ElizabethAnn

Britain is still a member of SEPA despite Brexit.
https://www.b2bpay.co/sepa-countries

MEL & JOHN

Paid €3200 into our Sabadell a/c last week and checked again today. So far no charge for the deposit, I would not be happy if there was as we pay €35 per 1/4 for the account anyway. We do not have any of their products - just the account.

guesswork

I went into Sabadell in Ayamonte yesterday and asked questions about these charges.

I have an expansion account which originally free as long as you have approx 700 euros transferred into each month. This payment is done through a regular Payment plan. Now there is a quarterly charge of approx 15 euros which isn't charged if you have another product from them eg home insurance.

If you make ad hoc payments from the UK into your account you can be charged a Landing fee. Some Currency companies move your money direct from the UK to your Spanish account, these are the situations when Sabadell will charge you the Landing fee. When I used to use HiFx(now XE) you did not get landing fees because they moved the money from their UK account to their Spanish account, then they transferred it to your Spanish account. This way it was a Domestic Spanish transfer and you did not get charged. The last time I moved money with XE was about a year ago and there were no charges.

ElizabethAnn

Thanks for the info... I had a meeting with Sabadell on Monday. You have an account that apparently has no other charges, including for transfers. Despite pointing out the SEPA membership and rules, they believe they can simply have their own account 'rules' or conditions and can therefore charge for transfers from non EEA countries post Brexit. They said SEPA and their rules were irrelevant. They tried to transfer me to an account that charges €40 a quarter instead. (I'm guessing this is the account you have - but the price has gone up for new holders). They also tried to get me to set up a "Regular Transfer Scheme" where they set up a Direct Debit from my UK Bank and act as the currency transfer organisation - conversion rate around 2 cents less than I'm currently getting. They also gave me a customer service complaints email so that I can lodge a complaint. Hay ho! I'll keep everyone abreast of developments if there are any.

MEL & JOHN

Thanks for the update Elizabeth Ann

ElizabethAnn

Hi Lin and Ed, Further update... taking insurance would stop our 15€ a quarter charges (if you remain in +ve balance) but it would not stop the charges for transfers, so watch out when you do make a transfer if you don't have an account with a flat rate of 35 or 40€ a quarter. The charge is 0.35% commission or a minimum of €18 per transfer. The conditions and 'marketing' information for all their accounts are lacking in transparency in my opinion so we are shopping around now to see what our best option is. Sadly, there's a trust issue now...

ElizabethAnn

Hi everyone, thanks for all your contributions, they are very helpful.
I have spoken to my currency transfer company in the UK this morning - Smart Currency - and they are aware of the situation and are taking steps that will stop the Spanish Banks being able to make the charges. They should be in play within a month.

Lin and Ed

Hi ElizabethAnn, thanks for the update. I do use Sabadell’s regular transfer plan and didn’t pay any fees on my January transfer so guess I won’t pay any fees if I continue with their home insurance product. I haven’t transferred any funds from the UK using my currency transfer company yet so will have that to look forward to at some point!!

MEL & JOHN

Good to hear, I use Smart Currency - quick, easy and fair

ElizabethAnn

Yes, I find them excellent!

ElizabethAnn

Yes, if you use their regular transfer plan you don't pay for the transfer as they make their money on the currency rate they give you.

Jon-Bxl

I remember a few years ago, there was a discussion here about some great currency transfer companies.

They give a good exchange rate then transfer and use SEPA to allow that there are no charges at the receiving bank. Meaning you get the amount agreed upfront nett. No surprises. If I recall correctly (and I could easily be wrong) Transferwise seemed to get a as well as a couple of other companies.

As I live in the Eurozone I dont do many fx transfers, but never pay receiving charges for my euros. However I do pay other bank charges for maintenance of my account. I have no connection with any fx companies.

Maybe it would be worth a look rather than bank to bank?

Jon

watkins1

I use VFX PLC for transfers to Spain from UK. Rate is fantastic, very close to active exchange rate at that point in time and no charges.
Re bank charges, banks in Spain do appear to apply charges at will without communication. I'm with Bankia, and at the start of last year they started charging 14 euros per month for having an account on top of the annual charges for having bank cards etc, and no longer a branch in Ayamonte. I'm considering speaking to Santander to see if I can open an account in Spain but have a UK representative, as I believe there are a couple of branches of Santander in Ayamonte. Has anyone else tried this? Steve

Loco

Before anyone thinks of using an FX company to transfer large amounts above all I suggest they check the FCA site and Companies House.

One of them mentioned on this thread is legal but doesn't pass muster with me !!!!

Best
​​​​​​Loco

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shirley and anthony hide

I used Transferwise at end of December . Rate was 0.7% below interbank rate at time of deal. Not bad
I beieve it has been discussed on here before . But I understand that if you have a £ 123 account in UK with Santander. You can go to Santander ATM in Spain and draw out Euros at near perfect exchange rate, with no charges. If this is true I was going to take money that way and pay straight into my Sabadel account . Unfortunately I have not been able to get over there for a year now, so having been able to see whether it this is in fact the case or my chain is being pulled .
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