Opening an account for Euros

PeterBri

I am owed some money by someone living in Portugal. They can repay by regular installments but the costs associated with transferring payments to my UK account are very high. Is there a way for me to open an account that they could pay euros dirctly into? Or any other ideas would be welcome.
Thanks

dchurch24

https://www.britline.com do a Euro account, but getting the money out into your British account would probably be costly. Not too sure, as I have never transfered money that way, only outgoing.

innovate

If you speak Portuguese, may be you can open an internet account in Portugal? But unless you can keep your money in a Euro account (assuming you get one), eventually you will have to exchange the money into pounds.

May be you find some useful info in the International Money Transfers Discussion area, though most of this is concerned with sending money from the UK to elsewhere.

Also, Martin's sending money overseas article might help.

I have started using Moneybookers for regulars transfers between my UK and German accounts (both directions). Am quite happy with their exchange rates and very happy with their charges, but an end-to-end transfer can take up to 8 working days.

innovate

Oh - and if they owe you money, how about leaving the problem to them? Tell them you want a UK cheque, or payment directly into your UK Bank account

ktm_hansi

moving EUROs inside the EU is very cheap, if not free in most cases. The EU has passed banking regulations (2560/2001)that the fee for a cross border transfer cannot be more than a domestic transfer. All you need to do to qualify for this, is to quote the IBAN (international bank account number) and SWIFT BIC of the beneficiary. This information is available on your bank statement. There currently is a limit of EUR 12,500 per payment, but this will be raised to EUR 50,000 on 01/01/2006.
You could always keep the euros in your account as a holiday fund.... or at least you can convert to GBP when it suits you and avoid nasty charges from greedy UK banks.... hth

grumpyoldgit_2

ktm_hansi wrote:

moving EUROs inside the EU is very cheap, if not free in most cases. The EU has passed banking regulations (2560/2001)that the fee for a cross border transfer cannot be more than a domestic transfer. All you need to do to qualify for this, is to quote the IBAN (international bank account number) and SWIFT BIC of the beneficiary. This information is available on your bank statement. There currently is a limit of EUR 12,500 per payment, but this will be raised to EUR 50,000 on 01/01/2006.
You could always keep the euros in your account as a holiday fund.... or at least you can convert to GBP when it suits you and avoid nasty charges from greedy UK banks.... hth

OK - how much should it cost?

grumpyoldgit_2

The other way is to use something like PayPal - not cheap but it works