Lynn R

My bank, First Direct, doesn't do online transfers but I can transfer money to my Spanish account for a £9 fee and the money is there the following day (but the rate is not good)- just a phone call to arrange it. I was using xe.com until they notified me that they are no longer providing a service to Spain, am now going to try Currency Fair but only transfer a smallish sum at a time.

bobd22

I have used Currency Fair a couple of times not for huge amounts up to £1000 they have been excellent each time. Thing is though you need to have the money with them before you can arrange the exchange, so better to deposit with them then look for the rate you will accept.

Lynn R

Thanks for that Bob, that was around the amount I was thinking of, so I will do as you suggest. I've already set up an account with them, it was very straightforward.

amideislas

Sorry, I haven't been misinformed, rather this is just the reality on the ground.

UK retail banks know very little about doing business with the rest of the world, and I reckon for most Brits, there is little reason to acknowledge that any other place even exists, let alone transfer any funds there, which might explain why the banks don't offer those services easily or inexpensively like European banks do.

UK banks are NOT the least expensive in the world, They are amongst the most expensive. Period. You can provide me with a million links proving otherwise, but you find out the reality when you routinely transfer funds in and out of the UK. FACT: it's always easier and cheaper to send funds >TO< the UK; and much more burdensome and expensive to send funds OUT of the UK. That's just reality. UK retail banks simply aren't familiar with business outside the UK or working with any other currency than Sterling. After all, there is little demand from the majority of the public.

missile

You are talking utter bollocks, but please do not let the "facts" get in the way of your rant.

Your bank Halifax (and most other UK banks) does provide a simple online transaction service for payments to many countries. Online transfers from Halifax UK to LTSB Spain for free. I have given you the links.

amideislas

Actually, no it doesn't. I don't care what the link says. My online banking simply does not have that facility. I've been using it for years, and it just doesn't. Sorry. Before I started using Oanda, I always had to call the bank to transfer funds outside the UK, the costs are high, and the exchange rates are worse than exchanging cash at the airport... PLUS the £20 transfer charge. And it takes forever...

In all fairness, I reckon I might be able to "upgrade" to an even more expensive account and be granted the posh function of conducting international transfers online, I don't know. But I don't want it anyway, because their horrible exchange rates alone would bankrupt me.

But OK, you win... banking is all "free" or "cheap" in the UK.

I'm just pleased we can conduct most of our business through European banks. I just can't justify paying UK banks ridiculous amounts for using their slow, archaic and expensive "free" banking system. No wonder the independent exchangers and pre-paid Euro debit card providers are doing such good business in the UK. They're also expensive, but still half the price of the banks.

Eric S

Yes, you're absolutely right. All your account info is there on a check. And I've wondered about that, too: Why, if we're supposed to be so careful about giving out our account info, is it all there on every check? Maybe we Americans are just paranoid.

I guess the real answer is, as has been stated in this thread, Europeans don't really use checks. They are used to making payments electronically. So that's why when people need to pay you for something, they just ask for your bank info. In the US, on the other hand, we're used to paying our bills by check. (Although that has been changing lately).

This question came up, by the way, because my brother-in-law needed to send us some money from Spain. He originally was going to do it with PayPal, but apparently that was going to be pretty expensive. In the end, he found out that with his bank, ING DIRECT, he can go online and send money to a US bank. He had a list of US banks to choose from and ours was there. Which was surpising to me, because it was a local bank. Not one of the big nationwide ones like Bank of America.

Thanks.
- Eric S.

amideislas

Yes, it's very normal. We often send money to US banks from our Spanish accounts, online, without any problem. And it's not at all expensive.

..but just try to send money to a Spanish bank from a US online banking account. Our colleagues over there simply refuse to attempt it. They send "checks" (as you spell it), which take 2-6 weeks to clear in our bank, and we lose maybe 10% of the value in the process.

I've never understood the paranoia of both the Americans and the Brits to giving anyone your bank account number. It's completely normal here.. and you'll find bank account numbers on many small business websites in Europe (the Germans are notorious for putting their bank info on their websites, along with lots of other insignificant details that nobody cares about).

I find that rather surprising, since many other aspects of the Brits and Yanks are far more advanced than many things in Europe. But maybe it's about time for the Brits & Yanks to come into the 21st century too.

Eric S

Maybe the safeguards against illegal withdrawals are just better in European banks. In the US, we are constantly being warned about scams where people try to get your account info in order to make illegal withdrawals from your account.

Examples:

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles...ic-debit-scams
http://www.federalreserve.gov/consum...s_checking.htm

- Eric S.

scot47

With RBS I make an international transfer using SWIFT/BIC/IBAN and it costs me ten pounds. I dare say they make something on the exchange rate too but it seems okay to me !

amideislas

£10 is "reasonable" (wondering what their exchange rate is though). At Halifax, it would start with a £20 transfer fee, plus a very lousy exchange rate. When the Pound was worth €1.25, Halifax offered us €1.14, in addition to their excessive transfer charges.

Just for reference, I just sent €200 to the UK from my Spanish account (online), it showed up in the UK account next morning. The cost was €4.50 for the transfer, and the amount arriving the UK account was £162 and a few pence. That appears to be just under €1.22 Euro to the pound. Today's bank rate is 1.22396.... Not bad, me thinks...

If I'd sent it from the UK (using Halifax, by phone), It would cost £20 for the transfer, plus I'd only get about €1.12 to the Pound. If I were sending several thousand quid, then that's a hell of a lot of money in the bank's pocket. But since it's "free" and there's "no commission" it must be OK

missile

Halifax is part of LTSB. Both banks offer online transfer. Halifax UK charge £9.50 to any bank account and £0.00 to an LTSB account in spain. The maximum delivery time is next working day.

Last time I did an online transfer, I paid ZERO fees and received more € for my £2,000 than I was offered from my currency exchange broker. I received 2.451,06 € on the same day.

This will not always be the case and it is wise to check all the options before making any transfer.

rspltd

One of the clues is that you say Halifax - by phone. Halifax charge almost twice as much by phone than by internet.

amideislas

But had you read the thread, you would know that

a) With a basic account at Halifax, posh features like online transfers abroad are not available, so it's necessary to conduct transfers abroad by phone, which as you point out, is even more profitable for them. But Halifax is far better than many other UK banks that can only offer a "deer in the headlights" look when you mention transfers abroad in another currency.

b) I no longer bother sending money abroad from any UK banks, because it's simply too expensive and burdensome when compared to the much more efficient and functional European banking system, and that was the original point.

missile

I did not realise you only had a basic account. Most of those on this forum would qualify for a Halifax current account and many would choose the reward current account which gives £5 cash back provided you pay in £1,000 per month.

a) Online transfers are available to anyone with a current account at Halifax. Which banks would those be? Nationwide, Barclays, LTSB, Halifax, First Direct, BOS, RBS and even the Post Office offer online international payment - next day transfer.

b) Your choice, but as I have pointed out most UK banks offer a very good online international payment service.

http://www.onlinebankingdemo.co.uk/l...x.html?ibdm=11