Send payment in Euro/£ or Zlotti, which is best?

loobyloo2

I have to send a payment of under 1,000 euros an individual to Poland, this is the final payment of something I have purchased.
I paid the deposit whilst visiting there, and agreed to send on the remaining amount.
I have never had to do anything like this before, so wondered which is the best way to pay?
I have been asked if wish to pay into their bank account or by Western Union, which is the cheapest way to do this?
And if the amount payable states euros, would I be better off doing the transaction in euros or into the local currency?

Very confused so something simple please;)

ERICS_MUM

If you have been invoiced in euros it would be easiest to pay in euros. If you paid in another currency you could not guarantee that it would equate the required amount of euros when the recipient gets it converted (if you see what I mean).

I can't advise re Western Union or your bank, you need to check their respective charges. With banks a foreign draft is usually cheaper than an electronic payment but obviously takes longer for the money to be credited to the account in Poland. If you pay into their account through your bank then you will need the IBAN number of the recipients account.

HTH

Linda :beer:

sillystudent_2

Sorry to ask this - but do you 100% trust this guy?

Really don't mean to sound intrusive or anything but I'd be careful sending any money by Western Union unless you've either a) received the goods already or b) know the guy well. I only mention it because asking money to be sent to foreign countries is a major scamming technique used (aka the 'Nigerian scam') and 1,000 euros is a lot of money Its also worth bearing in mind that the money is more or less essentially untraceable once its withdrawn from the receiving Western Union branch.

Hope you don't mind me mentioning this, I just thought I'd say it because I recently read of someone who got scammed like this for thousands! As I said above tho, if you know the guy well its a non-issue

loobyloo2

Yes, I know the person very well.
I just really need to know the cheapest way of sending this money, and wether it is better for my pocket, to send the amount in zlotti, euros, or sterling, thanks

sillystudent_2

I'm 95% sure that it'll be considerably cheaper to pay via a bank transfer than through Western Union - the handling charges will likely be considerably lower, plus you should get the bank exchange rate, which is generally very good and much better than Western Union (generally considered a rip-off!)

PolishBigSpender

http://www.moneybookers.com is very highly recommended by me.

It's normal practice for companies to invoice in Euro instead of Zloty - the Zloty has been a tempermental beast recently, though I advise you to check what they're charging in Zloty too - I can assure you that invoicing in Euro and using a poor exchange rate is normal practice

Actually - I don't know the specifics, but I believe Tesco in the UK have a service where you can send money to Poland through them.

loobyloo2

Thanks Polishbigspender:beer:
Will go with Tesco, this is as easy as it gets, just what I needed

gt94sss2

I don't know about Tesco's service but it may be worth checking with your bank.

For instance, HSBC will transfer the sum you mention direct to a Polish bank account for about £9 via internet banking and other banks will offer similar services..

Regards
Sunil