The best way to receive payments in Euros via a debit or credit account

KernowJourno

I'm a freelance journalist who writes for a number of print and online publications in the UK but recently, I've also started writing a few pieces for a Russian website. The problem I have, however, is that the Russian company can only pay me in Euros or US Dollars and I need to set something up so I can receive the foreign currency before transferring it to my debit account. At present I have just a standard Barclays debit card and a Visa Barclaycard credit card. I know whichever method I use is going to sting me a bit in terms of bank charges and conversion rates/fees but I'm trying to determine the most cost effective way to do this.

I probably won't be transferring more than £200-£250 (or the equivalent in Euros/Dollars) a month. I won't be saving the money as it'll be used for my day-to-day living expenses in the UK.

I've had a quick word with the finance team at the Russian website and they seem to think that setting up a credit card that can receive payments in Euros would be the best method, and if I don't have one, I should be able to set one up for about £30 a year. Has anyone been in a similar situation like this and could offer me some advice? I can find lots of information online about the best way of spending money abroad but less on how to receive payments in a foreign currency before converting it into GBR Pounds...

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

putout

KernowJourno wrote: »

I'm a freelance journalist who writes for a number of print and online publications in the UK but recently, I've also started writing a few pieces for a Russian website. The problem I have, however, is that the Russian company can only pay me in Euros or US Dollars and I need to set something up so I can receive the foreign currency before transferring it to my debit account. At present I have just a standard Barclays debit card and a Visa Barclaycard credit card. I know whichever method I use is going to sting me a bit in terms of bank charges and conversion rates/fees but I'm trying to determine the most cost effective way to do this.

I probably won't be transferring more than £200-£250 (or the equivalent in Euros/Dollars) a month. I won't be saving the money as it'll be used for my day-to-day living expenses in the UK.

I've had a quick word with the finance team at the Russian website and they seem to think that setting up a credit card that can receive payments in Euros would be the best method, and if I don't have one, I should be able to set one up for about £30 a year. Has anyone been in a similar situation like this and could offer me some advice? I can find lots of information online about the best way of spending money abroad but less on how to receive payments in a foreign currency before converting it into GBR Pounds...

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Forget the card with annual fee. There are various Euro/USD accounts out there that should be accessible to you for free. Since you are already a Barclays customer, the easiest option is probably to open one of their own Euro accounts. It is free for customers with a current account at Barclays and has a decent fee structure (do check it out though). Alternatively, opening a Euro account in the European mainland as a non-resident could be an option as well.

If you wish to go down the USD route, Citibank in the UK charges the least amount of fees. Incidentally it also have account options in other currencies, including Euros. However it does charge a monthly fee per account if you don't maintain a minimum balance of £2000 currency equivalent.

Once you have their payment in one of your accounts, using an online currency specialist to perform the exchange should be the most cost-effective. Euro is probably better than USD as it will minimise any transfer fees.

Ben8282

For the small amounts you will be receiving, why waste your time. Just have them transfer the payment to your Barclays current account and be done with it.

inmypocketnottheirs

Open an account with https://www.citibank.co.uk and add either or both US dollar or Euro account. You can have a debit card that you can switch between sterling, euro or dollars. Credit £1800 pm and set up 2 direct debits and it's free banking, otherwise £8 per month.