Transferring money to a bank in the UK

juliete_2

I am planning on returning to England (from Italy) at the begninning of 2012 and I am trying to find out which is the cheapest way for me to transfer money to a bank account in the UK? I have looked at several options (there are quite a lot) and it looks like no matter which way I choose I am going to lose a large amount due to excahnge rates and transfer costs, I just need come professional advice about 'the cheapest way'. Thank you!

brenda50

juliet I bought gold with my savings when I was abroad instead of exchanging money.

G_M

Obviously shop around and compare
a) exchange rates and
b) fees

Regarding a) you may also have the option c) to use the Italian bank to exchange into stirling and send that or d) send Euros and get the receiving bank in the UK to exchange. So again you need to know all the relevant rates.

Regarding b) you may find that as well as the originating bank's fee there is an intermediary bank, which also adds a fee. So finding 2 banks that can transfer direct cuts out the intermediary.

There may also be lower fees for slower transfer.

It's all a bit of a minefield really!