Euro Cheque to sterling savings

Graveydavey

New to this site and couldn't find the right thread to pose this question...

My wife and I have just recieved a gift of euro cheque. It's a fairly substantial sum of 10000 Euro and we obviously don't want to get too stung by both exchange rates and handling fees.

Does anyone know the best way to tackle this... or just as important 'not' to do?

Pre-emptive thanks!

Browntrout_2

Hire this (or similar) luxury Alpine Chalet and get away for Easter and pay in euros, no pesky exchange rates!

Chalet Vert et Blanc
Chamonix Valley, France (sleeps 16 + 5)

Porcupine

Where is the Euro cheque from?

There are two operations here: paying in the cheque, and doing the exchange. You don't need to do both at the same place.

I don't know who will cash Euro cheques. Barclays and Citibank have free Euro current accounts, so you could ask them what to do about cheques.

EUR10,000 might be enough for a FX broker, otherwise just contact a lot of banks and see what they will give you for EUR10,000.

Rhoda_3

I've got the same problem - someone's sent me a cheque in euros & it's to go into an account in pounds sterling.

Nationwide have just told me that if you put a euro cheque into a sterling account it can take 8 weeks to clear, so it's better to ask the person to do it by electronic transfer which takes 3-5 working days. Either way they charge £20, but no commission. I think most banks charge commission.

They think the exchange rate changes hourly, but recommended me ringing their Swift team on 0800 30 20 10 Mon - Fri to be sure.