Sending Money Overseas article discussion

grumbler

Originally Posted by monkeyspanner

If anyone has any other suggestions to reduce her costs please reply.

Check

http://www.mycurrencytransfer.com/money-transfer-to-Canada/2000-GBP

https://www.fxcompared.com/money-transfer/UK-Canada?amount=5000&bType=1&aDir=0&ref=filter

Tell your daughter to take care when using ATMs as many have their own charges.

terryjune

Hi
we have just had an offer accepted for an appt in spain so i need to send 5000 euros as a deposit then will need to send roughly £80000 when it is finalised. Never done anything like this before so any advice would be very much appreciated. Do i just send from my bank account through one of these currency firms? ive no idea how it works. also the deposit can be sent no problem but the 85000 is at the minute spread between different isas, do i put them all into one account then send? We are going to open a bank account in spain should i send money to that first then transfer? not the correct forum but ccan i open a bank account in spain from here or will i have to go over. thank you in advance for any advice

grumbler

terryjune wrote: »

Do i just send from my bank account through one of these currency firms?

Generally yes.

ive no idea how it works.

I guess they all have this explained on their websites.

also the deposit can be sent no problem but the 85000 is at the minute spread between different isas, do i put them all into one account then send?

Again, I think, this depends on the company. I am pretty sure with some you can have a sort of account that you can topup with several transfers.

We are going to open a bank account in spain should i send money to that first then transfer?

Transfer where? Generally you can send money directly to the seller or the solicitor.

not the correct forum but ccan i open a bank account in spain from here or will i have to go over.

I think you can find it difficult to open an account there before buying even if you go, let alone remotely.

terryjune

Thank you for your prompt reply grumbler. little bit clearer now. i can send the money for the appt to the sellers account then when i have the appt i could then go over and open a bank account for bills etc? i am speaking to a solicitor tomorow that a friend has reccomended so ill have a bit more information then. thank you again

terryjune

i will be sending the deposit from my halifax account, could you recommend one of the currency firms?

eDicky

terryjune wrote: »

i will be sending the deposit from my halifax account, could you recommend one of the currency firms?

terryjune wrote: »

Do i just send from my bank account through one of these currency firms? ive no idea how it works.

The charges and adverse exchange rates imposed by banks are avoided when using a currency broker firm for the transfer because they operate their own bank accounts in various countries, and the actual international movement of funds takes place within their own accounting. So they will give you their UK account details for you to make a free FP or BACS transfer from your Halifax account, then make a free SEPA transfer of the euros from their Eurozone account to the target Spanish account that you specify.

Personally I am using TransferWise these days - easy to use, fast, reliable and good value. They charge 0.5% for transfers to euros, at the prevailing mid-market rate. If you send me a PM I can provide a referral link that will give you (and me) a £15 discount.

Some other firms charge no fixed fees but make a margin on the exchange rates, such as FairFX and Caxton, so for sending the large amount of your purchase it may be worth calling them to negotiate the rate and work out the overall cost compared to a service that charges a percentage such as TransferWise. You can check the actual mid-market rate on xe.com or TransferWise for your rate comparison.

On whether to consolidate your various ISAs to make up the full purchase amount either before or during the transfer process, you need to get specific advice from the service you choose. For added security you may prefer sending it direct from your bank - a single charge for the full amount (ie. not a percentage) would be relatively inexpensive, but they are sure to fleece you on the exchange rate unless you negotiate something more reasonable.

It probably goes without saying that you should not transfer anything to the sellers bank account before legal contracts are prepared and signed.

terryjune

Thank you for your advice edicky, yes nothing will be sent until it's been sorted by my Spanish lawyer, I will pm you when I know more from that end about sending the deposit, cheers

Scooby12

I used a code to save get free commission with Transfer Wise that saved a few quid - transferwise.com/u/091ea - approx £100 cheaper than via the bank on a purchase of £2k

erind

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can help. I need to send money to a Portugal bank account for a holiday. They have requested that I send it in GBP rather than Euros. I understand that I will be charged by my bank account but wondered will I also be charged by the bank in Portugal?

Thanks in advance.
Erin

eDicky

erind wrote: »

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can help. I need to send money to a Portugal bank account for a holiday. They have requested that I send it in GBP rather than Euros. I understand that I will be charged by my bank account but wondered will I also be charged by the bank in Portugal?

The bank in Portugal may deduct a charge for receiving a foreign transfer, and if they are converting the GBP you send to euros they will set the exchange rate. But these are things for the receiving party to know about and be responsible for. Are they asking you to send in GBP because they have a GBP account there, or what?