currentaffairs

Does anyone know whether it is better to get Saudi riyals converted to pounds in Saudi Arabia or in the UK?

I use SABB, and it is a pretty decent bank. The UK banks often charge a lot just to receive money, so I am thinking that charges would be cheaper in Saudi but perhaps the rate would be better in the UK..

I prefer to use SABB and I am not interested in using an online broker, I am just interested in if there is much of a difference in the exchange rate.

sicklyman

you'll get completely screwed on the rate if you use SABB over a broker. I've been doing this for three years and have tried every which way. Trust me, a broker is reliable and will get you by far a better rate because they send in SAR, not USD or GBP.

FWIW, my bank (Coop) in the UK doesn't charge anything to receive funds no matter how I remit. SABB always charges, I think, SR70 or thereabouts no matter the amount I send.

You can only take SR60,000 out of the country at one time legally and I think you might find it hard to get any bank in the UK to accept SAR full stop let alone that much or more.

PM me if you are willing to try an online broker and I can put you in touch with mine.

currentaffairs

Okay, but focusing on my original question for a moment - is it better to exchange riyals for pounds with SABB or with a UK bank?

I understand that a broker would offer better rates.. I think you are saying that it is better to send in riyals and do the conversion in the UK, sicklyman?

sicklyman

what I'm saying is that I don't know how you would get your riyals to and converted in the UK.

You can't get more than SR60K out of the country legally and I don't think you can simply walk into a High St branch of Lloyds and give them SR60K and expect them to convert them. Some currencies aren't... well... current.

That leaves you with no choice but to use SABB.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding your question.

currentaffairs

HSBC or whoever would convert my riyals into pounds. I am just talking about a normal bank transfer. I usually send around 45,000 riyals so I am within the limit, no problem there.

comfortablynumb

Hi!

I'm a newbie here in Riyadh... and have been exploring my options regarding the same .Previous posts had mentioned a particular online broker but would like to hear from expats in Riyadh as to which is the best option..

Do they deal with transfers out of any bank in Riyadh or only SABB?

Thanks!

mission

I think the OP is referring to a normal transaction whereby he is instructing his local bank to send SR and then it gets converted at the other end into GBP.


I do this every month with my dirhams....my local bank is HSBC and my UK account is Lloyds....I simply instruct HSBC to send X amount of money in AED and it automatically get's converted to GBP at the other end. Fortunately I don't pay any bank charges since my company takes car of that - but I do wonder if maybe I am getting screwed in the fx conversion....most people say you can get a better rate with one of those exchange outlets, but then you have the hassle of having to go down their physically and do it over the counter.

currentaffairs

Exactly, in your case would it be better to get HSBC in the UAE to convert your dirhams to pounds or is it better to continue to get Lloyds to do it in the UK? That is my question..

currentaffairs

I just had a quick look at the rates on the websites. It looks like the exchange rate at SABB is better than in the UK. I need to check again for exact date matches as SABB is still quoting rates for 19th.

mission

Since I don't hold a GBP account in the UAE, I don't think it would be possible for me to ask HSBC to convert into GBP and then send it across.

Brains1983

it would be possible. they'll do the conversion from your AED account to GBP here in the UAE and send the transfer in GBP. Versus the other way of guessing the exchange rate and sending the transfer in AED and the conversion being done by the receiving bank in the UK.

currentaffairs

Of course it is possible.. SABB bank here just convert my riyals into pounds and send it straight across to the UK. No special account needed other than my regular Saudi current account.

northbadawi

I use SABB, and the best conversion rate for international transfers is to transfer USD (1USD<3.76SAR). Then I keep USD in my home bank and use paysera.com for conversion to required currency and local/international transfers when I need them - best exchange rates and lowest fees.
Everything online and you just need to get "unlimited" level for bigger amounts - only one Skype call.
P.S. I'm not their promoter, just happy user.

currentaffairs

Do you have a UK bank account? How much does your bank charge to transfer the money to paysera or is it done through your bank account?

northbadawi

I don't have UK bank account. But I regularly transfer GBP to UK banks an this international transfer costs me 0.60GBP.
The fees depend on your bank: https://www.paysera.com/fees/transfe...urrencies.html