Hi,
Ive just had an offer accepted on a property in Spain, paid the deposit and done power of attorney to solicitor to open bank account, NIE number etc.

Does anyone know if there is a currency exchange comparison website that shows me the best rates, or do I need to contact each company individually for a quote?

Also I have not got a Spanish bank account yet until I get the NIE number can I get a rate today, ie do they hold it in a client account? Does a forward contract offer less on the exchange rate? Id rather get a rate now so I know the price of the property.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

For a quite large transfer purchase of a property the you need to make contact with Various exchange companies, they often will offer a more favourable rate than they quote online dependant on amount to be exchanged. You can either fix a rate now or if you think rate may improve before completion set a forward rate. You would not need NIE for either but will for Spanish Bank Account to transfer to but that does not have to be immediately. I would make contact with a selection of exchange companies as they will explain fully how the system works etc, no commitment as they will want your business.

There was a very lenghty discussion on this in January , although the money flow was the other way ( Euros to UK ) several good recommendations on Currency Brokers.
Use the "Search" facility at the top and look for "Currency transfers" on the Spain forum . It should help.
It was headed up "Transfer euros out of Spain" and posted on the 17th Jan.

If its uk to spain, moneysavingexpert.co.uk - martin lewis’ site has a tool to do this. It actually annoys a bit, but the cash forex dealers often outdo the online/city companies.

I wanted 350k pounds in us. When i phoned the 3 forex companies i had accounts with, they were all beaten by the cash dealers to my profit of about 4k pounds. It was a bit surreal but i carried it down to the caribbean in cash, all declared and legal. You just need bank statements or share investment statements showing you have had it for a while. So long as you are a traceable local citizen of the uk, its not a problem.

For sums up to your credit card limit get a halifax clarity card, its unbeatable.

NB the forex firms of course only give indication rates, when you deal, its live, and they can easily sneak in a little extra profit, esp if they are pkaying forward positions in the forex market [which they are, and you just increased their stake in the game.]

I have used these two:

http://www.fxcompared.com/

http://www.comparemoneytransfer.co.uk/

They can give you an idea. But always check with the currency exchange company directly. Sometimes they will match the rate you see on another site. So you can try playing one against the other.

- Eric S.

Second that got 1.157 yesterday using hole in the wall card. Use it all the time and pay it off online as I withdraw.

I've used Currency Fair for many years & find them easy online, good rates and only a £3 charge per transaction, whether it's for £1000 or £100,000.

https://www.currencyfair.com/

Thank you for the useful info. I have contacted Moneycorp today after using the comparison above and got 1.15 euros to £1.
Do you know if there are any bank accounts for non-residents that are free?