Bank transfer from the UK to Germany ??

uncle_buck_3

Hi,
Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

I want to make a money transfer from a UK bank to a German bank so the funds will have to be in euros.

Is there a way to do this without incurring charges? My bank (Cahoot) want £25 to do this via CHAPS.

Thanks.

martyn4764

Hi

If the German account is in your name, cheapest is http://www.moneybookers.com for a smallish amount (fee is €1.80 or 3.50)

Over about £5k, try one of the currency houses (they've been discussed here before, try a search; I can personally recommend hifx.co.uk)

uncle_buck_3

Hi,
No the German account isn’t mine…..I wish to buy an item from a German company who require payment via bank transfer.


Thanks.

mrs_deadline

I mainly have experience of transfers in the opposite direction (I have accounts in both countries and I can do international payments online from my German account). But it should be possible to pay a lot lower fee than £25 (more like £5-10) if you know the full IBAN code of the recipient account, the payee will provide you with this.

IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is supposed to be the standard way of setting up payments within the EU now. I'd call Cahoot again and press them to offer you that method. Sometimes front line staff don't know much about international transactions but they should be able to pass you on to someone who does.

mexicanwaver

That's really helpful - thanks! I wish I'd known about moneybookers sooner

uncle_buck_3

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

The problem I have is that the company I am wanting to buy from only seems to deal with bank to bank transfers. I plan to buy a few things from this company on a regular basis.
Would it be feasible for me to open a bank account in Germany then I could transfer money to the company without ridiculous charges being involved?
…of course I have to get funds into my German account!!

mrs_deadline

I think you could open a business account with a German bank. I did this years ago by filling in an online application. The catch is, once the application was accepted I had to present myself in person at a German post office to fill in the forms and have my ID verified. I was going over there anyway so it wasn't a problem, but there's no workaround for this due to money laundering rules.

uncle_buck_3

Thats that plan out the window then...lol

Thanks.

shown73

I've bought stuff from Germany as well, using moneybookers, and although painfully slow, it's very cheap, seems to be quite safe, and most importantly, seems to be widely accepted in Germany. Life shouldn't be that complicated between EU member states, but it is. Could be worth a try, at least until you can sort out some other way. It's certainly a working method, so you can't go far wrong.

stoobee

shown73 wrote:

I've bought stuff from Germany as well, using moneybookers, and although painfully slow, it's very cheap, seems to be quite safe, and most importantly, seems to be widely accepted in Germany. Life shouldn't be that complicated between EU member states, but it is. Could be worth a try, at least until you can sort out some other way. It's certainly a working method, so you can't go far wrong.

The dead easy route is to use PayPal. You won't get the best rate but the transfer will be near enough instant and no commission. Just convince your seller that he needs a PayPal account ;-)

shown73

stoobee wrote:

The dead easy route is to use PayPal. You won't get the best rate but the transfer will be near enough instant and no commission. Just convince your seller that he needs a PayPal account ;-)

That's easier said than done. Paypal, for whatever reason, is not popular or widely accepted in Germany, and if your vendor doesn't accept it, you're stuffed. Moneybookers needs patience on both sides of the transaction, but it works.