Paying a euro bill from UK current account

WatlingA5

I did do a search but couldn't find what I needed :think:

Never had to do this so would appreciate advice on the most efficient (cheapest!) way of doing this. NatWest account, recipient is in Belgium.

If they agree to provide their account details, can I just use the transfer system I use for paying bills in this country? Would the exchange rate be calculated automatically?

Or could I send travellers' cheques which would give me some control over exchange rate?

agrinnall

I think sending Traveller's Cheques would be contrary to the issuer's T&Cs as normally only the person who purchased them is allowed to cash them, although you might get away with it if the bank where the recipient takes them doesn't check. The exchange rate is unlikely to be particularly good. Paying by SWIFT transfer will use a much better rate but NatWest will make a charge for doing it, which is usually in the region of £20 - £30. It may be possible to initiate this online, I have done it with Nationwide, although their's is not a fully online system. The amount of the bill that you have to pay will determine which is the most cost effective for you by comparing cost of exchange vs charges.

System

WatlingA5 wrote: »

NatWest account, recipient is in Belgium.

Ask the recipient for their IBAN and their bank's BIC. This is completely standard practice for transfers within the EU. Then get Natwest to do what they call a 'standard' euro transfer, ie a SEPA Credit Transfer. Natwest will charge you a markup on the GBP to EUR exchange rate, plus a rapacious £10 fee.
http://www.natwest.com/personal/travel-international/g2/international-payments/send-money-abroad.ashx
Belgian bank is unlikely to charge for receiving euro into a euro account. In practice, if Natwest does it right, funds arrive same day.

Superheavy

Belgium are a part of the worldpay system for electronic payments, so should be cheaper than sending it through Swift if you're sending under £2k. My bank charges £9, and you need the same details, that is the IBAN and the swift/BIC code. Again, I'm not sure if you'll be able to do it from Nat West online. Depending on the size of the payment you're sending using paypal or moneybookers may be more suitable if your beneficiary will accept it.

Basically what Nick mentioned while I was typing my answer! ^^^

WatlingA5

Thank you both for quick and detailed replies. Just checked the Nationwide site, where I also have a current account, and they charge 2% of the transaction amount so that would be 20 euros. NatWest charge £20 so looks like Nationwide would save us a quid or two

Ta muchly :beer:

System

Natwest is currently quoting an 'indicative' exchange rate of 1.1634.
So Natwest would charge you £1719 for €2000, plus a £10 fee for a SEPA Credit Transfer.
Nationwide aren't members of the SEPA Credit Transfer scheme. They only offer classic slow transfers via the misnamed 'SWIFT' interbank messaging system, using HSBC as their agent. HSBC's exchange rate will probably be similar to Natwest's. But Nationwide charge a punitive £25 for an outgoing SWIFT transfer.

WatlingA5

YoungNick wrote: »

Natwest is currently quoting an 'indicative' exchange rate of 1.1634.
So Natwest would charge you £1719 for €2000, plus a £10 fee for a SEPA Credit Transfer.
Nationwide aren't members of the SEPA Credit Transfer scheme. They only offer classic slow transfers via the misnamed 'SWIFT' interbank messaging system, using HSBC as their agent. HSBC's exchange rate will probably be similar to Natwest's. But Nationwide charge a punitive £25 for an outgoing SWIFT transfer.

Thanks, YoungNick - good to have someone catching the small print for me. Much appreciated

Plus, to Agrinnall, I'd forgotten the rules on travellers' cheques - long time since I used them

benjus

For small transfers I tend to use http://www.globalwebpay.com/ - not the cheapest but still cheaper than my bank and it's all online and very easy to use.

For larger amounts I tend to use an FX broker like http://www.thefxfirm.co.uk/

Either way you need the IBAN, BIC etc.

samtuke

Is there a list anywhere of which UK banks support SEPA? Would be very useful.

I thought that it was a requirement for banks within EU member states to support SEPA - at least this is what my German friends tell me.

NFH

samtuke wrote: »

Is there a list anywhere of which UK banks support SEPA? Would be very useful.

All banks in the UK have to support SEPA. For making or receiving electronic payments in euro to or from other European countries, a bank located anywhere in the EU must charge the same as it does for making or receiving payments in euro within the same country. In other words, international payments in euro must cost the same as domestic payments in euro. This is mandated by Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 924/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on cross-border payments in the Community and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2560/2001 Text with EEA relevance, enacted in the UK under the Cross-Border Payments in Euro Regulations 2003. Furthermore, the funds must must reach the payee's account by the next business day after the instructed valid payment date in accordance with Regulation 70(1) of the Payment Services Regulations 2009.

samtuke

NFH wrote: »

All banks in the UK have to support SEPA.

Brilliant info, thanks very much! I suppose that Nationwide doesn't support SEPA because it is a building society. I called the Cooperative Bank however and they also said that they don't support SEPA, and they don't have any plans to do so either (I spoke to the international transfers department).

I already have an account with NatWest (unfortunately) so I'm going to see if they support SEPA. If they don't, is there anything that I can do to force them to, given the legal requirements that you state above?