tebo53

Hi All, I was a bit concerned about the cost of transferring money from UK to Spain after opening my new Non-resident account at Sabadell ready for when we move over later next year.

After a lot of checking and advice from expat members I decided on 'Transferwise'. Only costs a quid to transfer up to £200 then a small percentage on amounts over that. Fast service too.

So if anyone is still undecided on money transfer they are worth a try.

I have no affiliation with that company.

regards

HeikeundAlan

while in the uk look at caxton fx euro cards
its run by bank of newcastle
we had that card for last 4 years.
we love the service as we just go online checked out exchange rate
and then move pounds to our euro card.
Card is used in any atm without cost in europe and also to pay in a shop

Mitzyboy

If you use HIFC, Moneycorp etc or Currencies direct you dont pay any percentage or charge on anything and get a very good rate of exchange, normally better than the banks. I'm not sure where we gave the advice that its better to pay fees and charges. I transferred regular amounts for 5 years using Currencies direct. Never paid a fee, never paid a percentage and into a Sabadell account also

andyrich666

Was the rate really that much better than having a sterling account with Sabadell ?

Bri and Katee

We use Currencies Direct for our mortgage payments. I was dissapointed at the beginning of last month to see the rate offered was 6 cents less than the interbank rate for the day. I accept its usually in the 2-3 cent rate and wrote them an email of complaint. I did get a long winded reply, but I'll see what this months rate is before I decide to change agencies or not.

For large amounts I've always used Custom House (now owned by Western Union) They charge £12.50 plus the interbank rate less 1cent, so that is competitive for large amounts.

Mitzyboy

But why do you pay charges, I dont understand. Everyone is different I know, but CE were always there or thereabout for me, and I just transferred a house sale value figure with HIFX which was much better than bank rates and, again, no charges at all

£12.50 is a lot if it is just a monthly pension, or something like that

bobd22

I use Currency Fair used a variety over last 5 years but find them the best £3 transfer fee no matter how much or little transferred, realy good rates far better than any others again same great rate even if only a few £100. Smooth simple transfers normally in Spanish account next day.

andyrich666

Thanks from me for that recommendation

rafikiphoto

Another vote for Currency Fair. If I get on in the morning and send them the Sterling by 10am via the Faster Payments System the euros are often in my laCaixa account same day. There is an 8€ expedited option but I never use it; not sure how much faster they could be than that. Oh - and unbeatable rates. Money passes through an escrow account.

Lynn R

And another from me! Better rate than I used to get from xe.com and their service has been excellent. As you say, why pay extra for a faster service when the €3 standard one is so quick?

Neptuno

Why don't you have your pension paid into a UK bank, and pay in a cheque at intervals when the rate is good?

Mitzyboy

It actually doent apply any more, but I dont just really because I dont want to. It all evens out in the end. For instance when I bought my villa from sterling to € it was 1.45 - €1.50 ish. When I sold my villa it was €1.18

Over the years with regular transfers its been low and its been high and Ive paid a reasonably good r/ex. One thing I havent paid is Between £3 and £12 a time to do it, which seems to be what has been accepted in this thread

Ian_Daly

Hi Everyone,

I just thought I would add my 2 cents into the Thread seen as my company is BE's new currency partners and well I'm quite experienced in this field.

First things first, nobody but nobody should be paying any transfer fees if they are using a currency specialist. As mentioned by Mitzyboy there is a few companies that do NOT charge anything to transfer overseas and if you are being charged then you need to stop and change company!

Secondly, the Caxton Card mentioned by HeikeundAlan, is a good idea if you are on holiday and cannot open an Euro account however they still do take a spread, usually about 2.5% on the exchange rate so while this doesn't make a massive difference on small amounts or once a year holiday money, it can really add up if you are transferring regularly and I would suggest looking into alternatives and comparing just in case there's some big savings to be made.

Bri and Katee's, 6 cents off is quite a lot in fact more then the bank but I believe currencies direct don't charge any fees. However I would love to know what amount in Sterling you are transferring each month with them??? If it is a very small amount then 6 cents may not be a bad rate however this does depend on the amount your transferring.

For your large amounts Bri and Katee, 1 cent off is not bad but the fee is still shocking, can I ask like before what amount is a large amount for you? 1 cent off £100,000+ is a big spread however 1 cent off £5,000 is competitive.

Neptuno, ALMOST the perfect plan besides the dealing with a cheque (far far too time consuming in my experience). However the technique of holding onto funds till the rate is good is a great idea, I'm currently implementing this for around 15 of my clients at the moment. So far they have bought in January at €1.2340 then in March €1.1870 then in May at €1.19 and just recently 1st October when the rate was at €1.1970.

The best impartial advice I can give is remember your ABC's, Always Be Comparing ...... Assuming your receiving the best deal out there without checking is currency suicide....

Good luck everyone...

andyrich666

How I see it is 3 Euros is peanuts and the Currency Fair has good reviews here, if the service is good and quick then maybe some people do not mind paying a fee.

Free is not always best for me, but I will check your company out.

rafikiphoto

Yes, when comparing it depends on the rate as well as the fee or lack of. CF has exceptional rates and charges 3€. I have done comparisons in the past with other company's who do not charge a fee but have poorer rates. CF always won hands down.