Sterling pension to euros each month?

mouseclick

Hi, I get a pension of around £700 each month, and I want to live in Portugal. This pension need to be paid into a UK account, so I would like to convert it to a useable form in Portugal.

I was thinking of a Euro account. I have actually set one up with the Irish National Bank, see this 2002 article http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oAB83Z1ydE&feature=player_embedded which is probably way out of date. However they only give a Maestro / Laser card, which can only be used it ATMs, and I think there is a small charge too.

I also have a Nationwide Flex account, as you all know there WERE good http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXnxxOYZ5Qo, however these are now charging £1 plus 2% commission, so following the advice in Nationwide's old advert http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H--tdhf1DPg I have now jumped out of the Nationwide "keep net" and I opened an account with Metro Bank https://www.metrobankonline.co.uk/ - they have a Mastecard Debit card. However, http://portugal.angloinfo.com/countries/portugal/banking.asp implies that a Visa card may be the better choice. I will see if the Mastercard works when I go to Portugal on 14 October (in 10 days time).

A Citibank Euro account may be a good bet https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1447279, but Portugal is not one of the listed countries.

Then there are prepaid debit cards. I have a Netteller plus card and this seems to load up easily and quickly by direct transfer from my Nationwide account, but I chose Pounds rather than Euros, because I was booking Ryanair flights. Maybe I should get an extra one in the Euro currency, if this is possible??

So many choices. I wish it were simple and straightforward

Voyager2002

Do you have a Euro account in Portugal? If so, do check out money exchange firms (like xe.com) who can receive money in sterling from a UK bank account, and provide an electronic transfer in Euro to an account where you need it. Their rates are keen: at one point I compared them with Citibank for a pound-dollar conversion between my sterling and US dollar accounts, and XE were quite a bit better than Citi.

knightfox

I found Xe & citi to be very close last time I moved money in Euro. Although maybe it was just that day.

Toe-Jam

A National Irish Bank Maestro can be used in Shops aswell, not just atms, I have one. You havn't said where abouts in the Country you live. If you are near London MetroBank have a current account in sterling that charges 0% commission , similarly in the northwest Cumberland bs do it also.

Of there is Santander Zero if you qualify for that. Othewise, xe.com is your best bet. or one of the euro current accounts available here in the UK like Citi.

dealsnoway

I am a Chinese, I do not know you do not use Western Union, this flow is very fast and convenient way!

mouseclick

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Do you have a Euro account in Portugal? If so, do check out money exchange firms (like xe.com) who can receive money in sterling from a UK bank account, and provide an electronic transfer in Euro to an account where you need it. Their rates are keen: at one point I compared them with Citibank for a pound-dollar conversion between my sterling and US dollar accounts, and XE were quite a bit better than Citi.

Thanks. I forgot to mention I have an xe.com account, but I think they will charge a fee, because Portugal is not one of the countries that accept the best method of transfer (I forget what it's called).

mouseclick

Toe-Jam wrote: »

A National Irish Bank Maestro can be used in Shops aswell, not just atms, I have one. You havn't said where abouts in the Country you live. If you are near London MetroBank have a current account in sterling that charges 0% commission , similarly in the northwest Cumberland bs do it also.

Of there is Santander Zero if you qualify for that. Othewise, xe.com is your best bet. or one of the euro current accounts available here in the UK like Citi.

Thanks, I live in London and I opened a Metro Bank account yesterday. They seem OK, and this may be the medium term solution. I will be testing that card next week (it's a Mastercard Debit card). But it would also be nice to have a Euro account so that I can send money to other people's banks easily, and perhaps buy stuff online (I can see alarm bells ringing if I start asking for things to be sent to a country different to the cardholder's registered address). I may also be buying a property (I guess I'd use xe.com for this). I also like the idea of being able to put my money into euros if the pound crashes, or vice versa.

mouseclick

Toe-Jam wrote: »

A National Irish Bank Maestro can be used in Shops aswell, not just atms, I have one. You havn't said where abouts in the Country you live. If you are near London MetroBank have a current account in sterling that charges 0% commission , similarly in the northwest Cumberland bs do it also.

Of there is Santander Zero if you qualify for that. Othewise, xe.com is your best bet. or one of the euro current accounts available here in the UK like Citi.

Thanks for that. Which type of account do you have? Mine is the basic current account, the card lettering is printed but not embossed, and I was told by the bank staff that it could NOT be used in shops. Strange. I will try it next week. I have a Metro bank account thanks, and I do live in London luckily

mouseclick

dealsnoway wrote: »

I am a Chinese, I do not know you do not use Western Union, this flow is very fast and convenient way!

Fast, but they are quite expensive. I have used them in the past to cash to others. Unless you are talking about something different, one of their website links took me to http://www.customhouseuk.co.uk/. This SEEMS to be like http://www.xe.com looking at http://www.customhouseuk.co.uk/online-transfer/how-it-works/. If I used this, I would still need a Euro account

benjus

mouseclick wrote: »

Thanks for that. Which type of account do you have? Mine is the basic current account, the card lettering is printed but not embossed, and I was told by the bank staff that it could NOT be used in shops. Strange. I will try it next week. I have a Metro bank account thanks, and I do live in London luckily

The MetroBank account works well - I've tested mine in Italy and was able to withdraw and purchase in Euros at more or less the spot exchange rate. Personally I'd use this option indefinitely, until MetroBank stops offering this benefit (if indeed that happens). I'm not sure why you think Visa is better than Mastercard in Portugal - are you referring to this statement from the page you linked?:

... may use any foreign card with a Visa sign: Barclaycard, Connect Card, Switch (Visa), Carte Bleu, Visa Electron, Master Card, American Express etc.

A Master Card with a Visa sign ?? I think whoever wrote that got a bit confused. Other sites suggest that MasterCard is just as widely accepted in Portugal as Visa.

mouseclick

benjus wrote: »

I'm not sure why you think Visa is better than Mastercard in Portugal - are you referring to this statement from the page you linked?:


A Master Card with a Visa sign ?? I think whoever wrote that got a bit confused. Other sites suggest that MasterCard is just as widely accepted in Portugal as Visa.

Yes, I was, thanks for clarifying. I will test the card next week anyway, so fingers crossed