Money transfers to Spain

[Anonymous]

Hi can anyone advise.
I have opened a Spanish Bank Account and need to transfer funds from my UK Bank account to it.
What is the most cost effective way of doing this, I have transferred a small ammount ( 3000.00 Euros ) direct from my UK Bank to my Spanish Bank, there were no fees charged by the Spanish recipient Bank but my UK Bank charged me £28.00 and gave me a lower conversion rate than what was quoted on the daily MSN currency converter.
When I transfer Larger ammounts for a property purchace how can I ensure the best possible conversion rate.
Hope somebody can advise, thanks.
Chris Williams.

[Anonymous]

Hi Chris

My opinoin only( and have done loads of research) is to use HBOS, Halifax in the Uk and Spain and Bank of Scotland in Jersey.

Transfer your money with an exhange broker such as Moneycorp(shop around for best rate) then place receipts with Jersey you can then transfer around the HBOS network at no charge.

If you are buying property with your euros try and transfer the main money direct from Bank of Scotland to the recipient account thus avoiding Spanish bank charges.

Always read the small print

I have managed to achive and avarage of 1.475 over 4 transactions in the last 3 months without much cost.

SteveV6

[Anonymous]

Chris

More advice regarding currency transactions.

For instance, my own deal with Moneycorp is that I have agreed with my account manager that my exchange rate will be 500 pips below mid market rate ie if the rate tomorrow morning on xe.com is 1.48500 I can ring through and get 1.48.

I prefer it this way rather than forward contracts beacause a) I trust no one and b) I am in control.

Steve V

[katy]

You say you trust no-one but are you aware that some of these currency firms have been wiped out overnight? If your money is in their system and something like this happens you have no right to compensation. The old saying still goes, “a bird in the hand is worthtwo in a bush”

[Melosine]

We used a money broker as well. HIFX. Although we got going daily rate UK building society charged us 25 pounds for the transfer and our Spanish bank relieved us of .3% in charges !!!
So best to check with your Spanish bank in case they do the same thing.

[Anonymous]

I used Xe.com last week to transfer funds to Barclays in Spain. We got a rate of 1.475 with a wire transfer fee of £8, much better that the 1.456 and £20 fee from our bank a few weeks previously!! It takes a few days to set up an account and you can lock in rates and do a variety of things once registered.

Spanish banks “should” allow free receipt of funds to your account under 50,000 Euros, but do make sure and make several transfers if need be.

Mark

[Anonymous]

Same deals as above I get a price usually about 0.01 or 0.02 Euro under the interbank rate, I transfer the money to http://www.globalcurrencyservice.co.uk as soon as they get it it’s transfer same day to my Banco March account for £15.00, BM charge me nothing.

Regards

Paul

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I use HIFX and have generally found their service OK. I would recommend that you check that they’ve sent the money on, as I’ve had a couple of instances, when paying in instalments, that they’ve not realised the final ammount is in the account and thus not not transfered until prompted.

They gaurantee that the will be no receiving bank charges but other things to note, are:

– You will get a better rate when transfering more than £5000 Sterling.

– Do not pay with a debit card as you will pay a penalty on the rate received.

– If your bank charges you for a BACS transfer then change your bank.

– Why pay for a CHAPS transfer when the BACS will do the job.

To my mind, there is nothing wrong with ‘buying ahead’ especially if you want to ‘fix’ your known costs and enjoy dealing with certainty rather than risk. I’ve used this once for a large ammount, as I wanted certainty and I projected that the Euro would rise a bit against the £.

At the end of the day, this is just the same as playing any market; it goes up and down – you take a view, you pays your money and cross the fingers.

Regards,

Mike

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all your replies to my post, it now gives me more scope for transferring future funds.
Chris Williams.

[Anonymous]

You can send your sterling via an FSA Regulated FX brokerage, who exchnage it into euros instead of your bank. My parents moved over to Spain a few years back now and they went through the firm I work for. No transfer fees and better rate. You can always compare what your given to your bank before you agree to buy. So very transparent.

[Author]

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