Need to convert €140k into £

cashi

Hi.

I have €140k in an online gaming site.

They will convert the money into GBP at a rate of 1.1942 (which includes their markup), or they will send me EUR back to Lloyds TSB account (the money was paid in by debit card)

I may be forced to cash some part of the balance back to my debit card, as that was the source of the funds (I deposited €60k) using my debit card, but I haven't confirmed this yet; it does say in the cashier that my maximum withdrawal is currently €34,740, I am not sure why.

So either I have up to €60k back to Lloyds, either as GBP @ 1.1942, or as EUR, and then €80k to the destination of my choice, or I have €140k to the destination of my choice.

WWYD?

One issue I can possibly take advantage of is that they seems to update their rates fairly infrequently, once a day or less, so I can wait for the euro to weaken, relative to the rate they last fixed at (which they describe as including a markup of 2%), i.e. I sell my euros at a relatively preferential rate. However, I obviously have to overcome their built-in vig, but presumably any currency transaction will have that, and also the GBP-EUR rate isn't all that volatile, maybe moving one euro cent in a day at the most.

innovate

Stop fretting about a few quid you could make (or lose) because of a better conversion rate / less charges. Seems you made around €80K so a few quid here and there don't matter.

grumbler

If you are not over-optimistic about "destination of your choice" then depending on the location of the bookie check https://www.mycurrencytransfer.com.
Alternatively open a € bank account first, then use the above, but € transfer from this account will cost you a flat fee.

Also you can consider Moneybookers (Skrill) account in €. They reportedly used to have good rates when withdrawing by a cheque from € to £.

catokelly

I would advise you to get the company to transfer the Euros, However, avoid getting the Euros transferred directly to your Lloyds bank account.

If you use an international money transfer specialist you can arrange to have the Euros transferred directly to their Client Euro account and they can convert the Euros to Sterling for you at much better rates than any bank - you would get quite a lot more ££S than what you would get from the bank.

Unlike the banks, if you use a transfer specialist, they will always let you know the rate before converting your Euros to Pounds and once you book the rate the GBP would be transferred to your UK account. If you send the Euros directly to your bank, they will convert the funds straightaway and you wont usually know what rate was applied until you check your statement.