mickeacs

I would not say all The Currency Transfer Companies are the same. When transferring large amounts a small change in the rates mean a lot. These companies are not the best at the smaller amounts.

Luckily for smaller amounts European receiving banks are not allowed to charge a fee when the transfer is less than Euro 12,500. The other problem with international transfers is that the receiving banks often don't credit your account immediatley

This is where if you are better off using the same bank or partner banks with your UK bank.

I have come accross www.sun-pay.com. Opening an account with them gives you a Euro and Sterling account. You can transfer between the two. When you are sending money from your Euro account it is the same as making a local payment in spain. You can also receive rental lodgements. you also decide when you convert your currency.

cindyp

Sounds good. So presumably once you have the money changed into euro you can pay it in at local rates into your spanish account from which the mortgage must be paid??

I'm looking for something that will work for receiving rentals from the UK to avoid renters paying £20 per time transfer charges. So if they paid, say, £250, into my ordinary UK account, I pay that into a Sun pay UK account, transfer it to the euro account and then transfer out into a spanish account, would the final charges in your experience be a lot less than £20? It doesn't matter too much to me if it takes 10 days or so for all this to happen, but the charges are a real problem, UK renters don't like paying extra charges on their holiday to transfer to euro and it really adds up for us if I accept sterling and transfer it myself under any method I can currently find. This one sounds like it might be the holy grail renters are looking for....

Is there a catch?

Sue

I believe that you are connected to this company, if that is the case it would be far more honest to admit this upfront, instead of the misleading statement "I have come across....".

Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

poollounger

Contact HIFX and see what is the minimum amount is that they will transfer to Spain without charges...wait till you have this sum, hey presto buy your Euros and get them transferred to your Spanish bank..

cindyp

Good idea! I have got an HIFX account set up from way back when we bought our house so to stay with them would be easier - have looked at their blurb recently to see if they have a min amount and can't find anything related to it. We did get charged last time by our spanish bank cos we transferred a huge amount of money but I think if it is small they don't charge.

It depends what exchange rate you get (which is probably better than a UK bank exchange anyway) and whether there are charges to do it. I will investigae further, thanks for the tip.

dazzle

I have a Nationwide Flex-Account which I pay my rental money into. I then can take money out of the ATM's when I'm in Spain without incurring any charges.

As many people in this area still prefer to deal in cash, it works for alot of things.

poollounger

Transferred Eu56000 a few weeks ago, got nearly 1.48 to the pound, and no charges....HIFX guarantee no charges, so always confirm that this is so while making the transaction. The larger the transaction the less the need to pay charges. On the other hand I bought some beds and paid with a Halifax Visa card and got a mere 1.41 !!

poollounger

And I mean no charges at either end...no Swift transfer charge to get the money to a Spanish bank and no receiving charges at the other end..

Chiclanagir

I did contact HIFX and Currencies Direct. The downside of this for transferring regular direct debits is that you have to pay one months deposit up front and it takes 10 days to get through.

On a different note where is this wonderful Bankiter (sorry about spelling). I am fed up with the charges made by Banca March.

lasatalayas

We can recommend Banco Popular as we have found their service efficient and friendly.
We have current and saving account as with as cash debit cards, visa credit cards and Solred petrol/autopiste card.
Their charges are quite acceptable.

We have our UK income transferred monthly using Currencies Direct and also find this most efficient and cost effective.

El Ken.

Chiclanagir

I pay 17 euros to Banca March to transfer £1,000 sterling each month. Went in yesterday and said that if they couldn't do anything about there charges I would be moving my account. The teller was going to speak to the Manager but I don't hold out much hope.

Also I changed to a residents account but am still being charged the same. So what was the point.

YMF

Hi Glynis

We also are with Banca March, if you open an account with their London branch then all transfers between accounts are free.

The only snag is that you have to keep a balance of £500 in the London account to have free banking. I think there is a small start up cost, cannot remember how much it was.

Their website is http://www.bancamarch.co.uk/

Hope this helps
Yvonne

Chiclanagir

So in theory, if I opened up a Banca March account in London, I could transfer £1000 monthly by internet banking from Lloyds to London and then instruct them to transfer it to Chiclana branch?

YMF

Hi Glynis
Yes thats correct, you can either ask your Spain branch to fax London and ask for the money to be transferred to here or set up a standing order at Banca March London to transfer the money here every month.
Both methods seem to work.
I think you can set up a London account via your Spain branch.
Yvonne
PS I have now received your email....thanks

mickeacs

Before I start I am connected with www.sun-pay.com. I would recommend that you give it a try. The rate today is 1.4626 up to £10,000 and cheaper for larger transfers. Having a sun-pay account is cheaper and very useful for sending regular small amount such as a £1,000 per month. Registering gives you the capablility to make local payments in Spain and the UK.