Best way to transfer Euros from wages in Spanish account to save £'s in UK account??

SpanishAngel

Hi all!

I am looking for some advice please....

I currently work in Spain but come home to the UK every month for long weekends. I therefore get my wages paid into my Spanish 'Cajamar' bank account every month. I am trying to save up for a house deposit here in the UK (as a first time buyer), so each month i transfer money from my Spanish account to my Natwest account and then from there to my high interest savings account. However, i get charged for each transfer and also lose money due to the exchange from Euros to £'s....

Is there a better way for me to maximise the money i transfer so that i can save more, rather than lose it in fees and exchange rates, etc....

Any advice would be really appreciated! :rotfl:

Thank you
x
:A

benjus

You basically have two options... either look for an FX company that will do a bank-to-bank transfer at a more competitive rate to your own bank (some companies will give special rates for regular monthly transfers), or take Euro cash with you each month and get it changed at a bureau de change offering a good rate (send the money via special delivery to a money changer in London rather than going to the local high street).

It may be more cost-effective to let the money accumulate for a while and change it in a larger chunk rather than sending it over in relatively small amounts.

Search for FX companies: http://www.fxcompared.com/Content/money-transfer-from-Spain-UK-below-3000-amount-500
Search for cash exchange: http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/buy-back/

dazza.mk

.... 3 options

Send Euros to the UK these should be received free of charge with a Banking Fx rate (rather than Tourist rate), although double check the policy of the UK have found loopholes in the European regulations (notably Lloyds Banking Group).

ie: from First Direct(HSBC)
"Payments upto EUR50,000 or 500,000 Swedish Krona will be received free of charge provided the BIC and IBAN are provided with the payment".

The only theoretical charges should be the equivalent of a payment made to mainland Spain from your Spanish account.

Note send Euros (not pounds) and quote BIC & IBAN (Not Sort Code & Account Number) only then does the payment fall with teh scope of EU regulations.

benjus

dazza.mk wrote: »

.... 3 options

Send Euros to the UK these should be received free of charge with a Banking Fx rate (rather than Tourist rate)

But what is this rate? If they tell you up front what it is, you can compare it with other options and make a decision. If they don't tell you up front, I'd personally rather go with an option that will tell me up front.

SpanishAngel

thanks for your replies guys, much appreciated :-)

Alsso, after reading another post on the forum, i'm a bit concerned about tax evasion?! Am i doing something worng with regards to tax now? i fully pay into the Spanish tax system but now nothing into the UK one, as i work and live in spain, but just come back her once per month for a long weekend....so is me spending and saving in the UK allowed? aghh....lol!

Mjersey

If it helps...Just used World First Ltd in London to transfer £ to €. Good rates and easy to use system.

dazza.mk

benjus wrote: »

But what is this rate? If they tell you up front what it is, you can compare it with other options and make a decision. If they don't tell you up front, I'd personally rather go with an option that will tell me up front.

The rate will be whatever your bank gets, they are only allowed to charge a fee equivalent to that charged for (in this case) a euro transfer in mainland Spain - There should be no comparison to be made as they are legally not allowed to apply an additional margin.

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/payments/crossborder/index_en.htm

Mikhail

I would open Euro account in Citibank UK and Spain and transfer money between them for free, citi charges less than 2% for the currency exchange and also pay some interest.