Keep Your UK Number Abroad for Bank Codes

To keep your UK number for bank codes while living abroad, keep it on an active UK plan in a spare iPhone, left with someone in the UK or carried with you, because many UK banks send one-time passcodes only to a UK number. Fwrd can forward that iPhone’s code texts to Telegram, WhatsApp, email or any of its eight destinations, so they reach the phone you carry.

What you need: your UK number on a plan that still receives texts; a spare iPhone on iOS 26 or later with that SIM in it; a home in the UK where it stays plugged in and on Wi-Fi, with someone who can unlock it every two or three days; Fwrd; and an app you read abroad.

Can I keep my UK number abroad for bank codes?

Yes, as long as the number stays on an active UK plan and the SIM sits in a phone that receives its texts. A spare iPhone does that, and Fwrd passes each code on to you over the internet.

Why UK banks want a UK number

Because several big UK banks say their codes go only to a UK mobile, or can only be guaranteed there.

• Nationwide says its login codes can only be received on a mobile phone with a UK number, and that they expire after 10 minutes (Nationwide, read October 25, 2026).
• Santander UK says it sends an OTP to the mobile phone registered to your account, and can only guarantee delivery to customers who are in the UK with a UK registered number (+44) (Santander, read October 25, 2026).

So switching your bank to a foreign number often isn’t an option, and a UK number that stops working means no codes. Ask your bank whether it also offers app sign-in or a card reader for your account.

How to get your UK bank codes abroad

1. Pick a destination you already check abroad. Any of Fwrd’s eight destinations works anywhere you have internet; Telegram is a common choice. For Telegram, the Telegram post shows how to make the bot.

2. Add it in Fwrd on the spare iPhone. Open Fwrd, tap +, choose the destination, and fill in its details in the Configuration field. Tap Send Test Message, then save with the tick. For WhatsApp or email, Fwrd hands the text to WhatsApp’s or Apple’s own send action, which you add in step 5.

3. Create a Message automation. On iOS 27, open Shortcuts, tap Library, then Automation, then +. If you see Describe a shortcut, tap Edit. Tap Automation, then Message, and change Sender to Message. On iOS 26, open the Automation tab, tap +, and choose Message.

   

4. Choose which texts to forward. Type a single space to forward any text with a space in it, which covers most bank codes and everything else your UK number gets. Then make it run without asking: on iOS 27, tap the arrow beside the trigger and check Confirm Before Run is off, and under ⓘ, then Privacy, check Allow Running When Locked is on. On iOS 26, choose Run Immediately, then tap Next and Create New Shortcut.

5. Add Fwrd’s action. Search for Forward, add Forward Message to All Destinations, and set its Message field to Shortcut Input (on iOS 26, Shortcut Input, then Message). For email or WhatsApp, add Apple’s Send Email or WhatsApp’s Send Message below it, set its message to Fwrd’s output, and pick the recipient. Give Send Email a subject and turn off Show Compose Sheet. Tap back to save (Done on iOS 26).

6. That’s it. New texts to your UK number now reach you abroad on their own, with the spare iPhone unlocked or locked.

On Telegram, you can keep only the codes: open the destination in Fwrd, choose Which Texts, and pick the bank’s name or texts that look like a verification code. Turn on Include Who Sent It in Fwrd’s Settings, and choose Sender on Fwrd’s action, so each forward shows which bank sent it.

Where should the spare iPhone live?

At a UK address is the usual choice, because the SIM is always on its home network there. Carrying it works too, wherever the SIM gets service.

Keep it working for months

• Someone has to unlock it every few days. An iPhone that isn’t unlocked for three days restarts itself, and after any restart Fwrd can’t forward until someone unlocks it once.
• Turn off automatic iOS updates and the SIM PIN. An update restarts the phone, and a SIM PIN leaves it off the network after a restart until someone types it.
• Keep the plan paid. Put it on a Direct Debit or card that works from abroad, and check your network’s rules for numbers that go quiet. A closed number gets no codes.
• Mind the clock. Some codes expire within minutes, so keep the spare iPhone on Wi-Fi, where it can forward each one as it arrives.

A UK bank that texts a code for every card payment can pass 15 forwards a month quickly. Fwrd is free for 15 forwards a month as of October 2026, and Fwrd Pro removes the limit for $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year in the US; set it up before you leave.

What this can’t do

• It can’t reply as your UK number. Fwrd only forwards. Replies still come from the spare iPhone.
• It can’t forward voice codes or pictures, only text.
• It can’t keep the number alive. If the plan lapses or the network closes the number, nothing arrives to forward.
• It isn’t banking or tax advice. Whether you can keep a UK account while living abroad is up to your bank.