FenTiger

Does anyone have one of these? Am interested whether using one of these would be better than opening a Hungarian bank account?
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ne...-it-any-good-/

Jack_Russells4ever

We don't have one but we recommend Transferwise for wiring money. If we were not so set against having a smartphone we could get one but since we don't want a mobile we could not get that type account. I have heard great things about their card but since its mandatory to have a smartphone we will never have one.

mandst1499

We do not have an Hungarian account and use Transferwise only. It works very well. I have had no issues so far, we pay all of our bills using it. There are a few disadvantages though. However we think the disadvantages sill outweigh the negatives of a Hungarian account. For example - we cannot get paid HUF into our acccount from others (so cannot accept payments over here) there is also a £200 per month ATM withdrawal limit - after that they charge a small percentage to withdraw your own money. We take the £200 each month - regardless of whethere we need it or not and save it for bigger items or cash only items. Which again is very rare - as we use the debit card for almost everything. We have managed to purchase a house and pay solicitors etc. using the card. The exchange rates are the best around. we find them very difficult to beat. And rememeber when the rate is high - transfer ALL your money over - as when it drops, we feel the difference and regret holding any back. Also - you do not need a smartphone as above - I can access my account from my laptop, as I have had no access to a smart phone for over 3 months now.

jetblackonetenth

We have a transferwise debit card and it is excellent. We use it every where we pay by card as we do not have a Hungarian bank account. I transferred money to it when the rate was 400+ to the £
no problems with using it anywhere. The app is also good. I also hold some currency in euros for the occasions I go outside Hungary

Jack_Russells4ever

I was told by TW staff a smartphone was mandatory to get and activate the card last year. I wanted one, I still could use one. Maybe they rules have changed but In any case I am not getting a smartphone just to be able to have a TW card. If things change in the future I may have no choice but for now i cannot see having a landline that no one ever calls us on and a smartphone no one will call us on.

FenTiger

Thanks for all the advice above. We got our cards a couple of weeks ago.

FenTiger

So far, so good. I withdrew HUF from an ATM, paid for groceries at Auchan and a few bits and bobs from a corner shop. Only snag is my wife has a card too but her bank have blocked any transfer to her TW account. It's a week since this happened so no idea what the problem is. As Mandst1499 mentioned it's best to transfer when the GBP is strong against the HUF.
I wish I had one of these years ago because they reduce having to carry around and keep any cash in a safe place. Suffice to say I still carry enough cash for what I'm buying in case the card doesn't work but only small amounts.
One other issue is my bank wanting to know about any high value transfers. They give me a window, can't remember 15 or 30 minutes, to make the transfer. I do this via their Chat option.

Sachina

I just have my Hungarian bank Debit card which I've used to draw money and pay bills all over Europe without any problem. As we have no signal in my village I can't use my card to pay bills, so I normally pay cash. Transferring money from my bank in the UK to my Hungarian bank only takes 24 hours.

Peter_in_Hungary

I hope you don't use your banks transfer and exchange service as the exchange rates are not as good as you can get using a specialist transfer firm. If you have a bank card with your UK bank you can use this to pay bills and get a better rate than doing a bank transfer to a Hungarian bank and then paying the bills.

Sachina

My case is rather different from most in that I haven't been resident in the UK for over 30 years and as such can't open a UK bank account. Instead I have a Building Society account (which I understand is not possible today). And they don't issue Credit/Debit cards for use overseas.

Looking at Transferwise it seems they charge between 0.5 and 1%to transfer money abroad which is considerably more than the £9.95 I am charged for transferring the same amount of money. If I transfer money in sterling to my GBP Hungarian account I get a far better exchange rate than I do by transferring in HUF.

Unfortunately it means going into the bank to get it transferred from GBP to HUF which I've been reluctant to do with Covid-19 but having said that having tranferred money about 3 weeks ago, the exchange rate compared quite favourably albeit a forint or two lower than you appear to get with Transferwise. .

ecurb

We have been using the Transferwise debit card and direct bank transfers here in Hungary with no issues.
My UK bank does limit the amount I can move to Transferwise in a single day using online banking, and going into a branch is not possible so I have to plan ahead for larger sums. But otherwise the movement from Transferwise to other Hungarian bank accounts has been good.
The exchange rates and fees are less than the main UK banks but there are other smaller banks that I am sure would be comparable.

wolfi

Don't know if this is relevant for you too:
When I go to an ATM in Hungary (usually OTP, they are everwhere) to get some Forints from my German bank account I'm offered to take the money in € and have them exchanged into HUF - but that is much more expensive than getting HUF directly!
I also read about this kind of scam by the banks, so in any case just be careful!

ecurb

Yes, this also happens with our Transferwise card, and if the ATM does not allow selection of your native language it can be difficult to work when to say no to this 'offer'.

Peter_in_Hungary

I have been out of the UK for about 26 years and a couple of years ago I opened a GBP bank account with Santander International (based in IOM). The bank counts as a UK bank as far as the BACS clearing system goes so transfers to and from UK banks happen as per normal UK banks. I also get a debit card, which I find useful for shopping both in person and on line since it avoids exchanging money twice if the purchase is not in HUF.

Sachina

I stand to be corrected but I understand you have to maintain a certain balance in your account, which as an "impoverished English gentlewoman" I'm unable to do.