I need a new UK bank account. Are there any that provide solid online banking, sensible fraud protection, and multi-currency?

Easy to login online banking doesn't mix with security unfortunately. Any reasonably secure bank is going to use some form of 2-factor authentication (at least for making payments to new payees) these days. The interest rates paid by the main UK clearing banks on savings accounts & ISAs are usually pitiful. HSBC will cover most of your requirements, especially on the multi-currency side although you might have to open an account with their offshore banking bunch, which carries a hefty minimum balance. (Caveat: I last looked at this a couple of years ago so the options have probably all changed again.) All the banks will apply fraud prevention profiling to all credit card payments, especially those made abroad. You're never going to escape it: the only protection against having your card blocked is to have another one from a different bank with you just in case. You should trawl the articles at http://moneysavingexpert.com/ for the cheapest way to spend when abroad: generally the last thing you want to use is a credit or debit card from a high street clearing bank.

I think HSBC just started using those awful authenticator machines so might not be what you're looking for. First Direct doesn't have them yet but if HSBC has them, I'm sure they will soon - in fact I'm sure all banks will be using them soon enough.

p.s. here's the Money Saving Expert list of http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money#halifax.

Just popping in to say NatWest is most assuredly NOT the bank you are looking for. They issue authenticators (though mainly for setting up new payments online and authenticating large payments, only password and PIN details are needed for logging in), and I've never been abroad when they didn't randomly stop my card, even when I'd been using it in other countries for, say, a week. Letting them know in advance of your travel plans makes no difference, the woman I spoke to on their Helpline about this said it's an automatic detection system they have no individual control over. And their foreign fees, whether cash withdrawal or purchase, are appalling. I now have a rechargeable Visa card from the Post Office that I use for accessing cashpoints in other countries instead.

Thank you for the advice so far! Just a note that it's hard right now to get a card, but I will keep that part in mind for the future. I have just qualified my first credit card with a paltry 260 quid limit. Self employed expats clearly not worth much here. This means I am forced to use my debit card. caek: Long trip, going everywhere, great idea. Barclays only lets you advise 3 countries at a time which is insane.

Scroll down on that MSE link and take a look at the debit card section: "If you can't get a credit card due to a weaker credit rating, or would prefer a bank account with a debit card to spend on abroad, you have a few options...". In the meantime I would recommend applying for the Halifax credit card asap and using it as much as possible. After six months you should get an limit increase.

You may also want to look at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money#prepaid, although they are obviously a bit of a pain.

caek: Thanks for the suggestions. Just tried Halifax, and was instantly declined. All the more frustrating is that my Australian accounts don't have any of these problems, but the cost of transferring money back there to pay cards off would negate the benefits.

It might be worth calling into a branch, explaining your situation. Maybe they have some discretion the website doesn't have, or maybe they'll tell you to open and use their current account asap to build up a relationship with them. Good luck!