open an account, please.’

‘We need lots of information to do that…’ He sounded doubtful.

‘We need your NIF.’

‘I have that.’

‘We need your ID.’

‘I have that.’ I had brought both my passport and my residency card.

‘I need proof of address.’

‘I have that. I have both a utility bill and a copy of my ‘predial cadernata’ as proof of ownership.’

‘We need proof of your activity…’

‘Eh? Why do I need that?’

‘You must earn money.’

‘Nope.’

‘But you must have income.’

‘Nope.’

‘How do you live?’

‘I use the money I have in the bank. I just sold a house.’

‘But you just told me you own your house.’

‘I do.’

‘But you’ve just sold it!’

‘No, that was a different house.’

‘You have two houses?!’

‘No, I only have one now – I sold the other like I said.’

I could see that the concept of having a bit of money in the bank and more than one house was rather foreign to this chap, but I persevered.

‘I had two houses, I have now sold one, so I have a decent sum of money lying in my bank account. I have been told that only €100k is protected by each bank, so I want to spread the risk and open a second bank account. I have proof of the sale and I can show you how much I have in my other bank account.’

I opened the app on my phone and showed him.

‘Ah, now I understand. So, I will need two months’ worth of statements, to prove this…’

‘Ah… I don’t have statements with me.’ I was stumped for the first time.

‘Can you download from your app?’

I had no idea, so I had a quick look. I couldn’t find anything obvious. The bank clerk obviously got bored of watching me:

‘Can I have a look, please?’

Five minutes later, he’d had enough.

‘I’m sorry, I can’t find it either. You will have to come back.’

Bloody hell, so near and yet so far.

‘So, the only other thing you now require is two months’ worth of bank statements?’

‘Yes, that’s right.’

‘I’ll be right back!’

I walked outside and was close to simply heading home, but then decided that I’d come this far and I wasn’t about to give up now, so I headed down to the Credito Agricola branch, entered, took a ticket, awaited my turn and…

‘How can I help you today?’

‘All I need to know is how to find my statements on your app.’

‘I’m afraid that the app doesn’t show the statements. You can just use the filters to look at the information you require.’

‘But I require the statements. That’s what I’ve been asked for.’

‘Ah…’ We were at somewhat of an impasse – so I pushed my luck.

‘Can you see my statements? If so, can you print them off for the last two months, please?’

And would you believe it? Two minutes later, I had the necessary statements in my hand.

I headed back to Millennium bank, and suffice to say, ten minutes later (and lots of signatures later) I had my new bank account, having had to transfer €500 into it first, obviously.

So now, once I have moved the necessary money across, all my money will be protected, and I will be earning a little bit of interest through Wise.

But that still leaves me with the issue of what I should actually be doing with my money. And it seems that I’m not the only one. Brian came round to my house the other day and as we chatted, he asked if I had managed to invest my money anywhere. I explained my travails, and he said that he was experiencing exactly the same problem. Bloody hell. We both agreed that life should be easier than this…

If anyone has any thoughts or hints, please feel free to let me know. And I’ll pass them on to Brian, too.