westernliving

I need to transfer money on a regular basis to my personal bank account in Portugal from the UK. Is there a way of doing this online or has it got to be by international transfer. What are the best ways of getting a good rate?

BillBullock

Use a foreign exchange company like Premier FX or GCEN for a good exchange rate. I deal with the business of transferring my GBP to Euros online everytime having ascertained the rate of exchange by email. I get a better exchange rate than my UK bank can offer and the money is transferred with minimum delay.

westernliving

Thanks. sounds interesting, can you give me a little more information on how the mechanics of it work?

BillBullock

You need to register firstly with your chosen company. They usually require a copy of your passport, scanned into an email, plus your contact details. You are then allocated a client number and you give them the details of your Portuguese bank account. They will furnish you with their client bank account details and, when you are ready to transfer, you do an online transfer from your UK bank to the client bank account. When this transfer is complete, the company transfers Euros to your Portuguese bank account. It takes less than a day for me to get the Euros into my account but this will depend on the company.

I have been doing this for about 10 years and, as I said, I ask for their current rate of exchange first by email to be sure that I am happy that it's a good time to exchange. I monitor the rate of exchange daily and get advice from Premier FX on the trending GBP/EUR exchange rate. Your chosen FX company will advise you on procedures and other possibilities. You can assess these FX companies online to a certain extent but you should also seek advice from others when selecting the company. Everyone has their favourites. Mine is Premier FX.

peterfc

I have been using a company called Revolut it's Ipad based nank rate is that is the rate you get. Whenever i transfer money it's on my Revolut card straight away no waiting Just Google Revolut and get the market rate as it is.

This afternoon i transfered money and got 1.1583€

Peter

westernliving

Both ideas look very interesting and more importantly look workable. I'll look at both of them, thanks for spending a little time explaining

dingg

I too have heard good things about revolut

Loafing Along

Similar service from Transferwise. Smaller amounts take a few hours. Small fee if using a UK Debit Card on the site but excellent exchange rate

MidAtlantic

This gives a list of transfer companies.
https://moneytransfercomparison.com/

When making comparisons take account of the fees and the exchange rate being used.

BillBullock

I've stopped using Revolut because there are too many limitations, e.g. there is a limit of £200 free withdrawal per month from ATMs; thereafter, they impose a 2% charge. The Starling Bank card is much better and you use an app available on Android and Apple mobile phones. Revolut is limited to Apple.

Jonny22

Doesn’t your Portuguese bank allow you to transfer to their U.K. holding account and then they will transfer to your PT account in euros? NovoBanco does this for free and at interbank rates.

RichardHenshall

Do you know the rate before you make the transfer or find out afterwards?

DiDAN

TransferWise is a good one for these type of transactions - only €0.60 for transfer fee and takes a few hours. You can also have bank accounts in different currencies with them.
There's a small fee for currency exchange.

For ATM withdrawals MetroBank UK gives you UK debit card with no any fees (no exchange fees at all!) and has no limits like Revolut or Monzo.

DiDAN

Revolut (for quite a long period) has Android support as well...

BillBullock

My mistake but the other limitation on free ATM withdrawals makes it useless to me, even for holiday travel. Likewise with Monzo which I tried last year. That is why I now use Starling Bank for free ATM withdrawals and overseas payments alongside Premier FX for large monthly transfers to my Portuguese bank account. There are no fees with Premier FX, just a competitive exchange rate and fast service.