Moving Cash to UK

Herpdiddle

Hello,

First off, apologies if this is in the wrong forum but it seemed the best fit of the lot.

I'm currently living in the Netherlands but am planning to move back to the UK soon. I have about €1000 in a Dutch bank account and was wondering what might be the best way to transfer it over to my UK bank account.

I checked out the relevant part of the site regarding moving money abroad, but it's taken from a UK-based point of view. There doesn't seem to be a similar calculator available for my situation.

I'm not too bothered about speed (within reason), I'd just like to maximize savings.

Thanks!

P.S. I like the "newbie alert" feature. Very thoughtful!

NFH

Open a DKB Cash account and keep your €1000 for spending in the Eurozone without any incidental or ongoing charges. As someone who's lived in the Netherlands, you're bound to be going to the Eurozone sooner or later and €1000 will be gone in no time at all. You'll also get 2% interest in the meantime.

chexum

Are you sure you won't have any expenses in Netherlands and/or in Euro in the future? Even buying separate plane/ferry tickets for each direction makes the companies be "helpful" and charge in the departing country's currency. Paying in something other than pounds needs specialised cards in the UK to not lose out on rates/commission.

There are dedicated companies to exchange heftier sums (Oanda, XE, CurrenciesDirect) quicker and with better rates than a direct transfer - but not necessarily safer! For €1000 however, chances are you'd spend more money on calls/faxes if their identification process goes awry. It may be even worth to just withdraw it, spend a few hours in your area to find an exchange bureau with the best rates, and simply bring it here.

@NFH: Funny, the application form has all the details for possibly opening it from the UK, is this really possible? I understood most banks simply ignore you with their common products if you are not resident (or even not provably working) in their country.

ian_h

Have a look at FX Compared you can work out the best rate for moving money this way.

hermante

If its only €1000 you're better off just taking it in cash and exchanging it with a friend going off to Europe.. or in one of the bureaux de change in Bayswater if you go to London.

mauriphonic

xe.com give pretty decent exchange rates, as well as far cheaper transfer fees than the banks. I use it to send money overseas occasionally and haven't had any major problems yet. Check what sort of rates you could get for buying GBP from banks over there first by TT or by cash. It might be better to bring the cash in GBP when you come over.