euro account

planningavc

Hi
I'd like advice on opening a euro account and transferring from that account into sterling. I will shortly be paid a large-ish sum in euros, and plan to transfer most of that into sterling, while leaving a small sum in euros for occasional incidental expenses, travel and the like. I am resident in the UK and have a normal sterling current account.

What is the best way of arranging things so that I do not incur substantial charges in transferring between euros and sterling? Is there a particular bank account I should choose? and are there better/worse choices in how this is set up?

thanks for info!

jonesMUFCforever

What you want to may be expensive - most banks will offer you an Euro account based offshore but again you may not be able to do what you want to do with one of those.
Citibank used to offer accounts have you had a look at them?

slopemaster

You have to pay for the citibank accounts now

inmypocketnottheirs

slopemaster wrote: »

You have to pay for the citibank accounts now

Unless funded with £1800 p/m with two direct debits mandated to the account the charge is £8 p/m. There is the option for a visa debit card that can be switched between accounts. A US$ account is also available.

missile

All banks will need to know where the money coming from?

catokelly

Instead of opening a Euro account, have you considered using an international money company - most currency companies hold Euro accounts and can accept transfers from Euro accounts abroad, they will then convert the funds into Sterling for you and send the Sterling to your UK account. You can choose to wait until your Euros hit a certain rate or do the conversion straight away.

Even if you do open a Euro account you will still have the issue of trying to convert the Euros in Sterling at a good rate, make sure you avoid sending the Euros directly to your UK Sterling account!

planningavc

Thanks to all for replies. I am not sure about the differences between different types of account. I am resident in the UK, and suppose there are three options:
1. open a euro account in the UK as a UK resident -- is that what you mea by an offshore euro account?
2. open a euro account in the country in the euro area where I will receive these funds, and transfer to sterling from there.
3. open a euro account in some other country in the euro area, and transfer the funds from there -- can euro funds be transferred freely between accounts in one euro area country and another?
What are the relative advantages of these options?

jonesMUFCforever

1 - yes - UK banks tend to operate their euro accounts as offshore.