receiving overseas money in the uk

tracywilko

Hi

we have a holiday home in Italy which we rent out. does any body know the best way for us to receive rental money from overseas/Europe as each time we receive some money off someone, we get charged by either the bank, or pay pal. when we want to return some money, we still get charged!

is there any other way of doing this?

Trace :eek:

olly300

Due to the UK not being in the Euro you will always pay an exchange rate for changing cash to and from pounds.

Ideally you want a Euro bank account where you can send and receive Euros free, then only change large amounts of Euros into pounds and vice versa using a foreign exchange broker.

missile

I assume you have a bank account in Italy and UK? You can transfer money in either direction using one of the many reputable travel exchange companies e.g. http://www.hifx.co.uk/

preable

With a uk bank account you will always get charged exchange rate fees

tracywilko

missile wrote: »

I assume you have a bank account in Italy and UK? You can transfer money in either direction using one of the many reputable travel exchange companies e.g.

we do but it is with Banco posta so we dont have on line access to it. what i wanted to try and find was the cheapest way of receiving money into the uk, and then also the cheapest way to return a security deposit to peoplem paypal charge, there are money grams. it isnt just Euros though, we get people staying from poland, and tallin etc.

tracy

markbodega

There are a number of options you should consider.

At the very least compare the exchange rates offered by your bank in Italy and or the UK with those offered by one of the many currency specialists in the UK that specialise in international money transfers. Martin has written a good guide which you can access below.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/foreign-currency-exchange

Essentially by using a currency specialist you'll access far better exchange rates (meaning you'll get more money in your UK account for your Euros) and you'll avoid the unnecessary bank fees often charged by the high street players.

Martin's section on amounts under £5,000 is somewhat out of date by the way. By all means contact co's like Paypal and Western Union but a number of the currency co's mentioned in the £5,000 or more section also now offer online services for smaller amounts such as your rental income.

Unlike your bank, most currency specialists will also offer a regular payments service. They allow you to fix the exchange rates for up to 12 months so you know exactly how much you'll receive in your UK bank account each month (handy if you're using the rental income to pay off a mortgage) and can automate the transfers via direct debit so you don't have to phone your bank each month to sort out the transfer. Again you'll also avoid unnecessary transfer fees which your bank is no doubt charging you for each and every transfer you make (on average £25 per transaction x 12 months = a saving of £300 a year).

The choice is yours depending upon what your looking to do. At the very least however shop around and compare the rates / fees charged by your bank with those of a currency co.

Hope this helps

Mark Bodega

Lucylockett_2

Hoping someone can advise me on a similar problem.. We have sold our apartment to a friend who has been to Spain to get his money (He sold his place over there) but he's finding his bank won't accept it! I'm assuming it is in the form of a cheque (Euro's) but his British bank won't let him pay it in here! He doesn't have or use a computer so where do we go from here???

Lucy.

markbodega

Lucy

I'm assuming he still has an account in Spain? Suggest he speaks to his Spanish bank and sends the money via them.

Alternatively a number of the larger currency specialists have offices in Spain and he could transfer the money via them however he would have to have the cheque re-issued.

Mark Bodega

Lucylockett_2

Thanks for that. I'm going to phone him and see whats happening..

Lucylockett_2

Right! Well it's cash he has brought back (!!) Any idea of the best place to exchange a large amount of euro's? He has a receipt from the bank in Spain.

Olipro

the best thing to do is open a Euro account, pay it in and then use an electronic exchange service to convert it, far better than cash rates.