I thought that was someone who used someone elses money, never their own, taking a cut off the top win or lose

That would be an apt description for an "Independent Financial Advisor"

a "currency speculator" can only do it if s/he has enough to play with to make it worthwhile otherwise you are taking a risk on too much of your capital sum.

George Soros, the most high profile of the currency market investors, made over US$1 billion profit by short selling sterling.
That is the way to do it. But I still wonder if he had an insider in the Major Govt.

He may well have had a spy or two feeding him info, but it seems the government were the last to realise what was inevitable. The writting was on the wall and almost everyone but Lamont knew it long before black Wednesday.

There are too many people in the currency markets trying to emulate Soros by short selling currencies, it is only the diverse nature of the countries that comprise the €uro that are keeping it afloat.
Soros got away with it, it wasnt known about his involvement for several years by which time too late. I think the hammer of Thor would be small beer to anyone who should actually succeed to drag down another country like that now.

And people wonder why I have no time for such bloodsuckers in business. It's bad enough that company owners and directors have to take their business(es) private because of the way they are treated by so called market experts.
(Sugar & Branson in mind at this moment).

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First off, the UK is NOT really Europe. It doesn't walk, talk or play by the same rules as Europe, but that's another topic.

OK, so I looked it up. Santander offered the "Zero" account, which offers NO fees for transactions abroad, in other currencies. I reckon that's a bit like a "commission free" currency exchanger - they don't charge a fee, but give you a lesser exchange rate. I reckon with this type of account, you are given the posh luxury of transferring money abroad from your online banking portal. The requirements were to have all of your income and bills transacted through that account, and a 1000 pound minimum balance. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to conduct all my banking through a rather brain-dead bank.

Unfortunately, Santander has apparently axed the ZERO account and that link discusses some of the alternatives available.

I don't have a ZERO account or anything like it, so I am not provided the posh privilege of transferring money abroad online (something every account I've ever had in any European bank <Germany, Holland, Spain, Austria> offers as a basic online function). They have no mention of international transfers whatsoever in their painfully slow online help center, and so I opened a support request and this is the reply I received from them:

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Thank you for your email.

Regrettably, it is not possible to transfer funds online to a foreign bank account.

However, you can make a transfer from your Santander UK account to an account in a foreign currency using our International Payments scheme. The fee for this service is £25.00.

You can set up an International payment at your local branch with ID or by contacting us on 0870 333 3228 (choose option 1). If you are calling from abroad please contact us on 0044 1908 237 963.

We are available Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm.

Alternatively, you can visit your local branch with the following details:

Account number to be debited, amount of transfer and currency required, and beneficiary bank details including their full name, Bank Identifier Code (BIC) and IBAN (International Bank Account Number).

A copy of three forms of identification is needed to complete the request. Please provide us with photographic identification (valid passport or drivers license), proof of account ownership (copy of passbook or recent bank statement dated within three months), and proof of address (driving license or utility bill dated within three months).

When an International Payment is handled by a correspondent bank before it reaches the beneficiary bank, that bank or the beneficiary bank may deduct a charge before sending the money to the beneficiary. Santander has no control over the amount these banks may charge.

Further details can be found on our website, www.santander.co.uk > How do I? > FAQ?s & Guides > CHAPS and International Payment options.

I hope this information is useful and if you have any other queries, please do not hesitate to contact me via Secure Messaging or my colleagues on 0845 9724724, Monday to Saturday 7am to 11pm and Sunday 8am to 10pm.

Kind Regards,

Tracey

Santander Customer Services

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I could bore you with many more experiences with other brain-dead UK banks, and idiocy even at International banks such as Barclays and HSBC... Stuff I've never even had to think twice about with Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, LaCaixa, BBVA, Raffeisen Bank, Stadsparkasse... you name it..

Again, the only point I'm making is that UK banks (and US banks, too) are woefully less sophisticated than European banks. And the facts simply prove it.

I can only presume it's just that the European system was designed much more recently, and that many more average Europeans routinely transact business across borders, whilst the UK and US banks are mired in legacy operational infrastructure which isn't really designed to efficiently facilitate international banking functions for the average person. It's something "special".

I don't know how you can continue to say this. As several posters have told you, their UK banks including Santander do provide online international payments for current account holders and some do it for free. Santander do not have a "retail account" - what is the correct name of your account. Is it another basic bank account like you have with Halifax? As one might expect basic accounts offer basic services. You are aware it is against T&Cs to use a personal account for business transactions?

The only european bank I am aware of which does not offer online international payments is based in mainland europe!

..and yet, for me and thousands of others, getting money out of the UK is a pain in the arse, and there are endless blogs and threads about that very issue.

Even Santander admits it, and the link to their FAQ's provides no indication that transacting a transfer abroad is possible online. It's £25 and you have to go to a branch and provide a bunch of documentation. At least that's what they say officially, and in my case, there is no possibility to transfer funds abroad through their online banking system. So I use a UK transfer service, transferring the money by CHAPS to the UK service, and then on to my LaCaixa account, which is much, much simpler and almost as cheap as if I send money to a UK bank from my LaCaixa online banking.

And by the way, I'd happily "upgrade" to some sort of "posh" account which will afford me the same services that any basic account anywhere in mainland Europe would offer, but so far, none of the UK banks I hold accounts in have been able to provide any details of what that might be, but as in the case of the Santander "Zero" account which no longer exists, there were some pretty steep restrictions attached to it.

And if UK banking is so "internationally sophisticated", why does the UK have the largest cottage industry of independent international transfer and "prepaid debit card" services? Might the fact that UK banks are painful and expensive have anything to do with that? You sure won't find anywhere near as many independent transfer and "prepaid debit card" businesses thriving in mainland Europe (aside from FX trading platforms). Wonder why that is?

But OK, you can ignore these facts and call it all drivel whilst the foreign transfer and prepaid debit card businesses in the UK continue to make a bundle, and I and millions of others NOT living in the UK never have need for them (except when transferring money out of the UK).

laCiaxa has a prepaid card

The fact is it is very easy for anyone with a UK current account to transfer funds online to almost any country.

Another fact is UK is regarded as the foremost centre for banking within europe.

Do you have a basic account with Santader?

Yes, of course, all UK banks offer international transfers from their online banking - except for the many that don't (most seem to consider it a "special" function requiring a visit to a branch with pages of documentation and then charge high fees for it - as in Santander's case).

At Santander, I have the only type of account offered to me. I have requested other types of accounts enabling international transfers, but I only get responses like the one I posted earlier.

UK banks just aren't very good at banking outside the UK, which is why I am forced to avoid using them wherever possible. Lately, I've been withdrawing cash in the UK and just carrying it back on the plane. In contrast, I just use my LaCaixa card when in the UK. It's a good rate and very low fees.

Sorry, but this is simply not true. Every UK bank offers online international payments to their current account customers. Unfortunately, it seems you do not qualify for a current account with Santander and Halifax?

gee who's going to tell ??

I have a current account with web access with Halifax, they allow international payments, just I will never pay the extortionate amount they want to do it.


and Halifax is owned by Lloyds TSB so as they integrate (its taking forever and a day) they will have to join the LTSB rules, which are coming in slowly.

I remember being in foreign countries and feeling proud that Barclays DCO (as the foreign division was called) were all over the place and made deliveries of "funny money" to ships. They even used to post their branch details on ships noticeboards if you wanted to call in and discuss your finances.

Nowadays you can be in a foreign country and be almost a million miles away from a British bank. Now banking with LTSB I am in Granada and nearest branch is in Seville.


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