Transferring Euros to Sterling - Bank charges Thread poster: TRADL
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TRADL
France
Local time: 10:58
English to French
+ ...
Hi everyone,
I thought I am probably not the only one with this problem and so that you might be able to help. I work for loads of agencies paying me in euros and hardly get anything in the UK in £ where I live. I therefore come across the problem of transferring my hard-earned euros to my bank account in the UK. The problem being that my bank charges me about £6-7 for receiving a transfer (while my bank in France charges me only €3.30) so it seems to be an awful lot altogether,... See more Hi everyone,
I thought I am probably not the only one with this problem and so that you might be able to help. I work for loads of agencies paying me in euros and hardly get anything in the UK in £ where I live. I therefore come across the problem of transferring my hard-earned euros to my bank account in the UK. The problem being that my bank charges me about £6-7 for receiving a transfer (while my bank in France charges me only €3.30) so it seems to be an awful lot altogether, especially since it needs doing about once monthly in order to pay the bills etc. So my question is: does anyone know how to avoid the charges at the British end?? I've been in touch with people like Foreign Currency Direct but they would charge me £15 for every transfer so it doesn't seem interesting. All ideas welcome. Thank you for your help! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Pat Jenner (X)
Local time: 09:58
German to English
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These are the magic words (International Bank Account Number and Bank Identifier Code, from memory). I can't of course speak for all banks, but FirstDirect doesn't levy any charges on transfers up to 12,500 euros provided that the payer quotes these numbers when making the payment. Your statement should show your IBAN and BIC references.
Good luck
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[Edited at 2004-06-13 15:12]
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Pat Jenner wrote:
These are the magic words (International Bank Account Number and Bank Identifier Code, from memory). I can't of course speak for all banks, but FirstDirect doesn't levy any charges on transfers up to 12,500 euros provided that the payer quotes these numbers when making the payment. Your statement should show your IBAN and BIC references.
Good luck
I get EU clients to pay by bank transfer too. Using the "magic words", the whole process is so convenient and easy for both parties. So far, I have not had to pay any transfer fees, except for one client and I believe that had to do with their bank and not my own. The best thing would be to find out from your bank in the UK if they charge for such services.
Good luck; payments can be such a hassle!
Aisha
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TRADL
France
Local time: 10:58
English to French
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TOPIC STARTER | First Direct sounds good | Jun 2, 2004 |
First Direct sounds good. Thank you Pat! I have actually tried to open an account with Nationwide which doesn't seem to charge either but they turned me down. It's not that easy when you're a new freelancer... I'll try FD then!!
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I'm with first First Direct but before I come to that: When I lived in the UK I opened a German bank account and took the money out at the cash machine and paid it in at the paying-in machine. That was the cheapest way to do it. Now to First Direct, if you receive a transfer from abroad into your account and the sender uses IBAN and SWITC/BIC code FD won't charge you to receive it. I now have a bank account that doesn't charge me to send it either so I'm happy. However if you want to transfer mo... See more I'm with first First Direct but before I come to that: When I lived in the UK I opened a German bank account and took the money out at the cash machine and paid it in at the paying-in machine. That was the cheapest way to do it. Now to First Direct, if you receive a transfer from abroad into your account and the sender uses IBAN and SWITC/BIC code FD won't charge you to receive it. I now have a bank account that doesn't charge me to send it either so I'm happy. However if you want to transfer money the other way, GBP to EUR, from the UK to Europe, they will charge you a fat £20. How can they do that? They aren't allowed to charge more than for a transfer between UK banks. They justify it by saying that the transfer is the equivalent of a same day transfer between UK banks for which they would also charge £20. But the money doesn't arrive the same day. "That's not our problem". I discussed this with the EU hotline - did you know there's a hotline number that anyone living in the EU can dial up and ask about EU issues. They said they thought it was illegal and I should complain to the bank and the Banking Ombudsman. They said I could also sue and would probably win. Back to FD: been with them for years, love the service - telephone, internet - I don't think you can beat it in the UK. ▲ Collapse
| | | | TRADL
France
Local time: 10:58
English to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Gillian! I have just applied for an account with them and hope it will work!
| | | | RosaT 
Spain
Local time: 10:58
| What First Direct says | Jun 15, 2004 |
This is what First Direct says about their international transfer charges:
**********
Our charges for receiving International tranfers are -
If below GBP100 - Nil
Above GBP100 in Sterling - GBP6
in Currency - GBP8
The only exception to the above is payments received in EUROS up to EUR12500 - provided your IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and BIC (Bank Identifier Code) are used - th... See more This is what First Direct says about their international transfer charges:
**********
Our charges for receiving International tranfers are -
If below GBP100 - Nil
Above GBP100 in Sterling - GBP6
in Currency - GBP8
The only exception to the above is payments received in EUROS up to EUR12500 - provided your IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and BIC (Bank Identifier Code) are used - there will not be any charge.
If the payment is above EUR12500 there would be a charge of GBP8.
**********
I hope this helps.
[Edited at 2004-06-15 14:01] ▲ Collapse
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TRADL
France
Local time: 10:58
English to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Some news on my issue.
I have now been turned down by firstdirect and by nationwide a second time (they actually opened the account and then send me a registered letter saying they were closing the account due to further security checks). I really can't believe it. The only thing on my application is that I have moved 3 times in the last 3 years. What's wrong with that? I am really not happy with banks at the moment. So I took some other advice from this foum and went to open a euro accoun... See more Some news on my issue.
I have now been turned down by firstdirect and by nationwide a second time (they actually opened the account and then send me a registered letter saying they were closing the account due to further security checks). I really can't believe it. The only thing on my application is that I have moved 3 times in the last 3 years. What's wrong with that? I am really not happy with banks at the moment. So I took some other advice from this foum and went to open a euro account with natwest, my current bank, yesterday. I just hope they don't turn me down) It seems quite good though, they don't charge for anything with this method. It's what I'd been hoping for. I'll keep you posted on the result!
Thanks for your help anyway. ▲ Collapse
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