SEPA transfer

alanf1314

I have recently moved to Germany and get paid in pounds to my UK account. I need to transfer cash from the UK to Germany and believe there is a way to do this transfer for free.

I currently bank with RBS...can somebody please advise on the costs and if there is a way to transfer for free?? :huh:

NFH

What do you define as "free"? I'll do the transfer for you for free, but I'll give you an FX rate of 1.0000. Is that "free"?

Fiddlestick

alanf1314 wrote: »

I have recently moved to Germany and get paid in pounds to my UK account. I need to transfer cash from the UK to Germany and believe there is a way to do this transfer for free.

It will not be possible to do this for free.

It will not be counted as SEPA as you are converting currencies.

alanf1314

Fiddlestick wrote: »

It will not be possible to do this for free.

It will not be counted as SEPA as you are converting currencies.

Free as in 'fee free..'

I've heard from friends that you can request a single payment to be made in one currency that means you don't accrue a transfer fee? With regards to not being a 'SEPA' transfer why do RBS advertise it on their website? Where else accepts pounds outwith the UK?

I'm not entirely sure how they work though so any information is appreciated. :beer:

Fiddlestick

alanf1314 wrote: »

With regards to not being a 'SEPA' transfer why do RBS advertise it on their website?

RBS offer Euro accounts.

System

For a SEPA CT from UK to Germany, RBS charge you £10, plus their spread on the GBP>euro exchange rate:
http://www.rbs.co.uk/personal/travel/g2/making-payments/royworld-economy-euro.ashx
If you meet Citibank's requirements, you could open Citibank sterling and euro accounts. You can then switch GBP to euro with a spread of something like 1%. You get a debit card that you can use to withdraw euro from Visa cash machines in the eurozone without fee. Alas, Citibank appear no longer to be waiving their £10 charge for outgoing SCTs.

UK banks can make these huge charges, because UK govts have failed to apply the relevant EC directive to transfers in GBP (unlike the Swedish government, which did apply them to transfers in kronor).

jonesMUFCforever

Fiddlestick wrote: »

RBS offer Euro accounts.

For free?????

alanf1314

YoungNick wrote: »

For a SEPA CT from UK to Germany, RBS charge you £10, plus their spread on the GBP>euro exchange rate:
http://www.rbs.co.uk/personal/travel/g2/making-payments/royworld-economy-euro.ashx
If you meet Citibank's requirements, you could open Citibank sterling and euro accounts. You can then switch GBP to euro with a spread of something like 1%. You get a debit card that you can use to withdraw euro from Visa cash machines in the eurozone without fee. Alas, Citibank appear no longer to be waiving their £10 charge for outgoing SCTs.

UK banks can make these huge charges, because UK govts have failed to apply the relevant EC directive to transfers in GBP (unlike the Swedish government, which did apply them to transfers in kronor).

Very helpful post. Do you advise me just to bite the £10 charge as I don't have time to switch to Citi?

System

alanf1314 wrote: »

Do you advise me just to bite the £10 charge as I don't have time to switch to Citi?

If you only need to make one or two transfers, may as well stick with the devil you know, ie RBS. If you're going to be long-term in Germany, it's hard to comment sensibly unless you are willing to post more about who is paying you, etc.

Fiddlestick

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

For free?????

Probably not, I don't know.

Citibank offer their Euro current account for free, so I've never needed to look at RBS' offering in great detail.

SG_Guy

SEPA for credit transfers might have some delays in implementation.
Alternatively, try some of the online currency brokers e.g. UKForex who take a very competitive spread compared to the high street banks.